> > > the situation deteriorates rapidly when you move west- or
> > > south-ward.
> >
> >It's supply and demand: the demand just isn't there. Your observation
> >about "crappy food" says more about the local consumer than it does
> >about the food that's available.
> >
> >So maybe we change the subject to "crappy American tastes" ...?
>
> I agree. But tastes are socially constructed
To start with, doesn't this distribution have something to do with the higher density per square mile of rich people on the coasts? And with the higher density of people period, for that matter. So that there's a high enough traffic to justify shipping in expensive products that spoil fast. Cities foster niches and niche products. You can get stuff like this in Chicago or Denver too. We just don't think of places like that as the middle of the country.
In many other poorer countries, one can get good food in the countryside as well. But that's because their agriculture is so backwards compared to ours ;o)
Michael