From ivoryalleykat on Thu, February 28, 2008

Not just ephemeral, but maybe even a little dodgy. Alongside the fact that the current World Heritage List is a collection of properties, or physical spaces, Petrini’s ranking-related refute (culinary supremacy?) is still only part of the reason that UNESCO preserving cultural cuisines might be considered unethical.
Cuisine, after all, is changing all the time. As Slow advocates, we are major proponents of food traditions and culinary heritage, and we realize that some changes, particularly those connected to a global food economy – unsustainable importing, industrialized agriculture, the proliferation of fast food – are not good ones. But others can be! The discovery of leavening and fermentation, the advent of refrigeration – these had historical impact on culinary traditions. And as for the evils of globalization, where would Italian cuisine be without the tomato? The French without sugar? British without their tea? The term “global cuisine” may leave a bad taste in our mouths – McDonalds? – but as the world becomes an increasingly global community, we are reminded that many cultural traditions are not venerated forbearers to memorialize, but living organisms that are still growing and changing.