MNN - Mother Nature Network

 

They’re so iconic, and so associated with being made with so many preservatives that they’ll never go bad, that a Twinkie-looking product was shown in the movie "Wall-E." It was the one food that was still around 800 years after humans deserted the earth. Twinkies, cockroaches and tons of trash were all that was of life.

 

I recently took a bite of a Twinkie after 20-some years of never putting one in my mouth. I was at a BBQ over the summer, and they were there on the dessert table. (Someone obviously stopped at the mini-mart for their contribution on their way to the festivities). I unwrapped one out of nostalgia, took a bite, and spit it out. I thought it would bring back delicious childhood memories. If that was what it tasted like when I was a child, I had some pretty sad taste buds back then.

 

Today, when I found out that Hostess has closed due to a Bakers Union strike, I was un-phased until I started seeing people on social media sites make comments. For some people, this is distressing. Of course, it’s distressing for all of the people who will be loosing jobs because, but it’s also distressing to consumers.

 

CNN reports that the Twinkie hoarding has already begun. Some of my Facebook friends are hoarding. I have one friend who has a photo 24-pack of Twinkies he's put in storage. Another friend is not so sad about the loss of Twinkies, but the loss of Wonder Bread has her upset. And, another friend whose children have never had a Twinkie is thinking about letting her kids have a taste before. You know what? So am I. I can’t even give you a good reason except for the fact that I’m thinking maybe they should experience an icon before it disappears. Even if that icon is a Twinkie.

 

Not everyone is distressed, though.

 

Some people, like David Quilty from The Good Human, are trying to help others put it in perspective. He tweeted this earlier today.

 

 

He’s right. There are real problems to be concerned about. The loss of jobs for the Hostess employees is one of them, but the loss of the junk food itself is not such a great loss.

 

But it does leave me with some burning questions. Are you hoarding Twinkies, Ho Hos or Wonder Bread? Just how many centuries will those hoarded Twinkies last? And, should I seek out some Twinkies so my boys know what they’ve been denied all these years and will never be able to get again?