When Tech Boys Hack Their Food

Beware. Gendered generalizations will almost always get you into trouble. But they surround us. And in the Washington Post, Monica Hesse points out Twitter founder Jack Dorsey can utter meaningless drivel about what to eat and it’s a “biohack.” However, from a female opportunist – say, Gwyneth Paltrow – it’s simply whacky. Hack or whack? Not much difference except that one of them gets unearned respect.

Real Differences

Men and women deal very differently with food. On average, women know more about their food than men. They read labels more. They tend to think more about the relationship between food and health. These are not random generalizations. These are observations that show up over and over again in consumer research.

Yet guys used to having things their way think they’re geniuses when they discover nutrition – or dumb dietary ideas.

Michelle Cyca explains how ridiculous this is:

Tech Bros Are Not Necessarily Food Geniuses

Food is a big part of the economy. So naturally, we have tech bros thinking that they have a better idea. Entrepreneur Josh Tetrick got his hands on $90 million from Silicon Valley investors to sell his Just Mayo. But he ran into a few bumps along the way. Board members resigned en masse and he changed the company name to Just, Inc. So now he wants another $200 million from venture capitalists to keep his vegan juggernaut going.

Why not?

Blue Apron was going to remake our meal rituals with a subscription service and hands on nutrition. It went public with an IPO in 2017. But today it faces a murky future. Founder and Chief Tech Officer, Ilia Papas, will leave the company next month. Another miss for the tech geniuses of nutrition.

High tech food? We say no thanks to the tech bros. Same for magical nutrition from the likes of the Food Babe. If you want smart ideas about nutrition, find yourself a good RDN and sharpen your critical thinking skills.

Click here for more from Monica Hesse.

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April 13, 2019