Commentary: Ever Wonder What Your Rice Krispies Are Really Saying?

Snap, Crackle and Pop may look simple, but they’re really rhetorical geniuses.

We use food to convey all kinds of messages in all kinds of situations: good morning, I love you, I’m sorry for your loss, thank you, don’t you wanna be my lover? Oh, sorry, slipped into Spice Girls lyrics for a second, but you get the idea.

Take, for instance, a parent and child baking holiday cookies. The kitchen is a disaster: flour is everywhere…pieces of dough are stuck to various surfaces as little fingers attempt to sneak bites…the dog is still licking at the spot where the egg fell to the floor, but the smell is heavenly.

When they come out of the oven and that first bite is taken (which may be a little salty because, let’s face it, teaspoons and tablespoons look the same!), so many messages are conveyed: I love you, I want to spend time with you. Maybe family tradition is reinforced and passed down in that secret family recipe, or just keeping Betty Crocker’s help a secret.

Still don’t believe me? When your significant other serves you strawberries and champagne, isn’t that a message that has the Spice Girls singing in the background? And how is support shown for a family who has lost a member? 

Relationships are built and unspoken messages are shared over something as simple as the crackling of Rice Krispies. But what happens when those messages are negative or food is used to send you messages?

Let’s paint a different picture. The smell of bacon wafts up the stairs at 7 a.m. Brother and Sister come sluggishly down the stairs with a battle inside them: bed or breakfast? Brother is greeted with waffles and eggs and bacon. Sister is offered half a grapefruit.

Or how about a person just recently involved in a personal dilemma, propped up on the tear-stained couch watching old movies and lamenting over how life is unfair with a spoon in one hand and Ben and Jerry clutched in the other.

Obesity levels and eating disorders are rising out of control in the United States.  What messages are sent to get these kinds of results?

Perhaps it’s solidarity that Ben and Jerry provide: You are not alone in this.

In the case of Sister, breakfast is clearly mocking her flabby arms and love handles that are only visible to her and make her insist that action must be taken.

The comfort and accusations that reside in these messages are equally seductive and convincing. They become internalized and that thought process flows into every nook and cranny of everyday life, pulling self-esteem lower and giving more power to the unhealthy habits of eating for comfort and other eating disorders.

Moral of the story? Pay attention to Snap, Crackle and Pop. Not that they know what they’re talking about, but their messages speak volumes. Once understood, your responses will speak volumes about you.

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