The official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. account dropped a bombshell and also a very curious piece of information about the economy of the Zone. Actually, the revelation does contradict previously made assumptions surprisingly; somewhat. They announced that the most profitable items in the Zone would, surprisingly, bread and sausages. Not the artifacts, not the guns, just food. The thick and polluted regions will have the richest traders of the ‘uncut’ stuff in deal. However, the dilemma continues, “which side are you on?” in this and future Bread Day 2025 via emoticons of bread and sausage. For me, it seems to be a rather odd yet a very apt question for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe.
Of course, the replies were absolutely crazy from the start. Victor (a.k.a. GoizZ) didn’t hold back when he said, “When I play, I overeat sausage, though bread is also nice” which honestly could not be more relatable. But then, unexpectedly, Farinhir takes up the nutri-analytical path and declares, “I pick neither. Sausage is too greasy. Bread is all sugar. I want to eat protein.” Give me a break, man; this is the Zone—you take what you can find! It’s no health food store.
Other important questions began to appear right away. Mustafa ÜÇÜNCÜOĬLU posed a question about the main ingredient of the sausage, and it is… Yes, that is a very valid concern. If we are talking about mutants and anomalies, that sausage could be anything, e.g. from Snork meat? Flesh chunks? Who knows! To this, cxllctxr replied, “asking the real questions,” and honestly, this phrase perfectly fits the thread.
However, the lore debates became very serious. AndrewNazaruk, who appears to be a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. lore expert, explained that it is actually not very hard to find processed food in the Zone, as there is a smuggling operation going on from the outside and even the Military and PMCs are trading with stalkers. He shares information about the Zone’s growth areas, the difficulty of guarding the borders, and how the stalkers can just sneak through the unprotected spots or bribe their way through. This guy should be the one to write the lore or something like that.
On the contrary, Koval4308 was wondering out loud in Ukrainian about the well-known “Bread” from Dark Valley and whether Scar’s breadcrumb is coming from there, which was automatically translated but shows how deep the food lore goes in these games. Then there was André Korb who was asking about the in-game currency by noting he has 3.2 million after 190 hours of gameplay, which indeed appears to be low for someone who has spent so long in the Zone.
Insane suggestions for new food items were given. AndrewNazaruk (again, this guy is everywhere) proposed that the outright snacks limitation, which are available only in bars or community hubs, should be lifted. He was talking about borscht made out of Flesh meat with a special recipe by Boroda. Farinhir, however, turned down the borscht idea by saying “I don’t think Borscht would last in the field. At least not realistically.” And I can’t help but wonder if that’s really a concern in a game world where psychic anomalies and floating jellyfish mutants pose dangers.
Then there is a whole mustard debate. Crazy Cat and Leaf were calling for mustard in the Zone as soon as possible, and Kashia just supplemented a picture that seems to be sausage in bread and asking “Why not both?” which does indeed sound like the smartest choice. ElevatorDoors asks a rhetorical question why can’t sandwiches be made with butter, to which… good question? And AmberClad simply asked if they could take cigars instead, as this would set their priorities straight.
However, the COWSMAKEMAYO captured the real mood saying “Radioactive glizzard all day” together with the sausage emojis, whereas Autochton vel Jasne was thinking of “a very suspicious looking sausage” because in the Zone everything is suspicious. Meanwhile, hitman2b1 was going crazy BOOZE, alcohol, VODKA! because let us be honest, that’s most likely the real currency in the Zone.
The immersion police showed up with WC_Gamer_BG who wailed about the scarcities of food mentioned in the lore while still every stash being full of it calling it a “huge immersion brake”. However, AndrewNazaruk came back with an explanation in support of the lore saying that the Zone is the main location of contraband and that those who become stalkers do so for the economic opportunity rather than just for the artifacts.
What is more interesting is that this spontaneous food debate actually links to the entire S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience. The series has always been about survival where you have to constantly scavenge for resources, manage radiation, and trying not to starve while actually dealing with much bigger threats. The fact that players’ talks are so elaborate about food economics and what would really work in the Zone shows how deep the commitment of people to this world is.
And with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl finally coming (we hope), these types of community interactions are hype in a very strange way. We are not talking about graphics or gameplay mechanics anymore; we are instead arguing about whether bread is better than sausage and if mustard should be a part of the game or not. It is so very S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
The whole Bread Day 2025 event is like one of those peculiar in-universe holidays that could very well be in the Zone, where the fools take a break from anomalies and mutant fights to have a discussion about food preferences. It is such minor world-building elements that make the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. community so special, where players will literally argue about the economic viability of sausage production in a radioactive zone as if it were a real thing.
So, if you wonder what the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. community does while waiting for the sequel, we are talking about intense debates about processed meats and baked goods. And to be honest? That is exactly how it should be. The Zone might be a dreadful place full of nightmares, but at least we all agree on one thing, and that is the food situation is terrible and needs to be improved. However, I am personally team sausage all the way, just don’t ask what’s in it.
