I think the canned and frozen food diet is a result of us not having enough time to go the market each day like Cambodians, who mostly still lack refrigeration in the home, especially rural folks. This means everything needs to be made fresh, and that is the way I prefer living. Another problem in the USA is farm subsidies, which cause corn, sugar, dairy, meat, and soy to be artificially cheaper than all other things. Because of this, all companies try to figure out a way to make products from these ingredients.

This leaves a farmer trying to grow eggplant and okra with a bleak future, not supported by the government like his chemical-mechanical soybean farming neighbor.

In Cambodia there is definitely no gun and drug problems like in the USA, but there are lots of petty non-violent crimes of opportunity like stealing phones through windows and unattended motorbikes at night. If there is a single drug doing damage in Cambodia, it is certainly methamphetamine, or more properly called yabba, a mix of meth and caffeine made popular by Thailand.

Truck drivers, salon workers, and the fishing industry are big markets for yabba, but I think it is ultimately recognized as a social problem, and not a legal one unless someone is possessing large amounts of this drug. Marijuana used to be part of the culture and diet thirty years ago, and most Cambodians grew up eating chicken noodle ganja soup in the 70s and 80s.

Thailand is starting to pursue medical marijuana, and I think Cambodia is also starting to view marijuana like it did thirty years ago, and no longer comparing it with synthetic hard drugs.