Sorry, You've Been Influenced
From the Menu archives. Originally published July 2021.
When it comes to food, marketing gets a bad reputation. Deservedly so, when the Sugar Association funded research that downplayed the risks of sugar and highlighted the risks of fat. And when you think about how Nestle hired saleswomen to wear nurses’ uniforms at hospitals to hand out free infant formula to new mothers.
Pretty unforgivable transgressions.
But one could argue that some of this marketing power has been used for good… right?
For instance, today I learned that the popularization of kale within the past 10 years was arguably achieved through great marketing. The story goes that the American Kale Association hired soap-star-turned-publicist Oberon Sinclair to make kale cool. Or... in actuality, it looks like Sinclair invented the American Kale Association (?).
I’m not against fruits and vegetables getting better marketing, but it feels funny when the origins are suss. Like in this Paper Magazine interview, when asked whether kale has made her rich, Sinclair had this to say:
Are you rich from Kale?
"I am richer knowing that I have helped to promote a vegetable that is healthy for you."
That interview was from nearly 6 years ago. Asked what fresh produce she’s currently promoting, she said it was the acai berry.
And how many of us have since added acai bowls to our snack/treat diets in the recent years? *Raises hand shyly.*
Yeah. I’ve been influenced. And I’m willing to bet that you have, too.
And are we ok with this?
🍰 Petits Fours
Four bite-sized blurbs linking to interesting content.
🔹 Is Internet Receipt Culture Our Undoing? “…despite our collective obsession with proof, we don’t appear to be moving closer to the truth.”
🔸 Interview with Brittani Warrick, creative director: “They’re like, 'Oh, well, Whitney Houston is your cousin, Dionne Warwick’s your aunt… So you’re a singer, right?' Sort of like, oh, let’s do music. So for the longest time I felt like I didn’t know who I was.”
🔹 One man’s eulogy for his father: “Hurry up. And have fun. Hurry up and have fun.”
🔸 Conversations are the core of online community engagement: “Talking about something that people don’t expect or want to talk about is just like speaking to them in a language they don’t understand: it’s a waste of their time as much as yours.”
🍹Classic Margarita
I suck at making margaritas. A Twitter friend, @StefanSomborac, kindly shared this recipe and instantly improved my game.
2 oz lime juice (about 3 limes)
1-1/2oz tequila
3/4 oz orange liqueur (Cointreau)
1/2 oz agave syrup (Stefan said to use 3/4 oz, but I prefer less sweetener)
Put it in a shaker with lots of ice. Shake vigorously to mix. Then put the shaker down and leave it to rest ~2 minutes. Letting the ice melt takes the edge off. Then give it a quick shake and serve over ice in salt-rimmed glasses.