Joel,

> as for advocating certain positions, well, i don't claim to have spent
much
> time absorbing the culture of this list, so if i'm being offensively sure
of
> myself, i apologize.  i know that when it comes to food, all kinds of
weird
> tribal allegiances come into play.  food seems to be a marker for the
Other,
> who is generally suspect.

That's OK.  I'm offensively unsure of myself, which is probably worse.
What do you mean by "food seems to be a marker for the Other"?

Mark