We all know people who do this: spend all their money on Pradas and Manolos, forcing themselves to bring bologna sandwiches to work and eat instant ramen for dinner. Some things are worth the splurge, but food is so much more than just sustenance.
Here's why we prefer Manchego to Manolos, pasta to Prada.
Food is a basic need
The obvious: humans can only survive without food for a matter of weeks, but you can certainly live without shoes. Hippies and barefoot runners are definitely onto something.
You can get more food for your dollar
The average Canadian family spends $411 a month on groceries. That’s as much as a pair of Jimmy Choos — on sale! Would you rather have a pair of last season’s heels that you’ll probably wear only once, or eat well for 30 days? You pick.
You don’t need to break food in
They might have felt OK in the store, but the first few wears of a new pair of shoes almost always result in blisters all over your toes and heels. So, you force yourself to walk around in your shoes at home over bandaged feet just to stretch them out.
Food doesn’t require breaking in. The first bite should be as good as the last. You can, and should, eat it right away; perfect for those of us who crave that instant gratification.
You can enjoy food in any weather
Canadians, especially Calgarians, can only really enjoy wearing sandals two months of the year, and then we’re stuck in boots for most of the other 10. While some people eat ice cream only in the summer, or hot pot only in the winter, no one will judge if you eat those things any time. Uggs on the beach, however…
Nobody travels for shoes
For many, food is the reason to travel. We fly to far-flung places just for authentic dishes — before El Bulli closed, there were 3,000 people on the waitlist — and our travel photos look more like a food diary than a collection of tourist highlights. Very few people would do the same for shoes. More often, people "travel the world" to buy expensive and rare shoes on their laptops.
Restaurants and grocery stores are never “out of your size”
It’s hard enough to find a pair of shoes in the style you want, then to have a gum-chewing, teenaged sales clerk smirk and say, “We don’t have any size 9 left but I have a 7.5. They stretch.”
Really, you know that she’s trying to shame you and get you to cram your feet in there, just so she can enact their you-break-you-buy policy. Food is one-size-fits-all, so no embarrassing moments trying on different sizes here. If you get too little, you can get more. And, if it’s too much, you can save some for later.
Food improves relationships
Breakups and divorces have happened over maxed-out credit cards from shoes, while, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” is not an idiom for nothing.
Food is better shared. Shoes are not
Research shows that kids who grow up eating their meals together with family are less likely to engage in high-risk behaviours, like smoking, drinking and fighting. Food is the forum for social events and business deals. Many of our fondest memories involve food… and people. Sharing food can also help with weight loss. When you split a meal, you also split the calories.
Shoes are hard to share, what with people’s different feet sizes, style, and ability to walk in heels. Sharing footwear also increases the chance of spreading athlete’s foot and other fungi. Gross.
You don’t need to find a place for your “food collection”
You might need a walk-in or a separate closet for your shoe collection, but every house/apartment already has a room for your food collection: the kitchen. Need addtional storage? That’s what your waist and hips are for.
Food never goes out of style
It’s tiresome to have to follow all the fashion trends and overhaul your entire shoe collection every season. From high heels to flats, platforms to stilettos, Uggs to Crocs, all these trends have come and gone, but it will never be uncool to eat.
