Sushi Went Global Sushi Is

¶ … Sushi Went Global Sushi is a widely popular food and cultural fad in America today. However, it is a largely misunderstood and misrepresented food and piece of history. The average person does not know the history of sushi becoming a worldly dinner event rather than an obscure tradition mentioned briefly in accounts of Japanese culture. In Theodore C.

Bestor's article, "How Sushi Went Global," the introduction of sushi into Western culture is discussed, but also some of the larger economical and foreign relations issues that naturally accompany a shift in any market. American patrons of the now-popular Japanese-style sushi establishments throughout the Western hemisphere may assume that their favorite high-priced restaurant is importing fish from the East in order to be accurately Japanese. However, Japan has actually turned to other fishing markets to supply fish, like the blue finned tuna that is used in many sushi dishes.

Once Japan had a booming fishing industry that dominated the world, however strict regulations on fishing boats changed that. Combined with other factors, Japanese fishermen had to restrict the distance from the shore that they sent fleets, and this cut the amount of fish they were able to provide. Japan had to turn to global fishing supplies instead of providing fish to other countries. Sushi entered the American cultural vocabulary slowly over the course of many decades.

Brief mentions of it in magazines as early as the 1920s can be found, however the representation of this food was misleading or inaccurate. These wraps made of rice, seaweed, and fish (cooked or raw) were exotic and frightening to the general Western population. However, Eastern influence on Western culture is strong. Although highly "Americanized" in many cases, fashion, entertainment, and philosophy -- not to mention cuisine -- all lend themselves to picking up Japanese styles.

By the 1970s sushi was a proper fad in America, especially among the culturally elite, and by the 1990s, sushi was officially cool. The increased value of "aesthetics" in food presentation, as well as the appeal of healthy red-meat alternatives, led to the growth of sushi. From a consumer's point-of-view, sushi is among the most simplistic (and elegantly so) of dining choices. However, from an economical perspective, it is complex. Basing market values on the migratory patterns and life cycles of fish is not a fail proof economic plan.

Variations on the environment, as well as ever-present battles between environmentalists, politicians and policy, local fishermen, and big fishing conglomerates (in varying combinations and often changing sides) will wind up deciding the cost of the sushi rolls on the consumer's plate. A single fishingnet's worth of tuna may be millions of dollars, and if something were to happen to that group of.