Today in “everyone is kind of the worst,” we have the Internet, self-righteous eaters, and the judgment of others. Shall we dig in?
The Telegraph shared one woman’s “day on a plate,” aka a food journal for the entire world to see. The woman, Kara Rosen, is the founder of a cleanse company. So no, we weren’t expecting to find cheeseburgers and disco fries in her day. What did we find instead? Kale salads, tea, rice cakes, and almond milk cappucinos (her indulgence on the weekends).
This did not go over well on Twitter.
Fills hearts with joy when people eat like birds. My Day on a Plate: Kara Rosen, founder of Plenish | via @Telegraph http://t.co/fGuck930OT
— WEARYOURVOICEMAG (@WearYourVoice) January 17, 2015
So everyone decided to jump in with their own “calorie counts” and food diaries.
I've done the maths.The calorific content of my "Day on a Plate" is *slightly*higher than Kara's:
(/@anitathetweeter) pic.twitter.com/8WDQnWOjdK
— Gaz Weetman (@GazWeetman) January 14, 2015
It gets weirder.
Cool, they finally printed my day on a plate. pic.twitter.com/d2fFuLnfUt
— Steve Hogarty (@misterbrilliant) January 14, 2015
And stupider.
My Day On A Plate, Banker Edition
http://t.co/9BziFW2JyT pic.twitter.com/pxAAwrVHCH
— The Poke (@ThePoke) January 19, 2015
My Day on a Plate. pic.twitter.com/D7YFR86wvN
— JamieDMJ (@JamieDMJ) January 14, 2015
And judgier.
My Day on a Plate….@anitathetweeter pic.twitter.com/VsHNkGFqin
— Dave Jones (@WelshGasDoc) January 13, 2015
In fairness to Kara Rosen, we can't all have a 'my day on a plate' like Hunter S Thompson did pic.twitter.com/CFdYhvzAZ7
— Tom McArthur (@TomMcArthur) January 16, 2015
My "day on a plate" pic.twitter.com/QjMH5JvRDv
— Craig Deeley (@craiguito) January 14, 2015
My Day On A Plate #dayonaplate pic.twitter.com/fenpYhSbet
— Bill Wetzel (@billthebutcher2) January 16, 2015
Self deprecating humor at its best, food shaming at its worst.
It’s a funny thing, this Internet. We’re gleefully horrified by things like truffle-topped White Castle burgers and “ramlets” and dessert hybrids (hello, Nutelasagna) but then judgmental and condescending towards people (oh wait, WOMEN) who eat right. Sure, kale salads don’t always show up on our plate, and almond milk cappucinos are like, our everyday order. But who are we to count someone else’s calories?
It’s a pervasive, idealistic jealousy to want to know “how she does it,” how someone can live on chia seeds alone. (Why do you think everyone’s bothering Christina Tosi so much?) The Internet opens the door wide open for judgment and criticism, especially when it comes to food. As if we’re doctors and can obviously tell whether someone has eaten too much or too little. So can we just all cool it and eat whatever is on the plate in front of us?
/rant
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