Providing food for thought on myths, rumors
Print Edition
In a country where food taboos are as rich as the culinary culture, you may get a well-meaning warning if you ask for fruit after a crab feast.
Crab, according to Chinese folk sayings, will cause diarrhea when eaten with persimmon, and the list of its incompatible partners — if regional varieties of the legend are counted — also includes grapes, pears among many.
Likewise, many other food pairings are described as harmful by the “conflict food” theory, including eggs and soya milk, and honey and Chinese onions. The idea is so popular in China that it appears in cookbooks, talk shows and even the “10 health tips” posted on the walls of some community clinics.
But a group of Chinese science writers is determined to debunk folk wisdom.
Taboos are groundless
On Guokr.com, a popular science website, the conflict food theory is listed among the most widespread myths concerning daily life.
“In fact, most food pairing taboos are groundless,” said Xu Lai, the site’s chief editor. “Back in 1935, Chinese scientists conducted experiments to discredit such myths.”
One explanation for the crab and persimmon myth may be that persimmon contains tannic acid, which can cause stomachache in excess, while crabs are prone to rotting. But the risks are the same whether eaten together or separately, an article on Guokr explains.
On Guokr, experts scrutinize “ancient wisdom” and pseudoscience, debunking rumors like “a super moon will cause super earthquakes.”
In August, Guokr became the first comprehensive science website to join Beijing’s anti-rumor website alliance, which is guided by the city’s Internet regulators and mainly consists of media and web portals.
Ji Xiaohua, CEO and founder of Guokr, said the website has been an assembly of young scientists and techies who can aid in the battle against the proliferation of rumors that seem plausible but contradict scientific common sense.
“Many rumors are cleverly packaged with new technologies and novel ideas, making it difficult for people without scientific backgrounds to recognize them as rumors,” Ji said.
One example is a recent online post, citing a paper published in the Journal of Environmental Sciences, that said tap water in China is polluted by contraceptives due to excessive use of the drugs in aquaculture.
The post, by Dong Liangjie, who claims to be an environmental protection expert, went viral on the Sina Weibo microblog.
Guokr contacted the author of the paper, Jiang Weiwei, who through the site accused Dong of misinterpreting his study.
The most common rumors Guokr deals with relate to food safety and public health, accounting for nearly half of more than 1,000 rumors collected by the website.
“The government should improve the overall situation of food safety and restore public confidence so rumors will eventually lose followers,” said Fan Hesheng, sociology professor at Anhui University.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
