Why Is No One Talking About The Unsolicited Food Envy?

At every dinner table, at every corner of the food court, at every nook and cranny of a bakery, at every office lunch hour, you’re there, aren’t you? Making me peek at the table next to me, helping me muster some courage up to ask, “Can I take a bite?” at the office tiffin-sharing chaos. You creepily crawl inside my perfectly-doing-well-before-you-came appetite and make me want more. 

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I am talking about food envy. It’s the pang of jealousy that arises when someone else’s food looks and smells incredibly delicious, making you question your own meal choices. 

Instinctive throughout our childhood, haven’t we all had a moment where we open our tiffin, with plain roti and sabzi, and our friend rolls out their creamy pastas? It’s infuriating, to begin with. Not only do you have to resort to acceptance that at this very moment, someone else is chewing food that tastes better, but you also have to settle for the unappealing food you got. In recent times, this phenomenon has become normalised with the surge of social media and its need to showcase everything online. 

Psychology Behind It

Food envy is a feeling felt by the masses. Relatability truly crosses the line when it comes to food envy. To put it in perspective, Dr Yong Xu and his colleagues surveyed rodents, where it was found that even on a full stomach, the sight of someone else devouring something rich can trick your appetite back to life. 

Think about it, haven’t we associated so much with a simple bite of food? We look into it to derive comfort, fill our stomachs fully, and not to forget, also being healthy, as well as a feast for the eyes. Why do we expect so much? Perhaps because envy surrounds the smallest aspects of life. And the food industry has become more of a medium for entertainment for our bodies than simply a source of sustenance and nourishment.

At the core of this lies loss aversion, the idea of missing out is what makes our brain light up. 'I don’t want it, but what if I never get to have it? What if I regret it later?' Such thoughts creep in when envy overpowers your brain. 

I came across an article titled 'Why Your Friend’s Fries Always Seem Tastier Than Yours', and I'm not going to lie, it’s so true. It’s the sheer feeling of being part of someone else’s indulgence, especially when it looks so enticing that it gets so irresistible.

Envy Amplification

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In this society, materialism is what is often envied. Discarding the part where kindness and compassion exist to be jealous of. Our moms were so right. It’s the stupid damn phone. Whilst we scroll reels to pass the time, or as we call it, to relax, we are also subconsciously making plans for where to dine out when we pause at a restaurant. The constant showcase of food and the hype around a dish have made us salivate, making us go to that place the first thing tomorrow. 

Mukbang culture brought about an entirely new phase of food envy. From watching hours and hours of ‘What I Ate In A Day’ to the continuous exposure to vibrant food recipes has landed us here – in this trap of comparing food for a living. 

A stranger posting about a random pani puri stall holds as much power over me as my mom’s sudden outburst. It can make me get up from my rotting bed on a pyjama day and bolt to the pani puri bhaiya, and man, you need to have some serious convincing aura to pull up that move on me. Adding onto the ongoing list is FRIENDS character Joey Tribbiani with his classic “Joey doesn’t share food” dialogue, a pop-culture stamp on our entangled attachment with food. What fascinates me is how, even though food is no longer scarce, the law of diminishing marginal utility seems to have failed here. As sick as it sounds, part of me also thinks it’s commendable how food has become a full-blown cultural obsession.

The Sweet Spot Of Envy 

Envy’s a shitty feeling that has the potential to ruin your mood on dates or the mood of your guests, resulting in endless fights. It singlehandedly transforms into your next obsession of chasing the next best dish instead of really savouring the food in front of you. Every other food reel on your feed makes you dive into the pool of FOMO. All of this is purely a testament to commercialism. An overdose always turns out to ruin a dish. 

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But not all problems need to have a solution. Some can be simply dissolved in a tub of acceptance. I say this because, as much as chaos has taken the lead over this fiasco, I really ponder if creation could take birth in this chaos.

Envy’s not always the villain. Sometimes, it works in your favour. It nudges you to try newer dishes and expands the width of your exploration. From fueling curiosity to giving a spark to your innovation, a pinch of envy enhances the dish the long way. 

And while I am on my way to conclude this article, my colleague has just ordered a bag of chips from Zepto, and guess what, so have I.