From Chinese to Italians and beyond, maligning a culture via its foods is a longtime American habit 

By Deepti Hajela 

The day after Donald Trump spoke about migrants eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, Saeed Ahmed suggested a story placing the question of denigrating cultures through their food into historical context.  

Trends + Culture writer Hajela jumped on the idea and, within a cycle, completed a source-rich and context-rich story about how insulting cultures — particularly immigrant ones — by what and how they eat was “as American as apple pie.” The story was out while people were still discussing the first blushes of the controversy and added some much-needed foundational facts to the debate. 

MSN and ABC News featured it prominently on their websites for several hours, and it was showcased by Press Trust of India. 

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