For the same reason I wouldn’t willingly get stung by most stinging insects. It’s an unpleasant and unnecessary sensation.

Why do some people feel a need to pressure people to do things that make them uncomfortable? Who am I hurting by choosing what I eat?

I’m a somewhat picky eater, not to the extreme that some are but I do limit myself to foods I am sure I will like.

I’m autistic and have sensory issues. I also have a tendency to throw up a lot. I need to choose safe food that I know won’t make me gag and that I’m sure I can physically eat

Reading through all the replies, I’m getting the sense that perhaps your coworker is a bit racist but you did a poor job explaining that in your post. Your post comes across as judgemental of all people who avoid certain foods because you did a bad job of explaining that you meant people who avoid foods because of cultural prejudice. I don’t think you’ll find many people on lemmy who are prejudice against other cultures. I’m not sure what answer you expected. There are some who are just racist, others who may not be racist but just don’t trust food they aren’t familiar with because they’re unsure what’s in it.

I think most people avoid certain foods because they either have a medical condition, ethical concerns, or sensory sensitivity. It sounds like you were looking for an answer from the few who are just racist and I’m not sure what explanation you were expecting for their prejudice.

I cook meals from other cultures a lot but I have to be sure I like all the ingredients first.

no rawish shellfish, or some fishes. the textures is to gagging.

Not picky. allergies. But it is the real assholes sure love to treat those with allergies like we’re just picky.

either way: what i chose to eat and like is none of all your damned business.

hey. get off my ass.

Every now and then I’ll eat food that I didn’t like the last time I tried them. I still don’t like pickles, mustard, eggplant, etc. and might never like them. There are other foods I don’t like the texture of, e.g. seafood with rubbery textures. There are other foods I don’t try because they just sound fucking gross, e.g. chicken feet. I understand the arguments for trying chicken feet, but it’s a psychological thing preventing me from trying them. My brain just doesn’t want a fucking chicken foot in my mouth. There are other foods that I’ve tried and might have even enjoyed, but I don’t want to create more demand for that food for one reason or another. I’m fond of ducks. Ducks taste good, but I want ducks to live. I’m increasingly fond of cows, which are delicious, so I rarely eat beef now. I’ve had foie gras and I will never have it again. Geese are assholes but they don’t deserve what humans do to them in order to make foie gras.

I don’t eat seafood because I have a weird hypersensitivity to it. Normally I can’t taste anything subtle, but even the slightest bit of seaweed sets off my receptors in an unpleasant way. The smell of seafood alone makes my stomach turn. It’s like the feeling when you realize what you just ate was spoiled.

If I try to eat something I don’t like, I’ll throw up. It’s a waste of money and food, and gross for anyone around me.

I reject the tone of this question because I wasn’t given a choice in my sensory issues and you turning it into a mortal judgement about me is fucked up.

Imo the modern picky eater is a byproduct of food abundance. Acquired tastes were pretty necessary for survival until fairly recently. That said for the life of me I cannot make natto palatable no matter how hard I try

Why would I force myself to eat something I will not enjoy. I will try a bit but I am not lrdering stuff I don’t like the sound of.

Sometimes the smell which often relates to taste is the first indicator of something tasting not to my liking but if I know I don’t like something (eg mushrooms, I hate those, both taste and texture) I am not willing to try anything involving large quantitiey of said foodstuff

Our boss got us Vietnamese food for lunch last week and one of the AP people was just going around the table saying “oh, no, I don’t like tofu, oh no I don’t like the noodles oh no I don’t like those buns oh no I don’t like those wraps” in a very judgemental sounding voice, I think they ended up with a plate of white rice.

Have never noticed what they eat for lunch but now I am wondering.

I do think a good palate is something you have to learn, and enjoying flavors and textures is something I taught my kids and something I value but:

Some people are supertasters and can’t handle anything strong - it’s like living with a bunch of hard of hearing people who yell so they can hear each other, but it hurts your ears.

And some people did not get exposed to new textures and flavors at the right time when they were young, that’s the fault of their parents.

And I don’t think anyone likes everything, if they do I would wonder if they even liked food or just didn’t care. But I’m trying to think of something I wouldn’t at least try? I guess if it smelled bad or looked extremely unappetizing I’d pass. I can imagine rare steak falling into “unappetizing looking” for someone. Not me, but someone.

Also - I have a coworker who likes and is knowledgeable about wine but so picky and limited with food, he went to Japan and ate chicken tenders! So we had a challenge last year - I said I would try wines to find some I like if he would try new foods to find some he likes. I won but he did find several new vegetables that he had never eaten but likes now. So sure sometimes it is simply unfamiliarity.

My only “picky” trait is that I don’t want to eat any reheated food. Gotta eat food made the same day