Memes

Sure, it's absolutely a cultural thing. If you look back to what I said originally, I specified people in North America. I'm aware that it's different in other cultures and I agree. The fermented food thing is interesting too, like, cheese... okay, we'll squirt some stuff out of a large mammal's breasts, leave it sitting around in a cave to be digested by bacteria for a while, then consume it with great joy. And of course, some cultures like China don't consume milk or cheese at all (last I knew), while in nearby Mongolia, fermented yak's milk is popular. On some level that would be horrifying, such as I am horrified by 'stinky tofu' but I love bleu cheese. I also have similar feelings about oysters and clams, like, why would I eat this bizarre weird bug living on the bottom of a lake?

So really what I mean is it's interesting how people have such firm feelings and beliefs about what sort of food is appetizing or not based on culture. It's essentially all upbringing, societal pressure, familiarity and habit, and nothing at all about rationality.