A neuroscientist at the University of California was posting photos of everything he ate on his Facebook page, claiming that revealing your food choices to the world would motivate you to eat better and giving the expression “feed your face” a whole new meaning.
Dr. Garcia included daytime snacks, late-night raids of the fridge and even the doughnuts he had stuffed in his glove compartment. He had uploaded 9,000 pictures onto his Mac, which included a few dozen Big Macs, I might add.
I’ve been uploading meals and then downloading them onto my dress shirts for more than 60 years. It is not uncommon for people to ask me about certain food choices I have posted on my clothing for all my friends to see.
“Looks delicious, Dick. Wasn’t that the special at the Olive Garden last week?”
“Been to a ball game, Dick? I recognize the mustard.”
People are always imposing a visual record of their lives on others. I’m tired of friends showing me their pets on their cellphones. In fact, I’d rather see a serving of French fries than a French poodle. An adorable pic of your granddaughter isn’t nearly as interesting to me as a snapshot of a slab of smoky ribs.
I eat a lot of meals in the car, so this could jeopardize my already questionable driving record.
“Did I do something wrong, officer?”
“You suddenly pulled off onto the I-70 shoulder. Is everything OK?”
“I’m taking a photo of my fish sandwich.”
“Sir, this time I’m just going to issue a warning: Those are really high in sodium.”
Restaurants could benefit from this obsession with food photos. They already put little icons next to menu choices to denote items low in fat. Now, we’ll also know which ones are high in resolution. The waitress will not only ask if you have room for dessert, but whether you have enough disc space.
Personally, I didn’t think posting meal choices on Facebook would catch on, especially in Indiana. Hoosiers are good people with high moral standards who wouldn’t want their kids viewing corn on the internet.
