It’s a practice that’s about as American as apple pie — accusing immigrant and minority communities of engaging in bizarre or disgusting behaviors when it comes to what and how they eat and drink, a kind of shorthand for saying they don’t belong.

The latest iteration came at Tuesday’s presidential debate, when former President Donald Trump spotlighted a false online tempest around the Haitian immigrant community of Springfield, Ohio. He repeated the groundless claim previously spread by his running mate, JD Vance, that the immigrants were stealing dogs and cats, the precious pets belonging to their American neighbors, and eating them. The furor got enough attention that officials had to step in to refute it, saying there was no credible evidence of any such thing.

But while it might be enough to turn your stomach, such food-based accusations are not new. Far from it.

Food-related scorn and insults were hurled at immigrant Chinese communities on the West Coast in the late 1800s as they started coming to the United States in larger numbers, and in later decades spread to other Asian and Pacific Islander communities like Thai or Vietnamese. As recently as last year, a Thai restaurant in California was hit with the stereotype, which caused such an outpouring of undeserved vitriolthat the owner had to close and move to another location.

  • @IchNichtenLichten
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    -15 days ago

    Every cuisine except for those of uncontacted tribes is shaped by migration, trade, economics, etc.

    Individual dishes can often be traced to a certain place and time though. You’re being overly general in your thinking.

    • @RedAggroBest
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      04 days ago

      I forget that the US exists outside time and space. As long as 90% of Europe has some prized tomato-based dish, I will laugh at the ideas of foods having a “place”.

      Food is a cornerstone of culture and one thing that will always be true is that culture is an ever changing landscape rather than some strict index thats easily sorted.

      • @IchNichtenLichten
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        04 days ago

        I forget that the US exists outside time and space.

        I’ve no idea what this means.

        As long as 90% of Europe has some prized tomato-based dish, I will laugh at the ideas of foods having a “place”.

        Weird. Just because largely generic dishes exist that doesn’t negate that some others have a definitive origin.

        Food is a cornerstone of culture and one thing that will always be true is that culture is an ever changing landscape rather than some strict index thats easily sorted.

        OK. That doesn’t contradict what I was saying though.