# Should food be considered "cultural appropriation"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755 "2017-06-24T14:36:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/61 "2017-06-25T21:01:22Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Does creating your own martyrdom over social issues make you happy? :dubious: > > What purpose is genuinely served by whining about this sort of thing? Could ask you and your ilk the same question. You’re the ones who keep bringing up these topics at every turn. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/62 "2017-06-25T21:23:07Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Everyone’s free to wear or cook whatever they like (as long as it’s not people), and others are free to criticize them for it. If only it were that easy. But it seems criticism is just the beginning of abuse. I wonder how many cultures have been preserved by cultural appropriation. If no one in the US liked ethnic foods, how long would it have been before those recipes were forgotten by people who came to America and became Americans? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/63 "2017-06-25T21:35:41Z")
More and more I’m becoming convinced that what motivates liberals more than anything is a desire to upset the status quo, whatever that may be. Fifty years ago we had segregation and they were all about integration. Now we have integration and they’re all about segregation. "You can’t wear this, it belongs to _them_! “You can’t wear your hair like that, only _they_ can!” “You can’t record that kind of music! It’s _theirs_!” No wonder so much of this country is at each other’s throats. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/64 "2017-06-25T21:39:26Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > More and more I’m becoming convinced that what motivates liberals more than anything is a desire to upset the status quo, whatever that may be. Fifty years ago we had segregation and they were all about integration. Now we have integration and they’re all about segregation. "You can’t wear this, it belongs to them! “You can’t wear your hair like that, only they can!” “You can’t record that kind of music! It’s theirs!” > > No wonder so much of this country is at each other’s throats. :rolleyes: Pretty much. Also, how far can we take these things back? Every goddamn culture, because of war and conquest historically, etc is a blend of one another. Culture is ever changing and elements of every culture influence another. Dreadlocks are considered a part of “black culture” yet the Celts were wearing them thousands of years ago. But I wouldn’t accuse a black person of appropriating ancient Celtic culture. That’d just be ludicrous. A lot of these claims are. People also seem to be conflating “cultural appropriation” with “being an asshole”. Using the earlier example someone said, regarding steak and Hindu customs, I wouldn’t eat steak in front of a Hindu if I had the option not to because I don’t go out of my way to be an asshole to people. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/65 "2017-06-25T21:41:57Z")
So…I guess that Taco Tuesday is out now for us non-Mexicans? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/66 "2017-06-25T22:16:56Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > So…I guess that Taco Tuesday is out now for us non-Mexicans? Actually, calling it “Tuesday” is inappropriate, because you are appropriating from the culture that created the Norse pantheon. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/67 "2017-06-25T22:28:45Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > No, it isn’t. This entire post is fallacious. It’s also off-topic. If you’d like to start a separate thread, I’d be happy to discuss the topic of labor unions with you. I’ll join. > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I honestly don’t even know what virtue signalling is. My brain says “Just scroll, it’s young whippersnapper gobbledy gook.” It comes from the same fine minds that like to use “cuck”. Apparently it’s bad to signal that you have virtue. Kids these days. When I was young, you were supposed to have virtue. It was good to be good. We had to get up to change the channel on the tv too. Get off my lawn! ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/68 "2017-06-25T22:32:47Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > So…I guess that Taco Tuesday is out now for us non-Mexicans? On behalf of us multi-ethnic, melting pot folks, eat whatever the heck you want, so long as it’s legal. (I’m trying to picture what an appropriate meal might be if we “have” to match our ethnic or cultural background when we eat - dump a bunch of things in a blender? :p) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/69 "2017-06-25T22:42:40Z")
> [@snowboarder bo](#): > > no, it isn’t. This entire post is fallacious. It’s also off-topic. If you’d like to start a separate thread, i’d be happy to discuss the topic of labor unions with you. qft. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/70 "2017-06-25T22:45:04Z")
Say what you want about me, at least I’m an Ilk. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/71 "2017-06-25T22:47:03Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Nope, nothing of the kind. We’ll just respect you a lot less. And then what happens? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/72 "2017-06-25T22:57:02Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Say what you want about me, at least I’m an Ilk. 🆒 Please have respect for our wapiti brethren. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/73 "2017-06-25T23:22:55Z")
😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/74 "2017-06-25T23:32:06Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Say what you want about me, at least I’m an Ilk. 🆒 I was in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Ilk for many years. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/75 "2017-06-25T23:34:22Z")
Nobody said it, so I will. If they stop the burrito sellers in portland, what about Chipotle? What about every type of restaurant in a major urban center where many Mexicans work? Is this not the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/76 "2017-06-26T00:15:55Z")
What about customers? Is it wrong for a lily-white Anglo to dine at a Vietnamese restaurant, or a Middle Eastern restaurant, etc.? Am I just as guilty partaking of cuisine foreign to my “native culture” as I would be in vending it? It’s all too silly. This is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Hungry! (Besides, medieval Anglo-Saxon cuisine is DULL!) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/77 "2017-06-26T00:16:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There are certain things that I think are genuinely off limits. Fashion models wearing feathers in their hair Indian style as part of the wardrobe comes to mind (which I’ve seen). There are aspects of Alaska Native arts that are actually legally off limits to any non-Native, such as selling ivory of any kind. > [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > Well, but that last is entirely different. The reason certain uses of whale ivory are off limits to non-natives, isn’t to prevent “cultural appropriation,” it’s because modern people wanted to make it off limits to EVERYONE, as a part of defending the Whales, and the native peoples objected on historic/cultural grounds, and won an exception for themselves. > > {snip} Same issue with eagle feathers, which are federally protected. Only enrolled members of a federally recognized Native American tribe are legally permitted to possess them. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/78 "2017-06-26T01:41:54Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > So…I guess that Taco Tuesday is out now for us non-Mexicans? I go for fish taco Friday. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/79 "2017-06-26T03:35:59Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > And then what happens? Then they start a campaign to deprive you of your livelihood and try and put you out on the streets, haven’t you been paying attention? Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/80 "2017-06-26T04:38:37Z")
> [@Reddy\_Mercury](#): > > Well, as unfortunate as the Native American genocide was, you probably wouldn’t be sitting where you are, typing on this forum, if not for it. You’re sitting on culturally appropriated land. Oh. And I had no idea. What amazing insight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755.md?page=5)