The Future's So Bleak - I Gotta Eat SPAM

SPAM is booming these days. No, not the stuff that clogs your in-box. I'm talking about the meat-like substance that vaguely resembles ham. SPAM (aka "Something Passing As Meat") is making a big comeback these days as the economy tanks. The people that work at the SPAM factories are expecting big holiday bonuses these days. Consumers all over the world are cutting back, and as they do so, they turn to time-honored staples like Hormel's SPAM.

From the New York Times this weekend comes the following forecast for SPAM employees:

"In a factory that abuts Interstate 90, two shifts of workers have been making
Spam seven days a week since July, and they have been told that the relentless
work schedule will continue indefinitely."

When I say SPAM, do you think of Monty Python's SPAM-a-lot (like I do?)




Ah.... Monty Python is always good for a laugh. Excuse me while I watch the video again. LOL!

This past weekend, I was reading about the history of SPAM. I realized that the unnaturally pink cube of gelatinous mixture has never touched my lips. Am I missing out on something special? The SPAM website describes it as "meat with a pause button," since you don't have to refrigerate it. Somehow, that doesn't make me want to run out to the grocery store to stock up.

In case you actually want to know what SPAM is made of, here is the list of official ingredients:

chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added; salt (for binding, flavor, and firmness); water (to help in mixing); sugar (for flavor); sodium Nitrite (for color and as a preservative).

SPAM is actually quite popular in many areas of the world. If you can believe it, 3.8 cans of SPAM are consumed every second in the U.S. If you really want to see SPAM in action, go to Hawaii. Hawaiians eat an average of four cans of SPAM per person per year (this is the highest SPAM consumption rate per capita in the world). There are entire websites devoted to SPAM recipes.

Personally, I just don't know. I think canned tuna is just as cheap as SPAM. If I get to the point that I can't afford to buy real meat, I think I'll just go vegetarian.