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School lunch shaming needs to stop. Simple solution: Adults need to stop acting despicable.

As a kid who received free breakfast and lunch for his entire childhood, I am keenly aware of the stigma, embarrassment, and shame associated with not having enough money to feed yourself. As a child, teachers took the daily lunch count by asking us to raise our hand if we were: Buying hot lunchBuying cold…

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The worst name for a food item in all of human history

I’m obsessed with the way foods are named.  Chilean sea bass, for example, is really Patagonian tooth fish. Order Patagonian tooth fish the next time you want Chilean sea bass. Please? My list of poorly named foods is extensive. It includes pulled pork, bread pudding, blood oranges, and field greens.  But I have discovered the worst name…

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A simple test to determine if a food is objectively tasty

My friends, Kim and Andrew, were kind enough to include a dish of canned jellied cranberry sauce on their Thanksgiving table for me. I love canned jellied cranberry sauce. I also brought canned jellied cranberry sauce to my class’s annual Thanksgiving feast and was shocked to learn that 13 of the 18 students present had…

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The two reasons that people like foods that they initially despise are exactly the two reasons that I still don’t like those foods.

I’m known to have a limited palate. It’s not as limited as many of my friends contend, but there are admittedly large numbers of foods that I do not like, including salad, a great number of vegetables, many nuts, most Asian cuisines, most sauces and dressings, and more. I also don’t drink coffee or alcohol.…

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Placing an engagement ring in food is stupid.

Last week comedian and podcast host Marc Maron proposed to his girlfriend by hiding the engagement ring in a stack of pancakes. I do not understand the decision to conceal the engagement ring in food or drink. I cannot imagine a single instance in which this is the best or most preferred way to propose.…

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