The Conversation - Overcoming disgust about new foods

I’m the main cook at my house. While I enjoy experimenting with new recipes, I’m also trying to feed a couple of youngsters with, shall we say, discriminating palates. Oh, the betrayal and the rending of napkins when I serve something they proclaim to be “weird” (beans that are white?) or “gross” (rice??).

So, when Alexandra Plakias got in touch, I was all ears. She’s a philosopher at Hamilton College who studies food and disgust, and she’s interested in how people react to new foods. Not just a new brand of frozen fish, which can trigger a boycott at my house. More like lab-grown meat, bugs and other so-called alternative proteins – options that could help make the Western diet more sustainable .

Looking back at historical examples, Plakias suggests there are two paths for shifting food habits: what she calls the safe route and the sushi route. I wonder which would yield better results with my in-house food critics.

This week we also liked articles about unplugging yourself from digital devices, why some animals grow faster than others, and how FEMA helps Americans after hurricanes damage or destroy their homes.

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