11 votes

Netflix’s ‘Street Food’ reveals a thriving and threatened culture

5 comments

  1. [5]
    feigneddork
    Link
    Man I watched this documentary a few weeks back and it really made me want to engage with the street food vendor community. Literally all of the vendors shown on Netflix had some interesting story...

    Man I watched this documentary a few weeks back and it really made me want to engage with the street food vendor community.

    Literally all of the vendors shown on Netflix had some interesting story to tell and how it's carved the way for their passion. It's a shame it's being stomped out because it adds so much character to these places that I wouldn't even bother thinking about visiting.

    I wonder if tourism will increase thanks to the documentary. Does the government even care about tourism to justify the street food vendors?

    3 votes
    1. alyaza
      Link Parent
      usually if there's significant viewership for these sorts of things, yes and yes, often because people go and seek out the things they saw and governments are then incentivized to preserve them....

      I wonder if tourism will increase thanks to the documentary. Does the government even care about tourism to justify the street food vendors?

      usually if there's significant viewership for these sorts of things, yes and yes, often because people go and seek out the things they saw and governments are then incentivized to preserve them. kazakhstan for example hated borat because of its less-than-flattering portrayal of the place until it gave them an influx of tourism because it was a relatively popular film and the first a lot of people had heard of the place, at which point they embraced it. similar things tend to happen with other popular media that cause influxes of tourism like that.

      1 vote
    2. [3]
      NaraVara
      Link Parent
      I can kind of see both sides of it. On the one hand, it's a great opportunity for entrepreneurship and having carts that can pop up wherever ads a lot of vitality to spaces that would otherwise be...

      Literally all of the vendors shown on Netflix had some interesting story to tell and how it's carved the way for their passion. It's a shame it's being stomped out because it adds so much character to these places that I wouldn't even bother thinking about visiting.

      I can kind of see both sides of it. On the one hand, it's a great opportunity for entrepreneurship and having carts that can pop up wherever ads a lot of vitality to spaces that would otherwise be empty. On the other hand, health and sanitation issues are a serious concern. Especially with regard to disposal of food waste. It can create serious vermin problems for the people who live around there if the vendors aren't being fastidious. Plus that makes no mention of the pressures on infrastructure. They occupy sidewalk space that might make it harder for people to get around, especially people with disabilities. Then there are other issues like cooking oil going down the storm drains, packaging material littering the area, etc.

      I think the solution would be to build out designated zones where the vendors can operate. Every street corner should have some, the corner should have lean-to space that doesn't occupy the foot-traffic area, and they should provide adequate disposal space and street cleaning. But that all adds cost. . .

      1 vote
      1. [2]
        feigneddork
        Link Parent
        I had no idea about the issues that you mentioned. I just assumed what you proposed as a solution was already the case. It makes sense in that case that these street vendors aren't seen so...

        I had no idea about the issues that you mentioned. I just assumed what you proposed as a solution was already the case. It makes sense in that case that these street vendors aren't seen so favourably.

        I wonder how much of it is an economics thing - i.e. the cost of all the things you've mentioned is greater than the street vendor's "value" and hence why governments are trying to curb it.

        1. NaraVara
          Link Parent
          A lot of it is just growing pains. These economies are still developing and things like vermin, crowded streets, and crumbling infrastructure have just been accepted as par for the course. As...

          A lot of it is just growing pains. These economies are still developing and things like vermin, crowded streets, and crumbling infrastructure have just been accepted as par for the course. As people have gotten richer and more wordly (experience with developed and regulated countries both on TV, the internet, and through travel), their standards have gotten higher.

          1 vote