It has only been in the last few years that I have been introduced to the joys of scrapple. A breakfast-y meat conglomerate that soaks up all the tasty griddle by-products and transfers them to your mouth. Mmmmm. Yummy. But instead of this, I owe part of my existence to the delicious treat, Spam. Which, I struggle to find another word for "treat" since this is the name of probably their only chief competitor. Capitalized, of course. And yes, it is also a delicious wonder.
There's definitely some interesting history to Spam, how it acquired it's name (some contest or something where part of the word "ham" was borrowed), how it was beloved by the nation, and how it saved breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the busy nuclear wife. I know, I watched a special on it once but haven't made it a point to commit everything to memory. Instead, this information can be easily Wiki'd, except for today, due to the whole SOPA blackout issue.
What is interesting, though, is how this resourceful, versatile, and delicious product has evolved into symbol of waste, unwanted-ness, and poverty (though it's current market price of more than $3 is hardly economical compared to an 89 cent can of Chef Boyardee). What happened over the course of several decades to warrant its trademark name as a reference to unwanted email? Why do people automatically shrug or carry a pre-conceived notion that the contents inside are somehow worse for consumption than the less versatile hot dog? And why hasn't the vegetarian community embraced it and promoted their soy/tofu knock-offs like they do with Not Dogs and Morning Star hamburgers and sausage links? Prejudice, my friend, is why.
I wonder if the disrespect stems from the fact that the meat is served from a can? But lots of food is appreciably served from a can. Tuna comes from a can. Campbell's Chunky Chicken Noodle soup comes from a can. In fact, heaps of restaurant-quality food comes from a can. Hell, Guinness comes from a can! And who is knocking Guinness?? That can't be the reason.
Perhaps because the food is re-purposed from unwanted by-products of other foods? But today that is called efficiency and it is probably fair to say that tons of food originates this way. Take Red Bulls and the like, prepared from the caffeine extracted during the operation of producing decaf coffee. Or gelatin, produced from bones. Or buttermilk (if anyone still drinks it besides my gram), made from post-butter churning products (as she has told me in her demented state numerous times based on real farmhand experience - bless her soul!). No, that can't be the reason. But look at the quantifiable benefit of this resourceful food. By repurposing meat by-products, more animal lives are spared. Vegetarians and PETA should applaud this concept. And that of McDonald's where meat is mixed with grain and re-presented as 100% meat.
I think the primary reason why Spam is generally disrespected, despite it's abundant fans, is due to the same reason that likely prompted it to fame: it's original brand name. A short, catchy name that plays off another meat product is certainly inventive, easy to remember, and transferable to various grammatical uses and tenses. Look at it's knock-off competitor, Treat, you won't see email folders with a "Treat Filter", that makes no sense since it is an established word with pleasant meaning. Most people don't even know Treat exists. Also, you won't see a "Hot Dog" folder since this is too generic and there are too many brands to be using one singular brand as a symbol of "eww".
While Spam successfully revolutionized the food industry, it also branded one of the polarizing reactions to it. Who says that our junk email even needs to be named after a food product? If this folder was labeled today, it could be the "Sheen" folder, or the "Nickleback" filter. Instead, an innocent marvel of food, claims the honor. And an honor, it is, indeed.
To brand yourself into lexicon, as long as it's not for satanic reasons, is an accomplishment that is probably never completely acknowledged as a public service or an accomplishment, especially if you're Spam. But then where would we be without the societal advances and clever names of companies like these, like Google or Kleenex?
Thank you, Spam, for everything you have done in my tummy, and in my daily communications.
