Australia prides itself as a multicultural hub. As an Australian Chinese, it is this point that attracts me to Sydney more than anywhere else in the world. The whole world of cuisine lies at your feet! But are we all as accepting of multicultural food as we make ourselves to be.
Sydney holds many food festivals over the year. The Aroma Festival, the Noodle Markets are just some to name. However, even though on the surface it may seem like we are accepting over the multicultural foods, our attitude towards certain types of food would argue we have ‘cultural indigestion’.
Whenever a food poisoning scenario occurs, we are quick to blame ethnic foods as the problem. Though in reality (and after various tests), the ethnic food is proved innocent, our fingers automatically jab at the food that isn’t deemed ‘normal’ by most of the populace. Its weirdness must attribute to the pathogen breakout… right?
The Multicultural Stigma
So even though it seems our palette is juxtaposing our actions. Why is that? It might be from our lack of understanding of the cultural significance of the food in question. Once you remove the cultural meaning behind the food, we (as the consumers) are blinded to only judge our food by the sheer look and taste of the meal. The consumer does not understand the methods of making it.
So next time you eat a ‘weird’ ethnic meal, try and have a deeper understanding of the culture before consuming it. That will allow you to see more clearly and not blame the innocent food for a sick stomach!
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