French Toast

There is a secret you were never told. It affects your daily life, yet you have no idea about it.

A lot of the food you eat is disabled.

How does that make you feel? Does your food taste any worse? Are you going to stop eating?

No, because regardless of its shape or size, the food still tastes the same to you.

In the French toast community, we are aware that at any moment we may be changed permanently with one misstep of a fork. Despite this loss of our perfect shape, we remain secure in the knowledge that we will still be enjoyed by some hungry person. So, if our change in shape does not matter to the consumer, why would we care? As long as we accomplish the purpose we were born to do, we are perfectly okay.

However in the human world, someone having a disability is a big deal because society makes them feel as if they can no longer accomplish anything just because of their circumstances. An easy counterexample to this is Stephen Hawking; he is one of the greatest minds of our time even though he has lived with ALS for the majority of his life. This is not to say that all disabled people can accomplish as much as Stephen Hawking, but they still need to be told that they can. If we start treating disability as “normal,” then the disabled will not feel burdened and they will be able to live their life to the fullest. They still have the same talents and they should still have the same opportunity to contribute to society.

Bread

Bread is one of the most basic foods we eat and is a  symbol of many different ideas.  

When Asagi christens Beneatha as "Alaiyo" or "one for whom bread – food – is not enough", it is truly an apt description of her character. Bread used to be the staple food in the diets of ancient civilizations and because of this bread can be interpreted as a symbol of substance or life. So, Asagi essentially describes Beneatha as someone for whom life by itself is not satisfying enough. This is true because she is always questioning her surroundings, and she constantly changes from hobby to hobby such as horseback riding, acting lessons, and guitar lessons. This shows Asagi's high opinion of her because he believes that she is an intellectual person just like him and this is why he is attracted to her. Her journey of fulfillment and self-expression is mocked by others in the family, but she still wants to broaden her mind.  

In the Bible, bread is also used to symbolize a financial investment. This correlates to Walter because he wants to invest in a liquor store that he believes will bring money to the family. The other side of Beneatha's nickname is that it also applies to Walter because he is also not satisfied by his life and he wants to be more successful. For both of them, their bread is their way of life or the ghetto. Since they are both not satisfied with this, they want to use the check to escape their current lives and to explore the world further. Thus, the nickname given by Asagi shows how Walter and Beneath are simply two sides of the same coin.  

Eggs

I come in many different shapes and sizes: hard-boiled, sunny side up, scrambled, and poached are just a few.  

Although I am just a food, I am a symbol of  new life and the cyclic nature of humanity. I am also a symbol of fertility as people used to eat me to ensure that they would be blessed with children. To many, I have a religious significance because I am painted during Easter in order to symbolize the emergence of Jesus. My yolk represents inner beauty and the light people contain on the inside.  

When Ruth tells Walter to "eat his eggs", he gets upset because he believes that she is preventing him from accomplishing his dreams. This is very ironic because Walter is preventing Beneatha from accomplishing her dreams of becoming  doctor by taking the check. Not only does he do this, but also he implies her dream is not achievable because she is a woman by saying "ain't many girls who decide to be a doctor." Since the eggs symbolize new life and doctors are the protectors of life, he hates to see his American Dream deferred in favor of Beneatha's.  He is against eating the eggs because it means that he would  have to accept the way his life is and that he wouldn't be able to change it. Also, gender roles are enforced because Ruth is the one who is cooking while Walter laments his situation. Since eggs show female fertility, Ruth is expected to show Walter that she has eggs because women only had worth once they had proved that they could have children. Eventually, this results in Ruth's pregnancy and her desire to have an abortion.  

Pastry Pigs and Turkeys

"On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold" (Fitzgerald 40). 

In Gatsby's parties his wealth is always ostentatiously displayed, and this instance is no exception. Hors d'oeuvre are typically served for very rich people, and in Gatsby's parties they are also glistening.

Also, the hams are crowded which shows Gatsby's tendency to always strive for the maximum quantity and not settle. The fact that the salads have a harlequin design shows how the salads are more for show than they are for actual eating; thus, Fitzgerald reveals how one of the central ideas of the 1920's was style over substance. Additionally, the turkeys were bewitched to a dark gold which creates an image of the turkeys having a spell cast upon them by a witch who turned them gold. It almost elevates the status of the turkey just because it has reached this magnificent gold color. The word bewitched suggests that the turkeys reached that color unnaturally, which is similar to the illegal way in which Gatsby came into his fortune.

This sentence is a hyperbole because no one actually has this kind of opulence at parties, and Fitzgerald is mocking Americans for believing that wealth will solve their problems. Despite this being a hyperbole, people completely ignore Fitzgerald's mocking tone and attempt to live the lavish lifestyle of Gatsby by throwing Gatsby-themed parties because they are so obsessed with the lifestyle of the twenties. This ignorance shows humanity's propensity to emulate the rich despite Fitzgerald trying to show us the superficiality of Gatsby's life.  

Caviar

How much do you make? What kind of car do you own? How big is your house? These questions paint a picture of one of the most important qualities in modern society. Status. Status alone can determine several aspects of our lives, such as where we study, the people we know, and the food we eat.  

Since I am caviar, this social hierarchy is very visible to me.

I am seen as a symbol of wealth because only the rich have the privilege of enjoying me. However, even among caviar there is a hierarchy; Almas caviar is more expensive than American caviar. Thus, a hierarchy breeds more hierarchies. For instance, if I have a mansion, there most likely will be someone else with a superior mansion. Despite my wealth, I will be saddened at the fact that what I have is not the best and I will desire the mobility to move upwards and have a better mansion. This proves humanity's desire to constantly have more and never be satisfied and reveals that "all they think of is money." This mentality leads to those at the top of the scale not being able to relate to those below them. All of us are supposed to created equal (s/o to Neil Garg), yet we are not. The environment in which we are born in can shape the rest of our lives. Some may argue that despite where we are born, our destiny is entirely in our hands. However, this is not true because there are so many factors that we do not have control over, such as the education available in the area or the presence of community leaders. Status by definition is a social construct because it depends on the status of those around you. The class divides that exist among both humans and food must be decreased if we are to have an equal society.  

An Ugly Tomato

We don’t always get what we want. This is a sad truth to life that is often realized too late. However, we cannot be punished for what we do not have, especially when it comes at no fault of our own. Yet, society often finds a way to punish those non-conformists who do not strive to achieve the “ideal” quality.

Every year, “6 billion pounds of perfectly edible produce is wasted every year” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/19/food-waste-ugly-fruits-and-vegs-dont-judge_n_7309432.html) only because that produce is deemed ugly. As an ugly tomato, this greatly saddens me to know that so many of my brothers and sisters are being thrown away simply because someone can’t bear to look at them. 

Me

In fact, many of these fruits are still perfectly good on the inside but no one wants then simply because of their exterior. If you think about it, the way that produce is bought is so messed up. Fruit is only judged by the brightness of its color and its shape. Consumers don’t care about what is inside, when in reality, that is the only part that truly matters in terms of flavor. Also, some fruits have access to good sprays that makes them look shinier and hormones that make them fuller in shape. So, the status of a fruit directly affects its perceived beauty. How can fruit be judged based on its outside appearance when something so dependent on luck as status is can have consequences on it?  The fact that we are even called waste is psychologically threatening as “our waste” is “dumped” on the grounds of society (205). All we are seen as is a waste of space and a mistake or an imperfection in the system.  Humanity is so hypocritical; you preach that beauty standards are detrimental to society, yet you force the same upon fruits. So, I urge you, the next time you are in a store please buy an "ugly" fruit and maybe it’ll turn out to be the best one you’ve ever had.

Ramen Lives Matter

I’m tired of ramen getting a bad rep. Everyone thinks that we can’t be like caviar, or that we can’t be the most glamorous meal out there. It’s disappointing that whenever someone looks at ramen, they automatically assume that a college student on a low-budget is eating it; they assume we are a food made for poor people. Also, our native Japanese culture has disappeared as America has created “instant ramen.” Apparently, eating too much of us can cause disease. According to many, we are a poor among the rich variety of foods that exist today. Have you ever seen ramen as a gourmet food or portrayed as something to be appreciated? No.

Everyone thinks of this when ramen is mentioned:

Although, we can look like this:

We need to be metacognitive and recognize that the way we think about ramen is messed up. That last picture is probably surprising because you’ve never seen gourmet ramen in your life before. How strange is it that such a main food is not usually seen on the cover of major food magazines? All that people see is the most delicate Italian pasta or the perfect salad. Imagine how that makes all of the little ramen feel. They grow up with no hope because they have never seen anyone that looks like them ascend to food stardom. Many of my friends “believed that they were ugly”(38) or that they weren’t good enough. This is a sad reality of the way life works and it needs to be changed. We must realize that ramen can be appreciated for its value, ramen can be powerful, and ramen must be listened to if we do not wish to alienate a large member of food society.