Wow, what a bizarre but interesting article. I can't say I've ever eaten anything as gross as a chicken asshole, but I have tasted a few strange dishes in my life. One that I remember was when I was really little and my dad took me to a nice French restaurant in Portland. There we ordered an array of appetizers, one being frog legs. I was extremely hesitant at first because this just sounded wrong to be eating. But I sucked it up and took a bite and found out it's true what they say - it tastes just like chicken! Another classic French food that I tried that night was escargot, or snails. This one didn't go down so well because all I could think about the whole time was that I was eating a slug. I can't say I would be first to order these things again anytime soon, but at least I can say I've tried them.
It is interesting to reflect on how our culture creates a set of food do's and don'ts. At the same time it makes a lot of sense that Americans would think that our foods are better or more acceptable than the rest of the world's. It is often hard to find truly authentic foreign dishes in our country. Even in Bellingham there are McDonald's and Starbucks on every corner but I doubt you could find half of the foods mentioned in the Richman article. People often make fun of how the Chinese eat dogs and cats, yet over there it is perfectly normal. I must admit this isn't something I would go over there and eat, but I am not about to pass judgement onto people who believe this is a good meal. In fact, how can any of us judge? People are starving all over the world so it makes sense that they would eat practically anything just to stay alive. Sometimes we need to get past our biases in order to see the world through a cultural lens. This way we can hopefully gain a better understanding of those who have different tastes.
National Geographic. Gross Food. 2010. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/taboo/2972/Overview. Web. April 12, 2010.
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