SPAM Goes to War and Comes Home Again
A talk exploring SPAM's unlikely journey from wartime ration to cultural icon, and what canned meat reveals about American identity.
Why we picked this
The history of SPAM turns out to be a surprisingly sharp lens on American military logistics, postwar consumer culture, and how food becomes identity — this talk takes the subject seriously.
SPAM shipped by the millions to feed Allied troops in World War II, then came home to become a punchline, a pantry staple, and — in Hawaii and parts of Asia — a genuine culinary tradition. This talk at the Museum of Food and Drink traces that journey, using a single canned product to tell a larger story about industrialization, military provisioning, and cultural adoption.
The narrative arc is richer than you’d expect: SPAM touches on Hormel’s labor history, the logistics of feeding a global war, postwar abundance, and the complicated ways that military food became embedded in the cuisines of occupied and allied nations. It’s food history that doubles as social history.
Tickets required. Museum of Food and Drink, New York.