The trouble with fries: An analysis
“The trouble with fries” [is a very informative article on] the history of the fast food revolution. It starts with the story of Ray Krock, who made a living [out of] selling the five-spindle multi-mixer milkshake machine. He moved to San Bernardino, California [upon hearing about a hamburger stand that owned] machines capable of making forty milkshakes simultaneously. However, he developed an interest in the French-fry operation. [This is because it was the fries that ideally captured his imagination.] [From then,] he devised a way of curing potatoes to make them more suitable for [the making of] fries. He also developed a machine that could precisely calibrate the optimal cooking time for a batch of fries. (Gladwell 1)
Krock’s invention revolutionized the fast food industry.[ It enabled the standardization of quality across all MacDonald’s fast food chains.] Access to fast food became [easier and] more convenient all across the country. [People were able to get fresh, hot fries wherever they were in the cities or at the highway restaurants.] [There was a boom in fast food consumption greatly enhanced by the application of science in the processing and preparation of food.] [The food became tastier and had a very attractive visual appeal.] [This was a very brilliant strategy because it touched on human instinct]. Food is to a great extent controlled by instincts rather than reason. Therefore by arousing the hunger instinct through an enticing display of food, they were able to attract many consumers.
[The downside to] this [was that it] led to overconsumption of fast foods. One fact that people did not seem to be aware of at the time was the unhealthy nature of the food. Such foods were high in fat content and other sugars. This led to an upsurge in cases of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Nutrition was not a consideration during the establishment of this industry. It was mainly about profits and expansion. This phenomenon led to a lot of premature deaths as a result of diet-related health complications.
[It was then that] nutritionists came to the realization that something needs to be done about the issue. [The fact that French fries are cooked in fat makes them unhealthy. However, the difference between the interior and the exterior makes them irresistible.] This further emphasizes the manipulation of human instincts. Elisabeth Rozin states that the practice of enriching carbohydrate with fats is not something new. [That it is an integral part of cuisines in nearly all cultures.] Nonetheless, she supports the claim that deep-frying is the ideal way of adding fat to carbohydrates. Her statements bear a lot of truth because all over human history fats have always been present in various diets, but issues of heart disease and obesity were very rare. It is only until the advent of the fast food revolution that such cases increased exponentially.
Food scientists proposed the use of oils that were not dangerous. A number of “safe” oils were developed. [They were marketed with the promise of better health and reduced diseases.] However, they were proven to have side effects on the body. Other methods involved extraction of fats from certain foods, but this led to reduced likability and juiciness of foods. Therefore such solutions proved ineffective. The point being missed here was that the solution was to mobilize people on the need to reduce intake of junk foods[, but not to come up with gimmicks. These gimmicks encourage the masses to consume junk foods on the pretext that they are safe.] The nutritional movement further suggests that the best way to help people improve diet is to say precisely what the food contains. [This is true because most] fast-food chains seem to be misleading the masses.
(711 words)
“The trouble with fries” outlines the history of the fast food revolution. It starts with the story of Ray Krock, who made a living selling the five-spindle multi-mixer milkshake machine. He moved to San Bernardino, California to see a machine capable of making forty milkshakes simultaneously. However, he developed an interest in the French-fry operation. He devised a way of curing potatoes to make them more suitable for fries. He also developed a machine that could precisely calibrate the optimal cooking time for a batch of fries. (Gladwell 1)
Krock’s invention revolutionized the fast food industry. Food is to a great extent controlled by instincts rather than reason. Therefore by arousing the hunger instinct through an enticing display of food, they were able to attract many consumers.
Unfortunately, this led to overconsumption of fast foods. One fact that people did not seem to be aware of at the time was the unhealthy nature of the food. Such foods were high in fat content and other sugars. This led to an upsurge in cases of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Nutrition was not a consideration during the establishment of this industry. It was mainly about profits and expansion. This phenomenon led to a lot of premature deaths as a result of diet-related health complications.
Finally, nutritionists came to the realization that something needs to be done about the issue. This further emphasizes the manipulation of human instincts. Elisabeth Rozin states that the practice of enriching carbohydrate with fats is not something new. Nonetheless, she supports the claim that deep-frying is the ideal way of adding fat to carbohydrates. Her statements bear a lot of truth because all over human history fats have always been present in various diets, but issues of heart disease and obesity were very rare. It is only until the advent of the fast food revolution that such cases increased exponentially.
Food scientists proposed the use of oils that were not dangerous. A number of “safe” oils were developed. However, they were proven to have side effects on the body. Other methods involved extraction of fats from certain foods, but this led to reduced likability and juiciness of foods. Therefore such solutions proved ineffective. The point being missed here was that the solution was to mobilize people on the need to reduce intake of junk foods. The nutritional movement further suggests that the best way to help people improve diet is to say precisely what the food contains. Still, most fast-food chains seem to be misleading the masses.
(510 words)
Works cited
Gladwell, M. "The trouble with fries. The New Yorker, March 5." (2001).
