So, let's ask the obvious question: Why on earth would fermented foods like cheese be enjoying such a wave of popularity at a time when microbial anxiety is running so high? The threat of bioterrorism lingers in the back of our minds, new diseases like West Nile virus and SARS freak us out, and antibiotics that have kept us healthy for years seem to be losing their efficacy. Perhaps the thought of microbial cultivation, a sort of micro-agriculture, is comforting. Cultivating microbes confers an idea of control: It reassures us that we've lived with microbes for a long time and always found a way to manage them.Ok, let's ask the really obvious question? Why do "journalists" feel the need to fabricate a zeitgeist everytime something new comes to their attention?
[via eGullet]
Maybe people just like cheese that doesn't suck. Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with SARS at all. Maybe we have so many microbial interactions that they effect everything we do. Maybe you should figure out the difference between viruses and bacteria. Last time I checked, beer was made with yeast, and disgusting micro- versions of it became very popular in the early nineties, well before Sarah struggled through Outbreak.
Sorry, I got irritated because I felt compelled to explain why this is so dumb.
Posted by max at September 5, 2003 03:13 PM | TrackBack