January 21, 2016 • mccsokinawa.com
Caylee Reid
T
hese days, the Internet knows us better than we know ourselves. It is a sad symptom of our time. Technology can be a great thing but can take away some of what makes us human. The space between our electronic devices and our real lives is narrowing. Consumer culture in the digital age makes “real life” authenticity a marketing tool. So ironic that this blight in our lives goes by the same moniker as one of the purest forms of human creation and will—Spam. If only the life we were given was as welldressed as Spam: the meat, the myth, the shoulder of pork, et cetera. The glistening off-
inside
pink and rectangular-every-time formation of swine is so supple in its can. And it’s adaptability—the quiet and restrained elegance of a Spam musubi—a slice of spam and a chunk of rice wrapped in a strip of seaweed with enough heft and flavor to fulfill the palate and appetite with only three basic, earthy ingredients. It’s a welcome guest on iconic Okinawan dishes like Okinawa soba and gōyā champurū, and even American icons like corndogs and burgers. Spam, the revisionist food. For as simple and unassuming a food as Spam is, its culture on Okinawa runs deep. Spam was
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introduced to Okinawa by the U.S. military during WWII when pork was limited. The canned product was a success with Okinawans, a people who “eat every part of the pig except its squeal.” Spam, or “special ham” as some may refer to it, perhaps finally allows one to taste a pig’s squeal. Try Spam today, tomorrow and forever. Never had Spam? Join MFP-R (mccsokinawa.com/ culturalawareness) on a Japanese grocery store tour and pick up a can to add to your favorite dish, or eat it straight. —Ryan Anastoplus
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