Traditional food healthier

Traditional food healthier

From Suara Karya

Suara Karya's caricature of Nov. 8, 1994 issue is interesting
enough. In the picture Mat Karyo, a ketoprak vendor, is
bewildered because he finds himself in the midst of a number of
restaurants which serve only international dishes. In Indonesia,
particularly in larger cities like Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya,
international restaurants are mushrooming, maybe as an impact of
globalization. It seems that people's taste has gone
international.

The presence of international foods such as pizzas, hot dogs,
hamburgers and fried chicken has more or less pushed Indonesian
traditional foods aside. Some people look upon the traditional
dishes such as pecel, kredok, gado-gado, ketoprak as lacking in
prestige. In fact, these foods have nutritional value and are
wholesome. Many young people feel proud eating pizza, hamburger,
etc., as though they are more cultured eating those foods.

Quite the contrary, I should think that the people who regard
foreign food more prestigious are themselves uncultured. They are
losing their identity. Why? While casting off their own culture,
the adopted culture is not deeply rooted in their lives.

Why don't they realize that our traditional food is far
healthier than the imported dishes which, according to
researchers, are high in cholesterol which is dangerous for the
heart.

FITRIAH SUHARTI

Bandung, West Java