Abstract:
As we travel to other countries or sit down to eat with people from different
cultures we naturally question our surroundings. And our sense of taste is as impo11ant as
our sense of sight and sound. Tasting the foods of others is a powerful way of exchanging
ideas and traditions. The foods we eat help to transport us to different worlds and to
different times. Our meals might connect us to places we have lived in or travelled to. or
to the rituals of past generations.
But the associations that are formed between food and identity can often slip into
stereotypes. The English, for example, are associated with fish and chips, Americans with
hamburgers and chewing gum and Italians with pizza and parmesan cheese. It is not
uncommon for these stereotypes to offend: the Germans are said to eat only pickled
cabbage, the French said to eat only snails and frog's legs. Filipinos are famous for the
local delicacy- balut. Racist abuse often links particular communities to certain food
smells or 'strange' flavours.
Many of the food traditions we associate with specific national identities have
complicated histories. In a busy interdependent setting where such exchange seems
vulnerable, the fast food industry is continually expanding.
In today's world economy all sorts of foodstuffs are traded and eaten around the
world, from burgers in Bangkok to pizza in Germany. The patchwork of cultures in
Britain has injected a rich diversity of foods in town and cities - most of us do not need to
look far to find Polish delis, Indian curry houses, Jewish bagel shops or Thai takeaways
to name a few examples. Fast food culture, will it redefine the Filipino Identity?
