knivesschau:

There are animal rights activists trying to ban a Filipino restaurant in New York from selling balut (which is a duck fetus egg) because it’s disgusting and inhumane and it making me so mad

You can think it’s gross and disgusting and refuse to eat it (I personally don’t like it at all) but that doesn’t give you the right to tell a culture what parts of their cuisine they get to sell in America because it’s not “pretty” or “appealing” to you. If you don’t like it, no one is asking you to participate in or partake in it. Like balut is one of the cultural staples of Filipino cuisine and it was adopted into our diet out of necessity due to how expensive meats and other proteins are. 

And it’s so frustrating that the petition has met it’s signature goal and will most likely win. It’ll just keep perpetuating the stereotype that Southeast Asian food is “disgusting” and “unappealing” to Americans because it doesn’t fit the pristine presentations that they’ve become accustomed to through East Asian cuisine. Don’t get me wrong, I love East Asian food to death, but I find a lot of the food I grew up with and love is continually met with resistance because it’s a completely different preparation and presentation style that still bars it from registering underneath the ironically broad category of “Asian food.” And it’s so tough to share my culture with others when they are hesitant to even take a bite.

We created much of the food we make in order to adopt to the conditions around us. I’m sorry it’s not “pretty” or “appetizing” enough for you, but that doesn’t mean you get tell us what we can and cannot sell.