Pendulum Swung Back Hard
MAHA, gluten matters, holistic himbos
Gluten Matters
Food is politics—as it always has been, and as we approach the mid-2020s, it’s safe to say that the pendulum has swung back hard from almost a decade ago, wherein meat, dairy, carbs, butter and the likes had been apparently demonized, and shunned, are now resurfacing in a way that feels almost a crusade, and in the US being leveraged by specific political groups to further proliferate their dogma.
How did we get here?
As mostly happens in cycles, there will always be a reactionary movement, specially when friction has been applied heavily, and during 2010s, Millennials coming of age and transition into appex consumer demographic, shifted the conversation around what is “healthy” as a rejection to the BigFood products most of us were indoctrinated—and unfortunately, mostly led by whitewashed, Goopified narratives (see commodification of wellness) that led to the creation of adoptogenic ramen and prebiotic sodas, as well as Wall Street’s hard on to capitalize on this yearning for “better food systems” via consumerism instead of by addressing inherent governmental and structural problems, nurturing the greenwashed alt-hype all the way to IPOs (initial public offerings), dumping bad debt while filling their pockets, and leaving consumers with a bad taste in their mouths (literally).With enough friction, even stars collapse, and as the last decade saw institutions as well as businesses push overpriced unwanted alternative products and greenwashed narratives down people’s throats, it was to be expected for the pushback to eventually happen.
The first sightings of soyboy came around the late 2010s, made to represent the “emasculation” based on the claim that soybean consumption, which contain phytoestrogen isoflavone, lowers testosterone in men. In a patriarchal world, seemingly, there is no insult greater than being questioned about your manliness, based on … your groceries? This meme would be co-opted later on by the conservative movement, to make a case against consuming alternatives—and instead, advocating for the Chads of the world (the antitesis of a soyboy) viewed as the apex iteration of a man.
Post-Covid began to see the momentum on the pendulum swinging back in full force, in 2021
heralded the return of whole milk, no surprise as it’s very much considered a Chad-like drink, and coincides with a resurgence in the idea of “raw milk” as the ultimate wellness drink (untampered by Liberal wokeness…of pastuerization?) and states begin to do something unimaginable, reversing legislation to make the sale of raw milk direct to consumers, legal again. At this point—the return to “basics” in food and beverage has been fully co-opted by the right, and we begin to see campaigns against “seed oil” from Chipotle to Shake Shack, as well as politicians making their stand, from JD Vance to RFK Jr.
It’s no wonder 2024 has been an equally big year for beef tallow, clarified and grassfed butter, and even lard (for those across the pond) Financial Times came out with a piece on the ressurgence of this once shunned fat. That McDonald worker cosplay by Donald Trump have people hoping for a return to the golden era of beef tallow fries (the American dream?) fat from meats is so hot right now, alternative-meat is actually considering adding it to its products, no this is not a joke. The return of “fat” in favoring light amongst the American consumer has BigFood trying to capitalize on it as quickly as possible, see A1 and Old Bay butters, ghee has taken over American pantries and US consumers have bought a record amount of butter this year, and fostered innovations like beef tallow in a spray bottle. The return to basics representing for many the return to “American fundamentals” though I’m pretty sure founding fathers would have rebuked the idea of chili crisp butter, now that Donald Trump has won a second time, the plan to institute MAHA is moving forward, led by the the unchewed parts of RFK Jr’s brain.
In what looks like the male equivalent of The Substance, aspiring Metuselah, Bryan Johnson posed in a photo with RFK with the caption “MAHA”—with some joking about this being the new department of health, Johnson’s known for his strict dietary regimes, which he is now monetizing via Blueprint, that somehow also involve in maximizing the number of erections at night? This meshing between wellness influencers and the alt-right movement has been well documented over the years—most recently, GenZ influencer
broke down the history of this relationship, stemming back to the Reagan era. She accurately describes something I’ve seen manifested on videos like this, where MAGA influencers act surprised of the warm welcome they receive in “perceived liberal hot spots” like Erewhon—when the truth is, Erewhon’s EMF blocking, raw milk, alive water drinker, colustrum sipper, privileged shoppers have a lot more in common with their conservative southern counterparts, see image below.
You can easily find a counterpart to what Erewhon or Happier Grocery have in Texas, from tallow chips, to raw milk, organ smoothies, as well as overpriced bone broth, beef tallow, and colustrum powders—being one in the same, despite the demographic. The rise in “conservative” F&B is not only reflected in this return to basics, but in the rise of “biblical inspired” recipes and of course, the popularity of “trad wives”—that have also inspired more low brow movements like “lonche moms.” While trad wives content has an aspirational, even leisure-esque vibe to it, whether it's being filmed on a farm or while wearing its cosplaying blue collar while wearing traditional-looking aprons or absurdly luxurious fits, the softness in voice that feels almost angelical paired with fairy-esque tunes, expensive cookwear and a romanticization of labor like no corporation could ever conjure.
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At the other end of the trad wife spectrum, the lonche moms have mostly recently woken up, as they prepare to cook for their blue collar working husbands who start the job early, some of them prepping meals at 3AM in the morning to make sure they can provide a freshly cooked meal before their hubbies go out to work. As opposed to the cosplay in trad wives videos, most of these women pour out of a can, as convenience is their best friend to make the meals in time before their hubsnads step out the door, instead of Le Creusets and sourdough, canned sauces and airfryers are seeing throughout these style of videos. This has also led to an increase in content of “lunch checks” at construction sites, were men compare their meals prepared by their “mantenidas” (translates to kept woman) and comparing their displays of love through it.
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Alt-Generation
Lastly, an indication that this cultural convergence is staying put for a while, Gen Alpha’s version of “baby trad wife” and “Huberman boys” can be viewed as a manifestation of the conservatism in food and beverage movement. Influencers like Ava and Jonathan, offer clear examples of what I refer to as “crunchy teens” and “holistic himbos” with role models like Andrew Huberman and Nara Smith, creators like Ava express their yearning to be a kept wife while Jonathan shares anti-vaxxer literature, presenting a glimpse into our future. As 2025 looms and the Gen Alpha reaches its cutoff, we are welcoming a new generational cohort, Betas—which not only is terribly branded in the era of Chads, but also will eventually dictate whether we see a counter culture movement manifest in the next decade, as Alphas and Betas grow up.
Regardless of political ideologies or parties, we all deserve better when it comes to the most basic and inherent cornerstone of the human experience, access to quality and nutritious food. Instead of retorting to division, it’s my hope that we may see a union against the actual corrupt and consolidated food systems that have led to these co-opted missions and visions, a reminder that ultimately, divided we fall.
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damn this is good
My favorite post of yours yet!!