food preferences are perhaps the most familiar aspect of ethnocentrism. every culture has developed preferences for certain kinds of food and drink, and equally strong negative attitudes toward others. it is interesting to note that much of this ethnocentrism is in our head not in our tongues, for something can taste delicious until we are told what it is. For example, people being fed a meal of snake or horse meat or something repugnant in america culture and commenting on how tasty it is until they are told what they have just eaten, upon which they turn green and hurriedly ask to be excused from table. in southeast Asia, for instance, the majority of adults do not drink milk. to many american it is inconceivable that people in other parts of the world do not drink milk since it is natural food. in china, dog meat is a delicacy, but the thought of eating dog is enough to make most americans feel sick. this is a part of a cultural pattern. Americans keep dogs as pets and tend to think of dogs as almost human. therefore, they would not dream of eating meat. on the other hand, americans do not feel affection for cows or pigs, and they eat their meat without feeling of regret. in india, a cow receive this kind of care. the attitude of indians toward eating beef is similar to americans' feeling about eating dog meat. on the other hand, in china dog are not treated as kindly as they are in the united states. Since they are not pets, the attitude of chinese people toward dogs is similar to americans' attitude toward cows.