The Spice Trade Redux: Singapore's Modern Culinary Colonialism Centuries ago, colonial powers sailed to Southeast Asia , drawn by the allure of spices. They extracted the region's natural wealth, repackaged it, and sold it back to the world, reaping immense profits while the sources of that wealth remained exploited. Today, a new, more subtle version of this enterprise is underway, and the new colonial masters are closer to home. This is the spice trade redux : a modern form of culinary colonialism where Singapore's powerful food conglomerates are expanding across the region, appropriating local cuisines, and selling a sanitized, mass-produced version to the global market. Singapore, once a colonial port, has become the colonizer. Our position as a global finance and logistics hub has empowered our corporations to venture into neighboring countries, identify culinary trends, and extract them like raw resources. This is not a respectful celebration of regional flavors; it ...