Why this word is great
GASTRONATIONALISM — [Noun] The assertion of cultural ownership of types of food by a particular nation. Coined in 2010 by Michaela DeSoucey, from gastro- ("relating to food or digestion") + nationalism ("advocacy of political independence for a particular country"). Unlike "culinary diplomacy" (which wields food as a bridge between nations) or "food globalization" (which celebrates the porous blending of traditions), gastronationalism erects fences around the table. It is the French decreeing that only Champagne from Champagne is Champagne, the South Korean government petitioning UNESCO to recognize kimchi as intangible cultural heritage, or the Italian politician decrying "foreign" pasta shapes—a gastronomic flag-planting that betrays both pride and fear, the simmering anxiety that identity, too, might dissolve if left unstirred.