Where Avocado Toast, Instagram Influencers, Connection, and Meaning Merge

Author Eve Turow-Paul Offers Her Food For Thought

OK, I’ll admit to posting some of my culinary creations on Instagram. My badass meatloaf. Or the zucchini bread I’ve baked. Even my green bean casserole every Thanksgiving

Kinda weird, huh? 

Eve Turow-Paul author of Hungry: Avocado Toast, Instagram Influencers, and Our Search for Connection and Meaning provides an uncommon look at some of the oddities around today’s food and lifestyle culture and how emerging tech innovations and evolving mores are leading to a redefinition of people’s needs and desires. Here, she explores how today’s foodie culture in colliding with other lifestyle trends is fueling an epidemic of societal stress, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. 

As a nationally recognized thought leader on youth culture and the food system, Turow-Paul studies food trends and human behavior. Using an investigative approach replete with academic rigor and lifestyle market analysis, Turow-Paul identifies the wants and needs — physical, spiritual, emotional — that are behind today's hottest trends. 

“Great Books, Great Minds” recently had the opportunity to interview Turow-Paul about her newest book and its significance for food, technology, and society. Here’s what she had to share: 

Michael: A little about you and what led to your decision to write this book. 

Eve: I am an expert on global youth food culture, well-being, and sustainability issues. About 10 years ago, I found myself post-college living in NYC on a very tight budget, spending what little discretionary time and income I had on food and food experiences. Over time I realized that I wasn't alone — that many of my peers were doing the same thing. Once I started to look into why food was becoming the hobby of choice for Millennials, in particular, I became absolutely fascinated with the topic. 

Michael: So as you began to dive deeper into this space, what did you discover? 

Eve: I began to see direct ties to the Digital Age and rising rates of loneliness, depression, stress, and anxiety. Our love of avocado toast and Chemex coffee wasn't just irresponsible spending—as it was so often depicted in the media. Instead, what I began to understand is that the rise of "foodie" culture—at the apex of the recession—was really a coping mechanism for a world in which people were struggling to meet their most basic well-being needs for a sense of control, sense of belonging, and sense of purpose.

Michael: What was your biggest surprise discovery in researching the book? 

Eve: My biggest surprise probably came when I was in Korea to interview a mukbang broadcast jockey who, at the time, was live-streaming herself eating dinner every single night for an audience of hundreds (sometimes thousands. Some of her mealtime live streams have over a million views). I rode a train out to a suburb of Seoul to watch this young woman prepare for her nightly dinner-time broadcast. 

Prior to this meeting, I was having a hard time understanding the popularity of mukbang in Korean youth culture: Why would anyone want to watch someone else eat dinner? But once I spoke with her, she illuminated the widespread sense of isolation and cultural taboos around loneliness in Korean culture. 

Michael: Can you elaborate a bit more on what you discovered? 

Eve: My biggest surprise came when I asked if she'd ever stop doing mukbang. She looked at me aghast and replied: "No, these people are my family." Until that moment, I really hadn't understood the depth of the relationships that people were forming online through these mukbang events. She explained that they talk to one another about family issues, depression, and marriage. She seemed just as attached—if not more attached—to her viewers than perhaps family members or real-life friends (meaning, people she knew in-person, not just online). 

Michael: So what did you extrapolate from this? 

Eve: It was a revelatory moment for me and shifted my perspective on the communities flourishing online—not just in Korea and not just around food— but the hugely important role those relationships play in people's lives and sense of identity and community. 

I had a similar moment when interviewing people at a vegan speed-dating event in NYC; I asked a group of men if they'd ever considered dating a vegetarian and I received a similar look of incredulity. So, I guess the moments when I shocked my interviewees with my questions were the occasions I learned the most! 

Michael: Can you talk about the intersection between food, Instagram, and our desire for human connection? 

Eve: For Hungry, I ran an original study in partnership with the market-research firm Datassential, where we explored the intersections of food trends, digital life, and well-being. As a part of that work, which we conducted in 2019, we asked our 1,100 participants across the US: How much do you agree with the statement "I wish I had a stronger community." 65% of respondents said they agreed or strongly agreed with this statement and 73% of Millennials said the same.

 

Michael: What did you take from this? 

Eve: It's important to note: We were lonely prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this was showing up in food and lifestyle trends. In fact, we found that our respondents who were most likely to be spending time online, and who had the most followers on Instagram, were also the likeliest to feel dissatisfied with themselves, to feel that most of their relationships are superficial and that they had no one to share their most private worries with. 

Michael: And the whole craziness around posting food pictures on Instagram. Can you offer some perspective on this? 

Eve: After talking to a number of experts in the field of social media and wellbeing, as well as completing additional research on the impact of food photography on wellbeing, I learned that, oftentimes, when we post a photo of something we've eaten online, we're doing so in a braggadocious way, with a desire to earn "likes" and other forms of social approval. This desire is, in large part, due to two elements: one, we're often eating alone, which is antithetical to the way humans prefer to eat, and two, many of the social structures that once provided people with a sense of community and belonging have frayed. 

Michael: So what do you believe is fueling this? 

Eve: Many aspects of modern times have made it harder to fulfill our desire for belonging (there's less religious affiliation, political affiliation, less neighborhood connection, less volunteerism, and now, more and more screen time). So, many of us revel in the brief dopamine hit of "sharing" a picture of our meals online with others.  

Sure, it’s not as great as eating an actual meal with other people, but for some, it's still an opportunity to engage and receive a virtual pat on the back. (One expert told me: We go online searching for apples and end up with apple jacks; it might resolve the craving for a short period of time, but you don't get the longer-lasting nutrients.)

Michael: What sorts of emerging trends are you seeing in terms of the psychology of food and technology during these pandemic times?

Eve: There are several emerging trends at the moment that is worth keeping our eyes on. Now, more than ever, people are using food culture as a coping mechanism for our loneliness, our anxiety. We saw this right away with the demand for chickens, garden seeds, and non-perishable food items. Longer-term, there are some dominant trends that I expect will transform our food culture. 

Michael: Like? 

Eve: First, people have become more familiar with "supply chains." For some, the pandemic was the first time that they considered sourcing food locally instead of relying on the grocery store. This shift, from supermarket to farm CSA, can reorient people's relationships with food. I would expect demand for (affordable) local and seasonal options to increase over time. 

Second, more and more people began to eat lunch at home with family. While pre-pandemic lunch was often a bar eaten on the go or a cup of yogurt at one's desk, there has been a new movement of family mid-day meals. I will be curious to see if this, ultimately, drives demand for a more leisurely lunch hour, much like they have in Europe. 

Michael: Anything else to add here? 

Eve: Sadly, this has also been a  time of intense stress, and as a result, we're seeing a rising number of people reporting eating disorders. We found, in the Hungry Study—and in other research—that those who take on restrictive diets are more prone to anxiety. 

I would assume that the pandemic will also churn a culture of new restrictive diets, like Whole30, keto, etc. Who knows what ingredients will be the next to go on the chopping block! 

And finally, I think we're going to see a surge in dinner party culture. People are so deeply craving that time to connect and eat and commune with friends and family. Plus, many learned new cooking skills while in lockdown. I think dinner party culture will become a dominant trend.

Michael: What about outside lifestyle activities? Where do you see this headed? 

Eve: No doubt, the pandemic motivated many people to get outside and appreciate nature. Gardening, biking, hiking, camping all became more popular. This relationship to nature will likely impact food culture, with an interest in new flavors, ingredients, and outdoor eating experiences. 

Michael: So what is your greatest hope in terms of what readers walk away from your book with?

Eve: The book ends on the subject of the climate crisis, in large part because, looking ahead, that's what will be driving major trends in food and well-being. But I hope that readers walk away understanding that the foods that are good for the planet and good for our nutrition are also good for our mental health! 

Eating foods with known origins, that are connected to people and place, foods we've personally made, eating meals with others—these are all activities that inherently make us feel good, and that are more likely to include ingredients that are good for the environment and our physical health.  

And then there's the issue of empathy: I hope readers walk away understanding that any "trend" or "fad" isn't random—it's usually an expression of an unmet core human need, and an attempt to fill that need. Identifying with the Paleo diet and Crossfit can help many people build an important sense of identity and community. 

Treating oneself with a matcha latte can make them feel in control of their health and comfort. Buying sustainable foods can help people feel empowered as change-makers. Even goat yoga has a purpose! It connects us with nature/animals and helps us re-orient our bodies in relation to the wider natural world. From floating to co-living, avocado toast to TikTok—they're all a sign of things people are yearning for.