The New York Times has an amusing op-ed article about the American fear of eating raw fish during pregnancy. Steven A. Shaw compares the situation with that in Japan, where eating raw fish during pregnancy is never discouraged. He denounces the governmental recommendation not to eat raw fish during pregnancy and backs up his claim with factual supports. For one, Shaw says, most (85% indeed) of the food poisoning from consuming raw seafood comes from eating oysters grown in contaminated water, not sushi and sashimi (because most of the fish used for sushi and sashimi don't have parasites). He worries that the over-concern about food poisoning from raw fish might be scaring people (pregnant women or not) away from taking advantage of the excellent nutrients in fish.

While I agree with his points, what struck me the most was his last remark: "the sushi ban is insulting to Japanese culture." I never thought of the fear of eating raw fish this way, but I suppose in a way it could be. While I do appreciate the cultural sensitivity of the author, I myself may not be able to go as far as saying it myself. For one thing, I'm sure there are many complicated factors behind the fear (epidemiological or not) of raw fish--like the relative novelty and the resultant, possibly deadly, ignorance of the proper handling of the material; in other words, the Japanese might have a hygienic advantage thanks to the much longer and more intimate history with the raw fish.

But for another, I'm slightly weary of combative rhetoric surrounding the question of cultures and eating, the least of which is the long-standing issue of whaling. In a similar vain, I often find it odd that the Americans, who eat far less seafood than the Japanese, seem much more concerned about the mercury level in seafood than their Japanese counterparts are, but I'm not sure if I would want to characterize it as "insulting" to the numerous fish-eating cultures around the world that aren't as concerned. With all that said, though, what remains is my appreciation of Steven Shaw's concern over the American paranoia of fish (raw or not) and his sincere effort to culturally decipher that paranoia.