Did anyone else find it funny that people could eat alien food, no problem?
Posted by Icarus367@reddit | TNG | View on Reddit | 115 comments
With all the people on our planet alone who are allergic to peanuts, shellfish, tree nuts, sesame, and numerous other things, to say nothing of gluten intolerances like celiac and lactose intolerance, it's kind of funny that we're to believe that someone could chow down on food from other planets and not at least get a bad case of the runs.
TheBodyIsR0und@reddit
We know that transporters have biofilters which can address certain pathogens within the human body when they're transported. Presumably, this could also be used to filter food for many diseases, allergens, and other contaminants.
FoodExisting8405@reddit
Have you noticed that all women have boobs? By definition, that makes them mammalian. Therefore they can digest milk, at least in infancy.
Technical-Lie-4092@reddit
Not that we care about that in this day and age.
ArcherNX1701@reddit
I got the reference!
WhatYouLeaveBehind@reddit
I immediately thought of this quote
FoodExisting8405@reddit
Oh. I didn’t mean it that way. Lol.
Technical-Lie-4092@reddit
Just an Insurrection reference (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRD9hWqm-sQ)
FoodExisting8405@reddit
😂😂😂
krombough@reddit
Well no, that just means they have glands. And even if they did produce "milk", there is no saying that milk would be compatible with human digestive systems.
That being said, we know in DS9 that a human fetus was transported into a Bajoran uterus, and did fine. So, yeah....
FoodExisting8405@reddit
It’s in the word.
Mammary + mammal
EAE8019@reddit
On Earth mammary equals mammal. Absolutely no reason to think it would apply elsewhere. All it means is the female secretes something.
krombough@reddit
Yes. But thst is based off earthly assuptions, ie that there is a family of species that produce a colloid of fats to feed their young and store that in specific glands.
If we assume the evolution from other planets, as.the.poster is inferring, than there is no reason to assume a species would have mammary glands, and if they did that those glands would.produce milk at all.
Wr suspend our belief because its not feasable, nor desirable, for the shows to cast no women. Further more as our fandom places more emphasis on character interactions than on true science, we want romantic involvements as well.
wentrunningback@reddit
Yeah, all advanced species in alpha stem from the og humanoids that placed them on various planets long ago.
are-e-el@reddit
To think that I can have anything in common with a Cardie spoonhead makes my stomach turn /s
Icarus367@reddit (OP)
Leeta certainly did.
SuchTarget2782@reddit
Venom for days!
BILLCLINTONMASK@reddit
I don't think they descended from a common species. Their life was just seeded with some of that alien DNA. It's a good sci fi story and decent episode, but I'm glad the idea stayed there. It's not really important or useful beyond that.
IronHarrier@reddit
It gets brought up again in the final season of Discovery.
BILLCLINTONMASK@reddit
Miss me with that bs
Fine-Funny6956@reddit
So…. Prometheus.
xenomorphonLV426@reddit
No. Good aliens reference though.
Prestigious_Yak8551@reddit
Get the cheese to sickbay.
mageofroses@reddit
Underrated reference 🏅
internectual@reddit
We're all just cellular peptides when it comes down to it.
Romulan-Jedi@reddit
With mint frosting.
DaddyCatALSO@reddit
presumably there are tests that can be run
AbradolfLincler77@reddit
For every lactose intolerant person, there's thousands that aren't. Same goes for most allergies.
Gummies1345@reddit
Yup, I'm always thinking about it when they drink alien liquids. I'm like, "That could be cyanide or liquid hydrogen for all you know."
Pdog1926@reddit
But first, the tranya!
Icarus367@reddit (OP)
That would have to be a very, very chilled glass or under immense pressure for it to be liquid hydrogen, lol.
Gummies1345@reddit
Yup, and if their were condensed gassy aliens that lived on Jupiter, it'll probably be what they drinking. My point was, just because something is edible or safe for a alien race, does not mean it's ok for all alien races.
CaptainDFW@reddit
Meanwhile, in Eden...
Retinoid634@reddit
What bothered me more was the crew beaming into alien planets and strange ships with no protective gear whatsoever. Not even gloves! No jackets or helmets or goggles. Madness.
CaptainDFW@reddit
See, that was one of the issues I had with TOS:The Enemy Within. Sulu and company are freezing to death, and Spock says they tried to beam-down heaters, but they "duplicated, won't function."
And I'm thinking, "Did you try to beam down JACKETS?!?"
What's the worst case? They duplicate and the landing party gets Good jackets and Evil jackets?!?
budgekazoo@reddit
I'm watching Enterprise for the first time and something I've really liked about it is they seem to frequently wear space suits to unfamiliar places, as well as undergo several hours of acclimation prior to entering foreign (but still livable) environments. They then almost always remove/open the helmets, of course...
TheCouncil8572@reddit
I think the implication is that at that point they didn’t have the same tech that probably gives them some form of light protection plus the transporters later on have (and continue to improve) the biofilters.
Retinoid634@reddit
Yes!!! It just seems like it would be prudent, even if you’re used to bio filters in the transporter. There are multiple episodes where reliance upon this failed them LOL
I think I’m much more triggered and aware of this since the pandemic. But when they just touch things without wearing gloves I always shudder.
clutzyninja@reddit
Thank goodness every inhabited planet is 1G and 1 atmosphere at sea level
Retinoid634@reddit
And most alien races speak decent English.
ijuinkun@reddit
They do scan it before beaming down to ensure that it is tolerable to the crew. Some planets do have noticeably different air and gravity while still being livable—e.g. Vulcan has high enough gravity and thin enough air to easily tire a human.
Darmok47@reddit
"Is there air? You don't know!"
I do like the tac vests from Discovery. And the SNW away team jackets remind me of the ones from Wrath of Khan.
Retinoid634@reddit
YESSSS!
MisticaBelu@reddit
The food replicator could possibly get rid of any allergen
JoeyJoeJoeJrShab@reddit
I have a bigger issue with the ease at which cross-species reproduction can take place
Migrane@reddit
I believe some type of medical intervention is require. In DS9 when Worf and Jadzia are planning to have a baby they have to go to the doctor before they can start trying.
Fyre2387@reddit
In some cases, but not all. Based on Dukat's antics it certainly seems like there's no medical intervention needed for Cardassian/Bajoran hybrids.
Migrane@reddit
What if the Cardassians gave all their soldiers the genetic treatment so they could impregnate Bajorans? It would be messed up but is it a far leap from everything else the Cardassians did?
The_Original_Miser@reddit
My alien .....
\^I'm \^sorry
regeya@reddit
If you think that's weird, canonically every race in Babylon 5 has their own version of Swedish meatballs.
GroundedSatellite@reddit
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
LGBT-Barbie-Cookout@reddit
Na'Kal: "Breen. You've managed to import breen from homeworld. How?"
G'Kar: "It .. isn't actually breen."
Na'Kal: "But the smell, the taste.."
G'Kar: "It's an Earth food. They are called Swedish meatballs. It's a strange thing, but every sentient race has its own version of these Swedish meatballs. I suspect it's one of those great universal mysteries which will either never get explained or which will drive you mad if you ever learned the truth."
greeneggiwegs@reddit
That’s just how widespread ikea is
crapusername47@reddit
Not to be confused with the other kind of Breen.
Useless890@reddit
I guess it got to the point that as long as the food doesn't try to crawl off the plate, try it.
Traditional_Key_763@reddit
they usually at least check with the tricorder. in star trek most of the galaxy seems to have the same dna/proteins enough to be compatible
9CaptainRaymondHolt9@reddit
When Pulaski and Worf do the Klingon tea ceremony, he mentions it's fatal for humans. She takes an antidote.
Icarus367@reddit (OP)
Good pull. Though elsewhere in A Matter of Honor, she says the same stuff is usually fatal to both species.
DBDG_C57D@reddit
I can’t think of anytime food allergies are mentioned in the series but with all their advanced sci-fi medicine that we’ve seen I’m guessing they probably have a way to cure them or in the case of replicated food maybe it produces a hypoallergenic version.
Though I remember in the tea ceremony she mentions that it’s not too good for Klingons either so they must have a tolerance for whatever the toxin is that would harm a human but they’re not immune. In this case I suppose you may have to look out for foods that are still outright toxic for your species but otherwise you’re probably fine eating alien food.
AvailableCandidate12@reddit
It's brought up in Enterprise, but only briefly iirc, Reed is allergic to pineapples and takes a medication that allowed him to eat it
midorikuma42@reddit
>I can’t think of anytime food allergies are mentioned in the series
Probably because food allergies were extremely uncommon when TOS and TNG were flimed. It's only been in the last \~20 years that it seems like every GenZ American has some crazy food allergy. Something's gone way off the rails with Americans' health in the last 2-3 decades (not to mention their mental health).
DBDG_C57D@reddit
Could be. I’m almost 35 and I think I knew like two people as a kid that had peanut allergies and maybe one for shellfish and that was about all I remember hearing about growing up but now you do seem to hear about all kinds of things.
a_tired_bisexual@reddit
Yeah, the replicator is also stated in canon to nutritionally balance meals automatically for the user, it could equally be removing potential allergens between species or making a “Human friendly version”.
XenonSigmaSeven@reddit
only mildly poisonous to Klingons iirc
i believe her wording was "and none too good for Klingons either"
Migrane@reddit
I've had similar thoughts. Humans can ingest chemicals in plants that are usually meant to ward off or kill what eats them. Like caffine, mint or spice. I thought it would be funny if some human characters went to an alien planet and they kept trying to poison them but the humans were loving their cuisine.
midorikuma42@reddit
That would be a nice change of pace actually: usually the humans are depicted as being inferior in every way except cleverness/ingenuity.
WoodenNichols@reddit
On a tangential note, back in the '70s, Mad magazine had a cartoon in which Luke has to use the cantina bathroom. When he walks in the bathroom, there is a bewildering array of devices in a lot of different shapes, etc.
My question was, should the waste from assorted species be combined?
Dudeman325420@reddit
We see that replicators not only convert energy into matter, but they also can convert matter back into energy. After a meal or a drink, the plates and glasses go back into the replicator. So, with replicator tech being the primary means of waste disposal...
Replicated food is made from poop.
Express-Day5234@reddit
Yes, unless the combination creates explosions.
WoodenNichols@reddit
Which was more or less my question. 🤣 Thx.
Used-Gas-6525@reddit
Wasn't there an episode that revealed that all humanoids (Klingons, Betazoids, Vulcans etc) come from a single race? That would explain why they all can breathe the same air, can see the same spectrum of light, can reproduce with each other, etc. It would follow that their diets would be similar if only the fact that we all would need the same basic nutrients. Would there be allergic reactions? Yup, but they have a Hypospray for that undoubtedly. I'm pretty sure they've got dietary restrictions dealt with in the 24th century.
BigConstruction4247@reddit
True, but it's also filtered through millions of years of evolution. Even different species on earth can't all eat the same things. There's loads of things that humans can't eat on earth, but other species can. Off the top of my head, eucalyptus leaves are toxic to humans, but koalas eat them pet much exclusively.
Used-Gas-6525@reddit
Again, 24th century medicine. Think how far medicine has come in the last 400 years or so. They weren't even up to leeches by that point. Pretty much everything was a demon or an evil curse. We didn't know what viruses were until 1900 or so. I think they have food allergies kinda figured out by TNG era.
BigConstruction4247@reddit
Why intentionally eat something toxic? So what if I can go to the doctor and get a hypospray?
I'm not talking about an allergy. If something isn't toxic to one species, it still can be to another. If another species drinks bleach, am I going to? No. Because it's toxic to humans.
Used-Gas-6525@reddit
Has there ever been an instance of food poisoning or one race eating something that would kill other humaniods on ST? I don't remember one, but I'm not 100%..
midorikuma42@reddit
There was the episode with Dr. Pulaski doing the Klingon tea ceremony with Worf.
SuchTarget2782@reddit
Onions kill dogs.
midorikuma42@reddit
Chocolate is poisonous to most animals I think, including cats and dogs.
Cautious_Mongoose399@reddit
You have to remember that most if nearly all food and drink is replicated, not the actual thing. Whatever Starfleet replicators make it out of, that's what they're eating, not the real deal.
ijuinkun@reddit
Troi having to specify “real chocolate” for her order suggests that it does indeed by default leave out anything potentially hazardous.
Cautious_Mongoose399@reddit
Exactly what I meant 👍
ijuinkun@reddit
Like Synthehol, the default replicator settings are to imitate the taste and texture without the “deleterious effects” of the original ingredients. No wonder most people think that the real thing is better, though it’s still better than old school canned/dried rations.
henryhollaway@reddit
I mean, we see them eat the ones its okay for them to eat?
Love2PoopGood@reddit
It's easy for me to believe that they could have solved food allergies and indigestion considering they have eradicated most disease, have teleportation and travel faster than light speed.
Sufficient-Aspect77@reddit
I find it funny that I know what a lot of the fruit that they have in the kitchen is.
Horned Melon and Buddha's Hand is like a staple of the Galley. Lol
Cyke101@reddit
Eh, I'll try any dish once.
HellyOHaint@reddit
Hardly anyone orders alien food at ten forward, they seem to always get what their mom used to make them.
billyhtchcoc@reddit
Ooh, I've had a real hankering for some Kep'mok Bloodticks!
BitcoinMD@reddit
Except aliens, they love the human food
Paul-E-L@reddit
What they don’t show is that gagh often gives humans astounding gas, but there are easily accessible meds to mediate it.
Boetheus@reddit
So...gagh-blockers?
SuchTarget2782@reddit
Gagh-X!
RolandDeepson@reddit
Gotta work on suppressing your gagh reflex.
Paul-E-L@reddit
Ha! I love it. It’s a shame it’s a post scarcity society, because that branding would be worth billions!
strangway@reddit
Most humans have a gagh reflex
ChrisPrattFalls@reddit
Gives me worms
commandrix@reddit
There's some older Star Trek novels that addressed this to an extent. In one, Romulans could get the runs if they weren't careful about eating foods that would be common in the Federation. In another, somebody mentioned that people could regret it if they didn't chew gagh up really good when they tried it.
BigConstruction4247@reddit
They touch on this in The Expanse. There's a group of people who start to settle another planet and they have to bring their own food with them because they don't know what would happen if they tried to eat the native plants or animals.
Cinnamaker@reddit
There's a TNG where they make first contact with a new civilization, and Picard offers the leader a drink he describes as made from grapes from Earth. No one was checking if the alien species might tolerate a new food from Earth. And nothing was holding Kirk back from wanting to making love with an alien who was totally green.
But Trek doesn't get bogged down in real world details, which would just sidetrack and slow down the narrative. Someone needs to go from here to there to interact with another character - we got warp drive, and teleporters. Someone needs to communicate with a new species - we got translators.
Hard science fiction loves the nitty gritty of how you actually and realistically get from point A to point B (like the Expanse show). But Trek is more like what they call soft science fiction
slashystabby@reddit
Captain Carol Freeman did ask why she always gave alien street food a chance whilst having stomach cramps.
pinata1138@reddit
Consider the tech level and progressive nature of the government. Wouldn’t conditions like allergies have been cured?
GipsyDanger79@reddit
Exactly.
EffectiveSalamander@reddit
There was the TOS episode The Way to Eden, which, for all its faults, did have alien fruit that looked good but was toxic.
SnooPaintings5597@reddit
Well they all share similar DNA from the original species.
Greasy-Chungus@reddit
Ya Mass Effect is still the best Sci-fi ever made.
CommitteeofMountains@reddit
I don't think allergies are a problem, as those are the body (miss)recognizing organic compounds. Digesting any of the protein and maybe lipids (could a planet's life store energy as olestra?) properly for nutrition would be the big issue.
Icarus367@reddit (OP)
Yeah, like I said, it could just give people the runs, not necessarily trigger an allergy.
Cool_Butterscotch_88@reddit
Gagh is always best when served live. Would you like something easier? If Klingon food is too strong for you, perhaps we could get one of the females to breast-feed you.
ambiguoustaco@reddit
I would imagine the technology exists to cure allergies. Possibly given to an infant shortly after birth just like several other vaccines
Empathic_Storm@reddit
Maybe they eliminated food allergies & intolerances by the 24th century?
TexanGoblin@reddit
As shown in a couple episodes across multiple episodes, you need to get clearance from a Starfleet doctor to initiate sexual intercourse with a new species, as it has been shown to cause problems when they don't. But it's never mentioned unless its the topic of the episode, so it can be assumed it's something done off screen and isn't mentioned to just save time. It can be assumed food has pretty much the same type of procedures, and we just never see it mentioned.
Immediate-Repeat-201@reddit
HR, but for sex. Riker had them on speed dial.
CyberNinja23@reddit
Riker hits comm badge
Crusher: No it explodes afterwards
Riker:….
Crusher: No I will not replicate you another one
Riker deep in thought…perhaps the Riker manuver…
Sea_Negotiation_1871@reddit
They have vaccines for all that I would imagine.
Deastrumquodvicis@reddit
I’ve often thought that if I were in Starfleet, I’d be asking the nearest CMO “okay, what foods will I not be safe to eat, because I want to try alien cuisine. Yes, even the insectivore ferengi cuisine, I’m a curious person.”
Max_Fill_0@reddit
How about Worf eating Troy's puntang.