Nashville Nigiri: is the spread of sushi to middle-class American malls a good globalization story?
Thankfully, The Sushi Economy never entirely loses sight of its larger themes. Issenberg views sushi’s spread as confirmation that “a virtuous global commerce and food culture can exist”–in other words, that people can enjoy their toro without screwing over another community some several thousand miles away. He naturally credits this to the free market and technological progress, but also to genuine human decency. Since fishing is such an uncertain business, many of the deals that keep the sushi trade afloat depend on trust, often between two parties who don’t share the same continent, let alone the same language. Yet the system works, Issenberg contends, because all societies share the inborn knack for commerce–not to mention the flexibility necessary to adapt foreign cuisine for local palates.
