Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Tastiness!

Ever wonder how much freedom you actually get when choosing your food items? I don’t. I eat what I want when I want. No one tells me what to eat, I have the freedom to deny food then choose what I want. Isn't freedom what America is based upon anyway?

In the food realm, we really have little freedom of choice. Ever wonder why you buy the foods you do? Is it name brand or generic? If it is name brand, why that brand? I have never been one to conform to what others want me to be like, but how much does your friend group actually influence you when you make your decision? Is eating and deciding what foods to consume a peer pressured event? I believe it can be.

Many of us can consider ourselves brand ambassadors for companies. We consume these products and when someone we know hasn't, we expose them to it and basically advertise for that company! Ever stop to think what you could be a brand ambassador for? I didn't until recently.

When I think back to one food chain that I could be a brand ambassador for, it shocks me to realize how much I have influenced my peer group to buy into that label. Most people like chicken wings, right? So when I think of chicken wings, my mind immediately goes to Bdubs (Buffalo Wild Wings) and my mouth begins to salivate much like it is doing now. I have bought into this label so much, that I have created a food icon for me and some of my friends.

To explain let me back up to senior year of high school. You have your close group of friends and you try to enjoy every moment you have with them before you all spread your wings and fly away to college. Wings provided us with the ability to share moments and create these bonds that extended beyond those 4 years….chicken wings that is. We ate at Bdubs every other Thursday for the entirety of senior year.

So what happened when I came to college and now live 45 minutes from the closest Bdubs? Well you make road trips. These road trips make memories and the times at the restaurant strengthen those bonds. My Sigma Chi family has a tradition that when it's someone’s birthday, or it is some special occasion, we travel the tedious miles to Clarksville, IN to get to the nearest Bdubs.

So now my final question is, are you really pursuing tastiness when you make a choice about what you consume, or are you pursuing the prestige behind the brand? I believe in my case I am choosing the things that I associate with the brand and that is the friendships I have formed and strengthened while enjoying the food. So am I buying into that label, or am I buying into the food icon that I have created for that label? Next time you purchase or consume a brand name food, consider what may be the case behind your decision to choose that brand. Just some food for thought.