Day: February 9, 2017

During Monday’s discussion, we briefly mentioned the cultural diffusion effects of immigration has on a country’s cuisine in America. For example, we know that pizza comes from an Italian origin. Yet, any real Italian would be baffled at our dollar pizza slices could pass off as genuine pizza. I find it ironic how Americans tend to customize other cuisines to their own liking in order to suit their palates, but are deeply offended when foreigners label American cuisine as just giant versions of normal food. By taking iconic and traditional dishes and “transforming” them to be “acceptable” for the American food industry, we strip away the cultural identity of those countries and carry out regional stereotypes that misrepresent the world outside of ours.

The American food industry has taken advantage of the diverse melting pot that makes up our country. From food alone, we can connect to multiple people around the word even if we’re thousands of miles apart. We selectively choose what dish is most profitable to cater and from this selection process, stereotypes and misunderstanding is carried out. Take for example vindaloo, a popular dish from the region of Goa in India. What the American food industry does is take one popular dish and add their own American twists so that other Americans feel “safe” or familiar enough to try it. In the situation of vindaloo, common proteins such as beef, chicken, and pork might be added in restaurants so that they’re attractive enough for non-native customers to order. From only experiencing dishes we have heard of or tried, we automatically associate that one particular dish with the entire country. This misrepresents the multiple vegan Indians and those who do not eat certain proteins due to their religion as they are all categorized as “chicken vindaloo enthusiasts” because that is the only dish we see on menus.

In contrast, we acknowledge the multiple iconic regional foods across America. For example, we know that the South is the node of barbecue and the New England region is the only place to have the freshest seafood. Every region of the United States has regional culinary dishes that we automatically can name and understand whereas we struggle to name more than just a California roll for Japan or General Tso’s chicken for China. What’s worse is we can only name the incorrect associated dishes of other countries because we’ve been only catered American “approved” versions of those traditional cuisines. These American “approved” versions are detrimental for cultures as they discourages us to continue educating ourselves about them. When we don’t like one “exotic” dish we’ve tried from a non-American cuisine restaurant, we will automatically claim not liking that entire culture’s cuisine. For example, Chinese food is notorious for MSG as it is present in multiple “Chinese” take out restaurants and now the cuisine is deemed unhealthy and unacceptable to consume. Misrepresentation of cuisines reinforce cultural stereotypes. I believe the capitalistic nature of America is the biggest culprit behind this as there is no moral consumption under capitalism when restaurant owners exploit POC cultures/cuisines for revenue.

When the question of what is something you’ll find or see “only in america” came into play at the beginning of class yesterday many ideas popped into my head. It wasn’t just the positive things but i also thought of negative things that occurred “only in america.” As the class moved along we watched a short interview that brought something very compelling and a point that i hadn’t thought about before. The thought that America was derived from a population that was risk taking and on their feet at all times struck me because of my recent experiences in New York City. I only really noticed in the last year or so how New York City is a constant rush. People running from office to office, the bright lights at any time of the day and how millions of people every day walk the streets without noticing their surroundings. These characteristics of New York are a makeup of the people that live there. The constant drive to do well and succeed as well as the consistent competition is a result of our ancestors and their characteristics. They came from all over the world with a huge risk in starting a new life in a foreign country. Ultimately, however, they founded a country that is dedicated, driven and willing to risk anything to succeed.

-Eli Cattan