"You Eat What You Are" by Drew Churilla

The sharp sound of a guitar tears out of the speakers and the smashing of the drums shakes the ground. The crowd battles with the band members to see who can be louder. Every line that explodes from the main stage is copied back by the crowd of five-hundred screaming fans. The line “When its dog eat dog, you are what you eat” echoes in the stadium. This line is one of many meaningful ones that have earned the band Megadeth their fame and success.

“You Are What You Eat” has become a cliché used in everything from advertisements to music. It has a literal meaning side, which has been used by companies in advertisements saying ‘you are what you eat, so eat healthy’. At the same time it has been used in deeper, more meaningful ways, like in the song “Bite the Hand” by Megedeth, “When It’s Dog Eat Dog You Are What You Eat.” But while this phrase’s uses are effective in conveying these messages, is it a legitimate expression?

Obviously, this expression cannot be taken in the most literal sense, for example, if someone eats a lot of fast food, they are not comparable to fast food. Rather someone who eats a lot of fast food matches with the stereotype of the ‘ideal’ American; someone who is overweight, lazy and a low paying job. As someone whose main diet is a mix of fast food, and frozen dinners, how would I apply this phrase to myself? When I try to view the stereotype of people who eat frozen food, I think it goes with the idea of little laziness, hurriedness, and just starting to be self reliant (can’t cook). The mix of these ideas does match me pretty well, I can be lazy, I’m often in a hurry, and I can’t cook at all.

Despite the fact that this expression usually works, there is one major flaw I see in it; the fact that “You Are” comes before “You Eat”. To me, this implies that what you are is dependent on what you eat. This cannot be because who you are is what you want to be, not what you eat. For example, a professional athlete does what he/she does because that is what they want to be, they didn’t become an athlete because eating healthy helped put them in shape. They eat healthy because they want to be or continue being an athlete.

Another example is wealthy people. If “You Are What You Eat” then wealthy people, eating the stereotypical fancy food prepared by others, are wealthy because of what they eat. But instead, what they eat is dependent on what they can afford and what kind of image they want to maintain for themselves and others.

One more stereotype is many young men and women who live to play computer games eat a lot of easy junk food like huge bags of chips and gallons of soda. This is another instance where what someone eats is based on what is most convenient for them. Food like chips allows these people to focus on what is most important to them. The cliché of this group drinking a lot of soda keeps them filled with sugar and caffeine which allows them to stay up until 5am every night playing their games.

What all these examples show is that no food is limited to a single group of people and no group of people of limited to one food or one set of foods. People eat whatever they feel like eating, what they can afford, and what works with their schedule and abilities.

I believe this phrase would work better if it was “You Eat What You Are.” This version is more understandable to me as what you eat is based on what you are. This idea matches reality much more closely. Saying this phrase this way however takes away the cleaver and deep meaning feel of it.

“You Are What You Eat” is simply another commonly used cliché phrase used by everyone to help convey any kind of meaning they need.

Images from: Concert and Drive Thru