If you’ve ever texted a friend to meet you at a popular salad chain, there’s a good chance you slid a salad emoji in there. These veggie-loving companies are big fans of promoting the fact that salads come in all shapes, sizes, and varieties. But while it’s great that we can always experiment with salads, there’s only one salad emoji currently available on Android. And in order to cater to the vegans out there, Google decided to make a noticeable change that gained a lot of outrage.
The original salad emoji included a bowl of greens with lettuce, tomato, and an egg. With the makeover, they removed the egg, but didn’t fill that space with anything else. Cucumber, onion, or broccoli could have easily filled the void, but alas. Instead, the salad emoji is quite minimal.
But that’s not the key reason why people are upset. Many wrote on Twitter that the change-up seemingly made the salad look even less healthy, especially since it lacks a lot of extra veggies. Even those who don’t eat meat or animal products often find a way to add a little bit of protein to their greens, often using tofu or beans. Assuming that the salad emoji was initially meant to represent anything other than a side salad, it looks like a pretty sad lunch.
Here’s what the change looks like, courtesy of Google employee Jennifer Daniel:
There's big talk about inclusion and diversity at Google so if you need any evidence of Google is making this priority may I direct your attention to the 🥗 emoji— we've removed the egg in Android P beta 2, making this a more inclusive vegan salad. pic.twitter.com/kzHY0A9ZjG
— jennifer daniel (@jenniferdaniel) June 6, 2018
And here are just some of the numerous responses regarding the missing egg:
Thank's for makeing that salad boring, you could have changed the egg into an avocado
— Grape (@GrapeCollie) June 7, 2018
People are offended because there is an egg in a graphic representation of a salad? I don’t buy it. People who are looking for excuses to be offended are offended.
— Mathew Carson (@MathewCarson11) June 7, 2018
This is the absolute most ridiculous and petty thing I have ever seen on the internet ... ARE YOU SURE THIS ISNT A JOKE???
— Jake Smith (@Jthatch1998) June 7, 2018
Cool you made a emoji that no one uses with an image of a salad no one would ever want
— The Shredator (@the__shredator) June 11, 2018
Daniel clarified that the emoji change was more or less a way to stick with the initial vision of the emoji, but since that’s not what she said in that first tweet, people are still scratching their heads.
Hello carnivores, vegans and everyone in between! Just want to clarify that the goal of salad emoji redesign was to create an image more faithful to unicode's description. "A bowl of healthy salad, containing lettuce, tomato, and other salad items such as cucumber." Bon appetite!
— jennifer daniel (@jenniferdaniel) June 6, 2018
In comparison, Apple created a salad with a bit more diversity — and still, no meat:
So, it can definitely be done. The salad wasn’t the only emoji to get a makeover — Daniel also tweeted about the much-anticipated redhead emoji (since it’s about time) and some major changes to their turtle, who, prior to the change, looked like he was in dire need of a nap.
For those asking, this image features you fiery types.🔥😊🔥 pic.twitter.com/D8RjrFcTkz
— jennifer daniel (@jenniferdaniel) June 6, 2018
We're slowly giving some our emojis more love. Our goat is no longer so angry. The turtle really needed a hug. And we gave the Grinning Face With One Large and One Small Eye some anti-anxiety meds. pic.twitter.com/HUKQe0EeAs
— jennifer daniel (@jenniferdaniel) June 6, 2018
While diversity is a wonderful thing, maybe Google should aim for a new set of emojis that can better illustrate the vegan lifestyle.
Have an idea for an emoji? You can submit a proposal to Unicode right here. The emoji’s short name, keywords, and licenses are just a few factors that must be included.
