สำนักงานราชบัณทิตยสภา

The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume IV - 2012 146  Introduction Food has become a regular topic in academia, public policy, and mass media. In big cities, consumers have easy access to gourmet and exotic foods, ethnic cookbooks, high-end cookware, cooking shows, eating and cooking contests, culinary tours, and even food exhibits in museums (Lockwood, Long, 2009: 92). Food choice is a multidimensional consumer decision making activity. Typically, consumers perceive their native food more favourably; thereby, adoption of ethnic foods is primarily correlated with their openness to new cultures (Verbeke, Lopez, 2005: 823), as well as opportunities to exchange cultures (Bryant et al., 2003). In the United States, food products intensely compete with functional elements, such as nutrition factors, fl avour, and presentation. The level of Thai food adoption thus depends upon how Americans perceive Thai culture and Thai food products, especially when comparing with their set of values and norms. As portrayed in Figure 1, if cultural symbolism and appreciation are in alignment during the acculturation process, symbolic meaning will add surplus values to increase satisfaction and motivate Americans to adopt new cultures or unfamiliar products. Undeniably, American culture, as the host culture, often overpowers the guest cultures, like Thai culture, as the number of Thai immigrants and the proportion of Thai food consumption among Americans are negligible. Figure 1 Cultural symbolism, acculturation, appreciation, and adoption of Thai food products Thai Food: A Gateway to Cultural Understanding