Andrew Noel, Staff

No, we will not be answering what happens after we die, nor will we be answering how the universe was created. In Philadelphia, there is a far more pressing question that affects the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Is the delicious breakfast meat called pork roll, or taylor ham?

The origins of this great debate begin in 1856 when New Jersey resident John Taylor invented a new breakfast meat and decided to call it “Taylor Ham.” However, he had to change the name to “pork roll” in 1906, after federal legislation stated that ham is a specific cut of pork, hence the name pork roll.^[1] This 1906 chasm began the war that is still being fought almost 120 years later.

This great American debate began in New Jersey, the home state of John Taylor, and has spread across the eastern seaboard. Philadelphia is not immune to this great American divide, with its proximity to southern New Jersey leading to most Philadelphians referring to the delicious food as pork roll, while most in the northern part of both Pennsylvania and New Jersey refer to the food as Taylor Ham. It is unclear where this divide (of northerners calling it taylor ham and southerners calling it pork roll) came from, but nonetheless, this is the divide we have been left with.

If you are wondering at this point what John Taylor would have preferred, it is hard to say. This is because he is from the middle part of New Jersey (Trenton to be specific). No, I will not say he was from central Jersey, as that place does not exist, no matter what the governor says! (https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562023/20230824a.shtml)

This debate affects La Salle University and its students everyday. The popular Pauline’s Deli sells what they call, “pork roll sandwhiches”. This is in addition to the Fresh Grocer by campus selling what they term as “pork roll.” It is clear that the business establishments around La Salle believe the proper term for this food is pork roll, but what do the students think?

To say there is a divide among the student body would be an understatement, with one student, who calls it pork roll, having not even heard of the term “Taylor Ham” in her life. One staff member became so passionate about the debate (they are on team pork roll), that they raised their voice, and got physically upset at the possibility of the food being called Taylor Ham. Both of these people are from prime pork roll territory (Philadelphia, and South Jersey, respectively 

Like everything surrounding this debate, there is an almost even split between La Salle students, with roughly a third (from South Jersey and southern PA) calling the delicacy pork roll, a third from North Jersey, and New York calling it Taylor Ham, and another third not caring either way.

This great American debate has sparked controversy for over 100 years, and it is showing no signs of slowing down. No matter what you call it, I think we can all agree that Taylor Ham/pork roll is a delicious food, and is a great way to start the day.