Around the globe, children are fed a wide variety of school lunches, from American chicken patties to Japanese udon soup. Each country’s food reflects its regional food culture, and America’s children are no exception. Every day, approximately 32 million school children nationwide eat school cafeteria lunch, where more than half of their daily calories are consumed.

When a group of kids accustomed to the United States typical cafeteria cuisine took a bite of food from different lunch trays throughout the world, their reactions varied widely.

Children drank glasses of a white-color yogurt and buttermilk-based drink made with curd and coriander leaves called “Chaas” from India. Their faces scrunched as they rejected the milk look-alike. After a girl tasted food off the same tray, she said: “Why would kids eat that? That’s just mean.”

When presented with a lunch bowl from Kenya, one child apologized before saying, “It looks like a big piece of poo surrounded by corn.” But tables turned when they tried France’s food: “I would rather have this food than what I have at school,” another child remarked.

Their taste buds are trained for American styled food, and with childhood obesity rates on the rise, the link between school lunches and childhood obesity has become noteworthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the last 30 years childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents. The blog “American Lunchroom” collects photos taken in states across the country to reveal the true standard of American school lunch. From macaroni and cheese and chocolate milk lunch from Philadelphia to a pepperoni pizza and corn lunch from the Bronx, NY, the food doesn’t seem to meet the nutritional standard set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Solutions are hopefully on their way to be served in the future American school cafeteria. Cornell University Food Scientist Brian Wansink writes in his newest book Slim By Design, “If every school lunchroom had a farm-size garden, an extra million-dollar budget, and Chef Boyardee on staff, it wouldn’t really be able to control the way kids eat each week. …What we can do, however, is make it more convenient, appealing, or normal to pick up an apple instead of a cookie.”