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Throwing food is protest: "A History of Protest Foods, from Eggs and Tomatoes to Cream Pies"
A History of Protest Foods, from Eggs and Tomatoes to Cream Pies
Food as protest tool has a long history, of course. Perhaps the first recorded food protest took place in 63 A.D., when Vespasian—then the governor of Africa, later emperor—was pelted with turnips by the people of Hadrumetum, who may have been angry about food shortages.
After that, the items lobbed got a little less painful—and a whole lot messier. Eggs seem like a no-brainer protest tool: They’re easy to find, and easier to detonate. But although folklore has it that prisoners in the Middle Ages were put in stocks and pelted with eggs, the first written documentation of eggs used in a protest may have been much later: 18th-century texts recorded an act of egg-throwing to persecute Methodists on the Isle of Man, and in 1834 abolitionist George Whittier was pelted with eggs after an anti-slavery lecture in Concord, New Hampshire.
Today eggs remain one of the most reached-for weapons of choice for political protestors. On the campaign trail for governor of California, in 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was hit with an egg. (He brushed it off like a boss.) And in 2004, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was pelted so hard with an egg launched by an opposition activist that he was taken to the hospital. In 2011, Afghan demonstrators threw eggs at the Iranian consulate to protest a blockade of fuel tanks that caused prices to skyrocket, and last year a group of protestors in London vowed to cover former prime minister Margaret Thatcher‘s casket in eggs—but security at the funeral procession was too tight for them to succeed. One of the biggest modern egg protests occurred in August 2013, when French farmers took to the streets, breaking 100,000 oeufs a day to protest low prices set in place by the European Union.
Tomatoes, especially rotten ones, seem particularly predisposed to be used as protest food. But since they originated in the New World, their history is rather short. Legend has it that tomatoes were tossed at actors at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, but it just wasn’t the case: Tomatoes didn’t even appear in English cookbooks until 1752, so no one would’ve had them on hand to pelt performers in the 16th century. Unlike eggs, these overripe fruits are most often associated with protesting theatrical performances (consider the movie review website RottenTomatoes.com). Indeed, a New York Times article from 1883 discusses John Ritchie, an actor who was “demoralized by tomatoes” after an underwhelming performance that included a shoddy somersault.
Food as protest tool has a long history, of course. Perhaps the first recorded food protest took place in 63 A.D., when Vespasian—then the governor of Africa, later emperor—was pelted with turnips by the people of Hadrumetum, who may have been angry about food shortages.
After that, the items lobbed got a little less painful—and a whole lot messier. Eggs seem like a no-brainer protest tool: They’re easy to find, and easier to detonate. But although folklore has it that prisoners in the Middle Ages were put in stocks and pelted with eggs, the first written documentation of eggs used in a protest may have been much later: 18th-century texts recorded an act of egg-throwing to persecute Methodists on the Isle of Man, and in 1834 abolitionist George Whittier was pelted with eggs after an anti-slavery lecture in Concord, New Hampshire.
Today eggs remain one of the most reached-for weapons of choice for political protestors. On the campaign trail for governor of California, in 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was hit with an egg. (He brushed it off like a boss.) And in 2004, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was pelted so hard with an egg launched by an opposition activist that he was taken to the hospital. In 2011, Afghan demonstrators threw eggs at the Iranian consulate to protest a blockade of fuel tanks that caused prices to skyrocket, and last year a group of protestors in London vowed to cover former prime minister Margaret Thatcher‘s casket in eggs—but security at the funeral procession was too tight for them to succeed. One of the biggest modern egg protests occurred in August 2013, when French farmers took to the streets, breaking 100,000 oeufs a day to protest low prices set in place by the European Union.
Tomatoes, especially rotten ones, seem particularly predisposed to be used as protest food. But since they originated in the New World, their history is rather short. Legend has it that tomatoes were tossed at actors at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, but it just wasn’t the case: Tomatoes didn’t even appear in English cookbooks until 1752, so no one would’ve had them on hand to pelt performers in the 16th century. Unlike eggs, these overripe fruits are most often associated with protesting theatrical performances (consider the movie review website RottenTomatoes.com). Indeed, a New York Times article from 1883 discusses John Ritchie, an actor who was “demoralized by tomatoes” after an underwhelming performance that included a shoddy somersault.
People should be allowed to protest. I see no problem throwing food, or even shoes, (see below). I draw the line at punches or rocks or other weapons.
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