This "Improved" And "Modernized" Congee Is Getting All Sorts Of Reactions From The Internet
Beakfast Cure, a breakfast brand company based in Oregon, has stirred controversy online as they created an improved version of congee for the Western palate. Asian-Americans are calling the company out for cultural appropriation and whitewashing, and since then, Breakfast Cure has issued an apology.
Here's what you need to know:
Who is Breakfast Cure and Karen?
Karen Taylor is the founder of Breakfast Cure, also dubbed as the "Queen of Congee" on the Breakfast Cure website but since the congee scandal, it has been changed to "Founder."
Karen Taylor is a licensed acupuncturist who, around 25 years ago, was in Chinese medical school in New Mexico and she was introduced to the concept of slow-cooking grains and how through this process, it becomes easily digestible.Â
She started Breakfast Cure and created prepackaged porridges that are based on ancient tradition and some, her own creations.
What is this Westernized congee?
Breakfast Cure sells packets of congee in different flavors-referred to as "bowls of zen."
As of writing, they have Apple Cinnamon, Coconut Blueberry Bliss, Golden Spice, Karen's Kitchari, Mano & Stick Rice, Masala Chai Spice, Mega-Omega, Om Berry, Pear-Fection, Pineapple Paradise, Romano Bean Dream, Tangled Up in Blueberry, and Three Treasures. All are priced at 14.95 dollars per pack.
Majority of what's being sold by Breakfast Cure are on the fruity side. There the Om Berry that includes Oregon blueberries and Oregon cranberries; Pear-Fection which includes organic peat; and Pineapple Paradise which has organic pineapple; and the Tangled Up in Blueberry which has organic blueberries.
Call out for whitewashing
Asian-Americans are calling out Breakfast Cure for whitewashing and cultural appropriation. A Twitter user by the name of Casey Ho posted screenshots of Breakfast Cure's Instagram posts and captioned, "So a group of colonizers decided to culturally appropriate congee. Good lord."
One of the replies to Casey Ho's tweet argues, "Can we as a society stop with the name-calling? Yes, it is an abomination to congee, but that can happen ANYWHERE in the world, including the place of origin for the food. Most of the food we eat in contemporary life was created like this in the last couple centuries."
Breakfast Cure apologizes
Breakfast Cure has since then apologized through a post on their Instagram account. See the statement below:
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