Why is the flavor enhancer, MSG vilified in the US while it’s popular in Japan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Racism, ignorance, and general stupidity. MSG is great and it is not bad for you

Back in the 70s and 80s though there was a lot of general hysteria about MSG. You can see remnants of that here on the board with some of the responses. There is no reputable source that says that MSG is unhealthy. There is a lot of speculation that the reaction to MSG comes from racism against the Asian cultures and cuisines, which was endemic in the 70s and 80s, and is still prevalent today.

MSG naturally occurs in many foods. Ever eat a tomato? Naturally occurring MSG. What about cheese? Naturally occurring MSG, too.

[Anonymous]

Why is it racist to not what an artificial chemical in your food?

Sulfites and nitrates are naturally occurring too, but I still buy products that don't have any artificially added (lunch meats, bacon, etc.) Is that racist against cultures that eat a lot of cured meats with added nitrates?

[Anonymous]

I find these allegations of racism weird and desperate. It only shows allegations of racism is increasingly the refuge you resort to when you can't defend yourself otherwise.

MSG concerns have been around for decades - during which the American love for Asian cuisines also exploded tremendously. How can you explain both?

There were a number of reputable scientific speculation that MSG triggered reactions for some people. Maybe they're now proven wrong but it was a thing for a while.

We lived in Singapore for a while and even there some people were concerned about MSG, especially in the hawker center food. And they were Asians too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it racist to not what an artificial chemical in your food?

Sulfites and nitrates are naturally occurring too, but I still buy products that don't have any artificially added (lunch meats, bacon, etc.) Is that racist against cultures that eat a lot of cured meats with added nitrates?

Because the concern about it really emerged and centered around Chinese restaurants and food.

[Anonymous]

I get crazy dreams + bathroom issues from it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it racist to not what an artificial chemical in your food?

Sulfites and nitrates are naturally occurring too, but I still buy products that don't have any artificially added (lunch meats, bacon, etc.) Is that racist against cultures that eat a lot of cured meats with added nitrates?

Because the concern about it really emerged and centered around Chinese restaurants and food.

So? People didn’t stop going, they just asked for MSG to be omitted. Not racist.

[Anonymous]

Isn't msg like white sugar, overly processed stuff that also exists in nature? I take it a small bit here and now shouldn't be too much poison for a healthy person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I am Japanese and no, we are moving away from MSG - it's just still very present, because it's more ingrained in Asian foods than in western cuisine. Non-MSG or organic Japanese foodstuffs are hard to find outside of Japan, but when you go there, you can find lots of products without MSG.

Here I go to H-Mart and buy the MSG-free furikake, and I can find some Korean products without MSG.

Interesting, thanks for posting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I eat something with msg in it, I get a rapid heartbeat, headache and a terrible stomach ache, which leads to diarrhea.

So you don’t eat things like Doritos, mushrooms, Parmesan, ketchup, bbq sauce?

Would you argue that celery is the same thing as bacon?

[Anonymous]

MSG is a major migraine trigger for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Racism, ignorance, and general stupidity. MSG is great and it is not bad for you

Back in the 70s and 80s though there was a lot of general hysteria about MSG. You can see remnants of that here on the board with some of the responses. There is no reputable source that says that MSG is unhealthy. There is a lot of speculation that the reaction to MSG comes from racism against the Asian cultures and cuisines, which was endemic in the 70s and 80s, and is still prevalent today.

MSG naturally occurs in many foods. Ever eat a tomato? Naturally occurring MSG. What about cheese? Naturally occurring MSG, too.

This is seriously the weirdest post. The MSG you used to buy as Accent - right here, in America! I have old church cookbooks with recipes that call for it - is a processed, concentrated version. I’m not sure why people are defending MSG as some non-offensive miracle sprinkle that has no downsides. Yes, it goes about a hundred different names and it’s in many (most, perhaps) processed foods. That still doesn’t make it healthy.

[Anonymous]

I put MSG in most of my savory dishes. I have friends who talk about being sensitive to MSG, it causes migraines, etc. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. Never a single complaint or question about my cooking over many years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Racism, ignorance, and general stupidity. MSG is great and it is not bad for you

Back in the 70s and 80s though there was a lot of general hysteria about MSG. You can see remnants of that here on the board with some of the responses. There is no reputable source that says that MSG is unhealthy. There is a lot of speculation that the reaction to MSG comes from racism against the Asian cultures and cuisines, which was endemic in the 70s and 80s, and is still prevalent today.

MSG naturally occurs in many foods. Ever eat a tomato? Naturally occurring MSG. What about cheese? Naturally occurring MSG, too.

This is seriously the weirdest post. The MSG you used to buy as Accent - right here, in America! I have old church cookbooks with recipes that call for it - is a processed, concentrated version. I’m not sure why people are defending MSG as some non-offensive miracle sprinkle that has no downsides. Yes, it goes about a hundred different names and it’s in many (most, perhaps) processed foods. That still doesn’t make it healthy.

I was just going to post about Accent. I used to buy it. Stopped when I read it had MSG later on. And I'm Asian.

Hm. that article does give me pause, though.

[Anonymous]

I googled it... didn't realize this about MSG. Hm.. maybe I will start using it in small doses, very small to start.

https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/is-msg-bad-for-you

[Anonymous]

Bigotry, xenophobia, yellow hate, racism, hate of China, need I go more?
Why do ordinary U.S. citizens recoil if someone mentions Russians? Calls them all schemers, liars, etc? Bcs of decades of indoctrination of Russia, politics, but by extension Russians, are normal regular Russians being evil.
Until I moved the States, I have never heard of a single person hating so many things and so many countries as I have since lived in the States.
Oh, I research this too, in academia, sub-humanizing, Othering, Orientalism, and CRT among other identity and social issues.