Do Irish Famine memorials count ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_memorials_to_the_Great_Famine#United_States

UNESCO has already recognized the traditional cuisines of France and Mexico as Intangible Cultural Assets, and there are many reasons why Japan’s own rich culinary heritage should receive similar international honor. Japan’s application mentions French and Mexican cuisines, so it would be difficult to argue that efforts to promote Japan’s foodways mark a failure to recognize significant food cultures outside of its borders.

Some might automatically criticize the impulse to preserve any Tradition, but in this case the definition of tradition provided by the Ministry of Culture, i.e, the “traditional dietary culture of the Japanese” (washoku), is open to interpretation. Japan’s UNESCO application acknowledges regional variations in Japanese dietary culture as defined by local communities, rather than making an attempt to project a particular image of the Japanese diet backward historically or horizontally today to quash diversity, which could be the fear were a more restrictive definition of Japan’s traditional dietary culture deployed.

Rather than being pointlessly cynical, we should applaud the effort to gain further international recognition for Japan’s diverse local food culture, which is generally more healthy than other options, and not widely known outside of Japan, judging from the menus of “Japanese” restaurants internationally that restrict themselves to sushi, sashimi, and tempura.

To some, noh and kabuki might seem more logical recipients of UNESCO designations than something as mundane as food, but unlike traditional theater, which might amuse us, food becomes us. So all of us should endeavor to eat better and locally taking inspiration from the Japanese example in this case.

Eric C. Rath
University of Kansas