Are you a ‘gastronomic nationalist’?
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Your support makes all the difference.On March 11, Japhy Grant a contributor to True/Slant, a news and opinion site, in a rant against the eco-conscious, non-vegans that are appalled by Santa Monica, California's whale sushi scandal made a salient point about ‘gastronomic nationalism'.
Grant explains, "Our national horror at eating whale meat isn't based on any empirical truths, it's just a cultural choice we make. Unless you're a hardcore vegan, you're making morally shaky decisions every day about what you decide to toss into your pie hole and what you won't, which is why your outrage at another culture's preference is ultimately little more than gastronomic nationalism."
There are a number of food-culture clashes that have been making headlines from Asian ban on eating cats, American's not welcoming horse into their kitchens and Italians saying ‘basta' to food chemicals common in molecular gastronomy.
Here is a list of various national delicacies that may turn your stomach or make you question: Am I a ‘gastronomic nationalist'?
Japan: Taboyaki, deep-fried octopus testicles donuts
Philippines: Balut, duck embryo
Scotland: Haggis, sheep's intestines
France: frog legs and snails
United States: Sweetbreads, calf thymus and pancreas
Spain: Maguey worms
China: monkey brains
Italy: Trippa, tripe or stomach lining of a cow, ox, sheep or goat
Australia: Morton bay bugs
Iceland: Black Death, fermented, aged Greenland shark in potato wine
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