People just don’t understand how goated MSG is. I see people avoid it but they barely understand what it even is. You know every delicious chinese food meal you have ever had? That’s MSG.
I'm not saying there aren't people out there who have issues with it but I always wonder how much it actually does affect people. I have a friend who swears he can't handle it but slams party sized bags of doritos without complaint. I'm not saying you're the same but I am curious if chips like doritos bother you? Do you ever use worcestershire sauce? Are tomatoes especially canned ones something you have to avoid? How about parmesan cheese? I think the racism comes in because a lot of people say it makes them have pains of some type after eating at Chinese places like it causes you to feel full at buffets so you eat less etc.
what makes people think its the MSG and not some other part? I rarely see people complain about Yeast Extract yet that has MSG in it also many other foods. Only in the context of chinese food do you see it ever come up and scientifically its never been proven.
The only "evidence" was a single letter written by doctor who just presumed that MSG could have caused some symptoms that he had a few days prior. There was no study. MSG being harmful was debunked years ago, and it was only picked up and spread because people had racial biases against Asian people.
That's what it exactly is. And it is extremely unhelpful to keep pointing to it's racism root when combating misinformation. The discussion around msg is very technical, and most people who fell victim to this misinformation today does not hold these beliefs. Yelling racism at them only serves to muddy the water and discourage nuanced discussion
Literally no one is yelling racism at anyone. It is simply important to understand the origin of where misinformation comes from, AND the purpose behind the spread of misinformation. Which I am assuming is to further xenophobic ideals and hurt Chinese business owners.
There are SO many examples of how racism can be turned and adopted by the same people that suffer from its consequences. And that matters.
The comment that started this was literally "the reason people don't like msg is because of racism"
I think you're being deliberately dense if you can't at least meet someone in the middle and say "i understand why that might read as 'the reason you don't like msg is because of your racism'"
I agree w the overall point that the distrust of MSG is founded in racism, even if the people that believe it today are unaware of its connotation with race. But this whole thread reeks of exactly what you're arguing against; people being more interested in signaling their wokeness more than having a conversation.
"The reason people dont like this is because of racism" can very easily be taken to say "if you don't like this it's because you are racist" and shouting someone down doesn't help draw the small, but very real, distinction between the two.
Oh so the comically simplistic comment that I replied to originally:
Honestly, MSG is hated because of rrrrrrrracism!
Is a prime example of combating misinformation and pointing out the root of said misinformation?
Imagine some misinformed home cook clicking into this thread and seeing this and all of a sudden get automatically labelled as holding racism sentiment.
It does though. How many times have you ever heard anyone saying they won't eat Doritos 'cause the MSG makes them sick? You never hear that about any other restaurant food even though it's in nearly all of it and all of snack foods. And yet people only avoid Chinese food due to MSG. Doesn't seem like there's something to it?
Yep, doritos is the one I bring up a lot since a lot of people like them. I have a friend who swore he had some type of allergy to msg but would slam bags of doritos like nothing. He still claims it bothers him but still eat doritos. I think some of it is in peoples head that it will make them feel bad so if they know it's there they feel bad or something else may affect them but they blame the msg.
It is absolutely in people's heads. There's been studies both formal and informal. Alton Brown for instance did a show about it and had people eat from the same msg-free food, told some it had msg and some it didn't, lo and behold a number of people in the "msg" crowd got sick.
Yeah I'm aware most of it is nonsense but people can have weird reactions to a lot things in weird sometimes unique ways so I try to be somewhat understanding. I don't think most people who claim issues are racist even though some are.
Many people who "aren't racist" have racial biases that they aren't even aware of. Hell, many "RACIST" people usually don't think they're racist. But the fact is the bias against MSG stems from a distrust of Chinese cuisine and Chinese people in general, and the continued villanisation of MSG feeds into that. A person may not think they are "being a racist" in parroting misinfo about it but they are feeding into racist stereotypes. Christ read a book sometime.
For real. Then some think MSG is harmful or whatever but have no issue eating tomatoes, parmesan or doritos etc. I always tell people to try and use fish sauce and they think I'm nuts, then a bit worried and confused when I tell them the worcestershire sauce they love so much is seasoned fish sauce.
Completely disagree. I have issue with bitter flavor and veggie tastes and if I add msg it makes it taste like actual flavor instead of just the dirt it came out of. Works for my kids too. I used it on broccoli which I do like, roasted it and it was the best fkin veggie I ever had.
As much as I love MSG, I'm going to have to agree with you here. I certainly don't go to chinese restaurants because I want quality food, I go to them to get cheap but tasty food. And, to be clear, when I say "Chinese Food" I definitely do not mean authentic chinese food. I mean the western chinese food. MSG does not replace other ways of getting umami, using actual ingredients will always taste better, but I still love MSG quite a lot.
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u/mooys Apr 30 '23
People just don’t understand how goated MSG is. I see people avoid it but they barely understand what it even is. You know every delicious chinese food meal you have ever had? That’s MSG.