The consumerization of food  

You can now sit down to a complete dinner of faux gourmet items like Greece’s famous Kalamata olives and domestic Spanish or Italian cured ham, followed by a pasta course made with “Italy’s” world renowned San Marzano tomatoes and topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano, “The King of Cheeses.” The main course? Kobe beef of course, maybe topped with Kobe pork, all washed down with Champagne and red Burgundy.

Top it off with a glass of Port or a nice cup of Darjeeling tea, and you will have just consumed a meal that may well have been produced entirely in a factory down the street from you.

This is a consequence of consumerism.

Food is an integral part of a country’s cultural heritage. And producers disrespect a culture when they half heartedly copy and falsely market food with a historical lineage. In some circles, we call that bootlegging.

But of course, nothing matters as long as consumers lap it up.