It is possible to disapprove of machine-cut jamon and to feel outrage over Syria at the same time. Not that everyone agrees with me …
A few weeks ago I tweeted disapprovingly about a restaurant which was machine-cutting rather than hand-slicing its premium Spanish ham. This is a crime against jamon. I thought the world should know. Swiftly someone replied with three entirely predictable words: “First world problems.” Oh god. Here we go. One whinge about a food issue, and it’s time to reduce everything to a blunt moral calculus. Your service was too slow? First world problems. Your coffee was lukewarm? First world problems. Your bread is stale, your milk has soured, your portion size was meagre? First world bloody problems.
Let’s ignore the fact that nobody working in developmental politics or global aid describes impoverished parts of the globe as the “third world” any more, because it’s so damn patronising. Let’s focus instead on the sanctimonious self-regard of those who feel the need to point out that, while I’m fretting over the mis-slicing of pig, there is suffering in the world. I am thinking of ham. They are thinking only of the plight of Syria’s refugees.
Related: The 12 things that restaurants must stop doing in 2016
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