Are you a ‘gastronomic nationalist’?

(AFP)

On March 11, Japhy Grant a contributor to True/Slant, a news and opinion site, in a rant against the eco-conscious, non-vegans that are appalled by Santa Monica, California's whale sushi scandal made a salient point about ‘gastronomic nationalism'.

Grant explains, "Our national horror at eating whale meat isn't based on any empirical truths, it's just a cultural choice we make. Unless you're a hardcore vegan, you're making morally shaky decisions every day about what you decide to toss into your pie hole and what you won't, which is why your outrage at another culture's preference is ultimately little more than gastronomic nationalism."

There are a number of food-culture clashes that have been making headlines from Asian ban on eating cats, American's not welcoming horse into their kitchens and Italians saying ‘basta' to food chemicals common in molecular gastronomy.

Here is a list of various national delicacies that may turn your stomach or make you question: Am I a ‘gastronomic nationalist'?

Japan: Taboyaki, deep-fried octopus testicles donuts

Philippines: Balut, duck embryo

Scotland: Haggis, sheep's intestines

France: frog legs and snails

United States: Sweetbreads, calf thymus and pancreas

Spain: Maguey worms

China: monkey brains

Italy: Trippa, tripe or stomach lining of a cow, ox, sheep or goat

Australia: Morton bay bugs

Iceland: Black Death, fermented, aged Greenland shark in potato wine