In 2017, white acupuncturist and business owner Karen (yes, Karen) Taylor from Eugene started her congee company Breakfast Cure, which processes prepackaged packs of flavored rice customers into slow-cooker congee. Taylor’s business only recently, however attracts attention of people across the country, and not in a good way: in the past week Contributions on social media have circulated that they criticized Taylor for the way she and her company appropriated congee and done differently to the communities that have been eating it for centuries.
At the weekend, Twitter user Casey Ho tweeted a Screenshot thread from the company’s website, where the company markets its congees that “delight the western palate”. In one Blog post from the company’s website the has changed in the meantimeTaylor wrote, “I’ve spent a lot of time modernizing it for the western palette – (sic) to make a congee that you can eat and find tasty, and that doesn’t seem alien. … I’ve spent over 20 years trying all these different combinations to find the really tasty and healthy ones that work in our modern world. ”Many people could argue that congee already exists does „Working in our modern world” considering that congee is eaten by hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of people around the world, also in the USA.
Ho’s tweets went viral, and other Twitter users began to publicly criticize the company for its allegations against the court and the cultures that surround it. „@BreakfastCure can streamline Chinese traditions and recipes without worrying about being labeled ‘gross’ because white women are at the helm,” said Frankie Huang writes in a twitter thread. “My problem isn’t the existence of those $ 15 congee packs, people can eat whatever they want, and cooking grains isn’t a Chinese thing. It’s their Chinese culture-focused marketing that’s super rude. „
Taylor has since apologized publicly and the website has undergone significant overhauls since Ho posted the first screenshots. „We have recently failed to support and honor the Asian-American community and we are deeply sorry for that,” said a statement on the website. “We take full responsibility for each language on our website or in our marketing and immediately took steps to remedy this and educate ourselves by revising our mission to not only create delicious breakfasts, but a better ally for the AI Community. ”Taylor chose not to speak on record in an interview with Eater Portland.
The effects and harm of cultural appropriation were covered extensively from countless websites and Publications; Dakota Kim’s essay for paste direct references Kook’s burritos, the closed Portland Burrito Cart that led to another national discussion about white women who desire and benefit from the work and culture of people of color. „A culturally respectful thing for Kooks would have been to go back and research food thoroughly over time, pay for profit-sharing or recipes, create a foundation or scholarship for street vendors and their children,” writes Kim. „It doesn’t always matter what you do, but how you do it.”
• Breakfast cure [Official]
• Casey Ho’s Twitter thread [Twitter]
• White woman who makes „improved” kongee apologizes, continues selling [NBC]
• We’re having the wrong conversation about food and cultural possessions [P]
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