Today
I was reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan for my junior
theme, when I read something very interesting. Since the introduction of high
fructose corn syrup, sales of many processed food companies – especially fast
food companies – have gone up. Why? Because they have supersized many of their
products. For instance, 7-Eleven has introduced the famous double gulp. But
what enabled them to do this?
When
high fructose corn syrup was introduced, companies jumped on the opportunity to
use it in their products because it is just as sweet as regular sugar, equally
affective as regular sugar, but is only a fraction of the cost. They then
realized that they would have to pay much less to make the products they sold.
However, instead of sell their products at the same size for a lower price,
they decided to supersize their products, costing them about the same as
before, and selling them to consumers for a slightly higher, yet still
profitable price. This new supersized product, as we well know, appealed to
consumers more than companies even realized. So now, we see companies
supersizing everywhere. Take a look at this video for a better idea:
As
you see, fast food companies from across the board have supersized their products,
and made an incredible profit from it. This, however, has contributed to the
declining health of our nation, as the rate of type II diabetes as well as
heart disease, obesity, and many other illnesses increases. While our nation’s
fast food companies reek the benefits of this ingenious sales tactic, our
waistlines pay the price. And at the cost of what? Corn? How could something as
silly as corn make such a large impact on our nation’s health?
Is
it responsible of fast food companies to supersize their menu when they know
it’s hurting the health of our nation? At what point should companies worry
more about the welfare of consumers than their own profit?
No comments:
Post a Comment