You must have experienced a side to Czech food that I never did, and the post is not about being fiercely protective of cultural traditions. All foods are based upon local culture and conditions, and if Czech food comes from poverty and deprivation then it is no different than most. I ate a lot of good Czech food while in Prague, and fried cheese was but a small part of the cuisine. I am 'crying' about the loss of traditional simple foods, pushed aside in the wake of generic processed food. The Czechs eat plenty of vegetables, unlike the current Brits who have generally adopted an American-style diet.

I am curious as to why you'd say the Japanese are far more globalized? It's not an attribute that instantly comes to mind when I think of Japan (nor Hong Kong or Sweden, for that matter).

There are PLENTY of cultural contributions that both nations can offer the world. Food doesn't necessarily have to be one of them.

I've been to the Czech Republic many times and have always been disgusted with the food there (and I'm a confirmed vegetarian). Most of their food is the result of centuries-old poverty and deprivation. Now that the country is relatively prosperous and has access to far healthier items from not-too-far away, should they really be frying their cheese?

If they want to live to 68 years old, then sure. If they want to live until their 80s like (far more globalized) Japanese, Hong Kongese and Swedes, then they might want to develop a taste for things that are naturally green. And they might want to learn cooking techniques beyond frying everything in oil.

I will never understand why people are so fiercely protective of every single cultural tradition. Some of them are not worth keeping. (Genital mutilation is another that might go the way of history, in my opinion).

Interesting that you worked at Radost, I didn't know it went back that far. It certainly must have seemed ahead of its time in 92

Anyways, if you are in Prague and haven't tried smazeny syr yet, I highly recommend going to the clubs and then hitting the Non-Stop at Masarykovo Nadrazi at two or three in the morning. It's... an experience. Smazeny syr is best eaten after much alcohol...

Rushing home after a day's work leaves little appetite for time consuming old fashioned cooking. Even if you have a nanny who may have the time to prepare the meal, it's likely that she'll know only how to dish up something from her home country.

The other influence has been the media. The trend for dieting, in other words, eat less/eat healthily (read: salads), and adverts like, and I paraphrase "our chilled meals leave you time to live your life", have all changed our culture.

In other words, we no longer have the same values that our parents had. Culturally, we are different, ever more "American" (horror of horrors) as American culture dominates the globe through film and television.