Newsman Debate Column: Pineapple Pizza
Illustration by Patrick Jenkins.
The students have spoken, and in a pool of 44 students, 24 say no to pineapple on pizza and 20 say yes to pineapple on pizza. This is an interesting and very close split between responses and does reflect the current debate surrounding pineapple and it’s place on pizza.
For the most part the pineapple on pizza debate seems to be that you either love it or hate it. And this was seen in our responses.
For the yeses, there were well-articulated arguments and just some personal Newsman favorites. A personal favorite from anonymous was “To be honest, It really doesn't matter. The people who answer "no" just have weak stomachs or have personal confidence issues.” Billy Brogan responded pointing out that “It adds so much flavor and texture, and half the people that say it doesn't belong have never tried it before.” An anonymous response notes that not liking pineapple on pizza is “exclusionary thinking” and they want to “let people eat pineapple on pizza in peace!”
Finally for the yeses, Paul Simko wrote “From an American perspective, pineapple on pizza is no problem. As the world's cultural melting pot, America has a fine tradition of mixing cuisines and creating foods that do not comply with accepted trends. We enjoy plenty of toppings on pizza, and pineapple is just one regional variation. If you enjoy pineapple on pizza, go for it, and if not then you are not compelled to deal with it. Pizza is a canvas in America, and paint belongs on the canvas. Pineapple is but one color on the pallet.”
The nos definitely displayed more passion, and anger. The first response we want to showcase is “I HATE PINEAPPLE YOU MENACES” and another personal favorite is “does spongebob's home belong on pizza?” Anonymous, you do make a good point with that one. One response went as far to say that “pineapple should not even be near a pizza, it is a crime against humanity and people who disagree are just wrong.”
One response incorporated a bit of history for their reasoning against pineapple on pizza: “Pineapple is a fruit which should have absolutely no part in a savory pizza. It is a sacrilege to the Italian cuisine that such an arbitrary and culture-clashing fruit should be put on pizza in any form. The tradition of making pizza was started when left-overs were put on a crust to create the masterpiece that has now become a staple food in American culture. I doubt that pineapple was just lying around the average Italian home. Tradition and common sense must prevail on this issue.”
So the people have spoken and it seems from this sample that the Newman Community is almost evenly split on this issue. While this survey only reflects 21% of the student body, it can be said that the results reflect the argument happening within the pizza world today. Thank you to everyone who responded to the survey, and keep an eye out for the next one.
