[Zesavenue]

Great, thought provoking clip.

Not withstanding the ill-conceived conclusions regarding the pursuit of "Universal Principles of Food" I consider the value of diversity here, in the US to be much different than that in a more culturally-rich Europe.

With the possible exception of more trendy pop-culture, citizens of the US are probably less attached to inherent US culture characteristics because ... well ... there are none. More than any country in the world, we are a country of immigrants and as such our culture reflects that of the countries from which our family emigrated. This in turn SHOULD create a greater tolerance for diversity and in fact does on the coasts and great harbor ports where immigration is most dynamic.

In contrast, countries like Italy, France, and Spain have richer indigenous cultures which have been formulated over thousands of years. There is a stronger cultural indentity in those countries which is reflected in the association of culture to National pride and in turn a resistance to diversity.