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Edited to revert to the main point

On 17/08/2016 at 6:29 PM, Alex said:

"Everything is politics."  -Thomas Mann (1875-1955), The Magic Mountain

 

...which includes food and drink, of course -- from agribusiness to GMOs to alcohol regulation to raw milk to veganism to, well, you get the idea.

 

What brought this concept to mind today was this article about an Italian restaurant in Albuquerque, NM, that's selling t-shirts with the phrase "Black Olives Matter" on the front. (For those of you who ignore the news or who reside in another country and might not know this, the phrase is a takeoff on the political/social movement "Black Lives Matter.")

 

It reminded me of a topic I attempted to start several years ago, one related to the question, to what extent do your personal politics, etc. enter into your choosing to avoid or patronize a restaurant (or shop at a particular store or chain, stay at a particular hotel, etc.)?

 

That question was engendered by this 2006 news story about a restaurant owner's ties to Hezbollah. The moderators at that time apparently disagreed with Thomas Mann, decided the question wasn't sufficiently food-related, and tossed the topic into the Black Hole of Irrelevance. I'm hoping the current moderators are a bit more broad-minded.

 

Obviously there's no one answer to that question, but I was wondering how eG'ers deal with this issue, if at all. For example, there are two pizza chains whose founders' politics and practices I find reprehensible. Do I factor that into my decision of where to buy my pie?

 

 

I think Michael Pollan and similar writers have moved this kind of discussion into the food-related mainstream. If we can keep personalities and "politics, politics" (as opposed to "politics of food" in the macro sense) I'd personally be keen to follow the thread and participate sporadically. 

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On 17/08/2016 at 6:29 PM, Alex said:

"Everything is politics."  -Thomas Mann (1875-1955), The Magic Mountain

 

...which includes food and drink, of course -- from agribusiness to GMOs to alcohol regulation to raw milk to veganism to, well, you get the idea.

 

What brought this concept to mind today was this article about an Italian restaurant in Albuquerque, NM, that's selling t-shirts with the phrase "Black Olives Matter" on the front. (For those of you who ignore the news or who reside in another country and might not know this, the phrase is a takeoff on the political/social movement "Black Lives Matter.")

 

It reminded me of a topic I attempted to start several years ago, one related to the question, to what extent do your personal politics, etc. enter into your choosing to avoid or patronize a restaurant (or shop at a particular store or chain, stay at a particular hotel, etc.)?

 

That question was engendered by this 2006 news story about a restaurant owner's ties to Hezbollah. The moderators at that time apparently disagreed with Thomas Mann, decided the question wasn't sufficiently food-related, and tossed the topic into the Black Hole of Irrelevance. I'm hoping the current moderators are a bit more broad-minded.

 

Obviously there's no one answer to that question, but I was wondering how eG'ers deal with this issue, if at all. For example, there are two pizza chains whose founders' politics and practices I find reprehensible. Do I factor that into my decision of where to buy my pie?

 

 

I remember a thread a decade or so ago, on the subject of Dairy Queen's Moolatte. I'm too lazy to look it up at the moment (and also under a time constraint) but the thrust of it was that the word was too similar to mulatto -- and described a beverage of "cafe au lait" color, a term often used for those of mixed race -- and was therefore racist at worst, and terribly insensitive at best. 

 

I'd never considered "mulatto" to be a pejorative (archaic, maybe), but I'm a white guy so my judgement wasn't necessarily sound on the subject. When I raised it with mixed-race friends, their reactions ranged from amusement to disbelief. Obviously, it wasn't an issue for them (one commented "It sounds good...gonna have to try one"). Controversy, obviously, is in the eye of the beholder. 

 

I think Michael Pollan and others of his ilk have moved the kind of discussion you're proposing well into the mainstream, and if it was a stretch in 2006 it isn't any longer. FWIW I'm all in favor of having a specific thread for it. If the current-day mods don't feel it belongs here, we now have the designated OT area as an alternate venue.

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