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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

In the same vein that your whole food chain is. It is found in mushrooms and tomatoes, do you stay away from those too?

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Says.... racist!

[Anonymous]

OMG, my boomer mom still always asks "do you use MSG" when we go for Chinese food. I'm always like, mom, it's not 1985 anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Also soy sauce, lunch meat, ranch, pringles, pepperoni, bacon, Campbell’s soup…

DP I get migraines from some foods. Soy is one of them and as a result soy sauce and many of the above. As I have aged, I have been able to tolerate very small amounts- but I still avoid as much as possible because it is easy to go over the line. I end up making most of the soups and sauces myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

In the same vein that your whole food chain is. It is found in mushrooms and tomatoes, do you stay away from those too?

in what quantities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

too polite. My migraines would come the following morning- it isn’t instant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

IMO, it's because other countries aren't made up of immigrants, whereas the US is. US history is full of "othering" the new immigrants, doesn't even matter what your skin color is. The English did it to Irish; the Irish did it to the Poles/Germans/Chinese, etc..

This country is a melting pot, and there are some really great things about it, and IMO, the diversity makes it interesting (not to mention the diverse foods). But, people are always going to be afraid of something "different", and in the US, that "difference" is more pronounced because of the size of our immigrant population compared to other countries.

The only country that's similar to the US in terms of immigrant population size is Canada. I have no idea if Canada has similar issues, but certainly, the US has a history of racism against Asians, including their immigration laws.

[Anonymous]

I have a colleague who likes to vilify Chinese food for msg, but happily (and willfully ignorantly) chow down any Japanese food. The perception is that Japanese food is in vogue, but Chinese food is definitely not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a colleague who likes to vilify Chinese food for msg, but happily (and willfully ignorantly) chow down any Japanese food. The perception is that Japanese food is in vogue, but Chinese food is definitely not.

I have no idea what’s in American Chinese food, but I do not eat it. I can eat an enormous meal and be hungry in about ten minutes. I assume it’s more of a blood sugar thing but broadly available Chinese food is not my jam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is cruel beyond belief. There’s an ingredient that my mother knows bothers me and she frequently puts it into meals without telling me. She laughed when I mentioned it and said that it never bothered me the other times she served it; I’ve never told her that I get stomach cramps a few hours after eating her cooking. I cannot believe there are people like you out there happily triggering symptoms in their guests. The other PP is right. They’re just too polite to tell you.

[Anonymous]

Try putting it in your scrambled eggs. You will never eat them without it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

IMO, it's because other countries aren't made up of immigrants, whereas the US is. US history is full of "othering" the new immigrants, doesn't even matter what your skin color is. The English did it to Irish; the Irish did it to the Poles/Germans/Chinese, etc..

This country is a melting pot, and there are some really great things about it, and IMO, the diversity makes it interesting (not to mention the diverse foods). But, people are always going to be afraid of something "different", and in the US, that "difference" is more pronounced because of the size of our immigrant population compared to other countries.

The only country that's similar to the US in terms of immigrant population size is Canada. I have no idea if Canada has similar issues, but certainly, the US has a history of racism against Asians, including their immigration laws.

1. 21.5% of Canadians are immigrants
2. 14.8% of Germans are immigrants
3. 14.3% of Americans are immigrants

1. https://www.statista.com/topics/2917/immigration-in-canada/#:~:text=As%20of%202020%2C%20there%20were%20just%20above%20eight,roughly%2021.5%20percent%20of%20the%20total%20Canadian%20population.
2. https://vividmaps.com/immigrant-population-in-germany
3. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-the-united-states#:~:text=One%20in%20seven%20U.S.%20residents%20is%20an%20immigrant%2C,individuals%29%20comprised%2014%20percent%20of%20the%20national%20population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is cruel beyond belief. There’s an ingredient that my mother knows bothers me and she frequently puts it into meals without telling me. She laughed when I mentioned it and said that it never bothered me the other times she served it; I’ve never told her that I get stomach cramps a few hours after eating her cooking. I cannot believe there are people like you out there happily triggering symptoms in their guests. The other PP is right. They’re just too polite to tell you.

Then why would they keep coming back for more?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is cruel beyond belief. There’s an ingredient that my mother knows bothers me and she frequently puts it into meals without telling me. She laughed when I mentioned it and said that it never bothered me the other times she served it; I’ve never told her that I get stomach cramps a few hours after eating her cooking. I cannot believe there are people like you out there happily triggering symptoms in their guests. The other PP is right. They’re just too polite to tell you.

Yeah, I never tell people when I get explosive diarrhea after eating bat their house. We know.