Fast Food Monstrosities: Why Would Someone Eat a 1400 Calorie Sandwich?

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



Fast Food Monstrosities: Why Would Someone Eat a 1400 Calorie Sandwich?

By Scott Gold, The Faster Times. Posted September 28, 2009.

Big fast food chains are competing to build bigger, badder and more insanely calorific food. And we eat it. What the hell is wrong with us?




This article was reprinted from The Faster Times. Faster. Smarter. Funnier: Go to TheFasterTimes.com for the latest in News, Politics, Science, Arts, Health, Nonsense, and everything else.


Some weeks ago, I was startled by a surging news item that I thought couldn’t possibly be real. There was this video -- a YouTube video, in fact, and we all know how reliable those tend to be -- that someone took of a television advertisement. It’s grainy and the sound is high-pitched and tinny, but still, there it was: If this ad was to be believed, Kentucky Fried Chicken was now going to sell a bacon and cheese sandwich that featured two thick slabs of fried chicken instead of bread. They call it the “Double Down.” I assumed the name to be a playful take on what happens to your lifespan after eating one of these monstrosities. It was outrageous. It was hilarious. It couldn’t honestly be real…could it? I was dubious, but then again, this is KFC we’re talking about here. This is the same restaurant chain that comic Patton Oswalt scathingly lampooned, likening their most popular dish -- a tub filled with seemingly every KFC menu item covered in cheese and gravy -- to a “failure pile in a sadness bowl.” But a bowl of food I can understand, if not order for myself. A mountainous double fistful of fried chicken, bacon, cheese and sauce, on the other hand, seemed so egregious as to defy human comprehension.

I was convinced that this must be some sort of comedic hoax. After all, it wasn’t long ago that we saw Saturday Night Live’s introduction of the “pizza crepe pancake taco chili bag” at the fictitious Taco Town. Even closer to the bone was Tracy Morgan’s character on 30 Rock attempting to make some quick product endorsement cash by hawking the Tracy Jordan Meat Machine, a Foreman Grill-type appliance that melts any three meats together into “one delicious food ball,” assuring that you won’t ever again “have to suffer through the bread portion of your meal.” Of course the Double Down, like the Meat Machine, was a goof. Or could this actually be one of the most spectacular moments ever of life imitating art? Either way, something crazy and maybe a little unsettling was going on here.

....(snip)....

What I’m talking about is the shift, in recent years, whereby the big fast food chains have begun inventing, marketing and promoting bigger, badder and more insanely calorific sandwiches than at any point in American history. It’s kind of like a Cold War arms race, only instead of intercontinental ballistic missiles, we have sandwiches with enough caloric content to nourish the entire population of a modest-sized, mid-Pacific archipelago. When Ray Croc opened his first McDonald’s hamburger restaurant (and for many years after), the signature hamburger was the size of the one we still see on the menu today, which seems ludicrously tiny compared to its brontosaurus-sized cousins, notably the double quarter pounder with cheese, weighing in at a beastly 730 calories, whereas the original burger, even with cheese, clocks in at a skimpy 310. And that, friends, is nothing compared to the BK Quad Stacker, Wendy’s Classic Triple with Cheese, or the infamous Hardee’s Monster Thickburger. Forget food porn; this is food weaponry. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/142919/fast_food_monstrosities%3A_why_would_someone_eat_a_1400_calorie_sandwich

[ChairmanAgnostic]

sick.

[polichick]

1. Same reason people live in McMansions and drive gas hogs...

The belief that more is better.

[exboyfil]

2. You have to run approximately 14 miles

to burn this puppy off. Never fear just eat it with diet soda.

[CrispyQ]

9. "Never fear just eat it with diet soda."

:rofl:

I shouldn't laugh - I know people like that.

[hobbit709]

3. While I occasionally eat KFC, this sandwich(?) makes me gag.

[Warpy]

4. People who do heavy physical labor might be able to justify it

once or twice a month. Unfortunately, gluttony like that has become the swaggering, macho thing to do.

We could probably prevent a lot of obesity if the restaurants could be persuaded to cut portion sizes instead of constantly expanding them.

Once obesity happens, it's pretty much there for life. We don't have a permanent cure.

Prevention is key.

[enough]

5. If you want the actual answer to that question, read THE END OF OVEREATING,

a recent book by David A. Kessler, MD. He explains the chemistry and neurology of what happens when we eat that kind of food, and why it is addictive. This is not a diet book, but an explanation of the phenomenon, and how the food industry knowingly makes use of it to keep us eating.

[K8-EEE]

15. Thank you I will check that book out! n/t

[Triana]

6. last time I posted something like this I got a lot of...

...

"Mmmmmmmm!"

And "Well, I'll eat what I want. You're not the food police!"

...and other such adolescent barking.

You're having better luck. Good for you.

[handmade34]

13. "adolescent"

good word for those, even here, that claim freedom to do what they want... past time for an intelligent discussion about how people's lifestyles affect all of us. It is a sensitive subject as we all want personal freedoms but when it is proven that behaviors harm the planet, cost all of us excessive money, do harm to our children... all I'm saying is that it is time for an intelligent discussion, without all" the I'll eat what I want" or "drive what I want" or "don't tax my soda" or...

[Berry Cool]

14. Well, it's going to be tough

because it really does seem that everyone wants to draw the line in their own personal spot--and not anyone else's. I don't see an easy way around that.

Look up thread at the person who thinks it's hilarious that some people eat calorie-rich foods with diet soda. Hey! Guilty! But it has nothing to do with being stupid enough to believe that the soda cancels out the food, it has to do with the fact that I can no longer stand the taste of sugary soda.

That being said, I am working on eating healthier now. But you know, if we're going to argue about whose habits to ban or tax on behalf of "us all," I might say ban sugary soda, or cigarettes, because I have no personal taste for them and would not miss them a bit, but some would say that's an infringement on their personal rights, and that rather than that, French fries, or chocolate desserts, should be banned, which would put me up in arms.

I'm not sure what the solution is.

[bertman]

7. When I was younger and my metabolism was more active and weight was not a problem

I ate these kinds of things because I liked the taste and they filled me up until the next meal. Double quarter-pounder with cheese and double Whoppers were some of my favorites when I weighed in at 155lbs dripping wet. Don't forget the fries and the soda.

That seems like a good enough reason to me.

Nowadays I wouldn't think of it.

[pipi_k]

20. Same here...the good old days of shitty food...

I'd go out to the Chinese food place with friends and end up eating my plate plus half of someone else's who couldn't finish.

A & W...I could eat two Mama Burgers with everything on them plus a huge mug of root beer.

I never went above 129 lbs for years.


Now?

One stinking cupcake makes me blow up like an overinflated SUV airbag.

Lunch is a tuna sandwich.


it's just not fair.
:cry:

[bertman]

28. "One stinking cupcake makes me blow up like an overinflated SUV airbag."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Remember the "egg 'a muffin"?

[fasttense]

8. It seems our society is promoting the 7 deadly sins as if they were honors.

Which one of these are NOT promoted in our media hyped American culture?

"Lust", "Gluttony", "Greed", "Sloth", "Wrath", "Envy", and "Pride".

I think I would add "Ignorance".

[unpossibles]

10. Why do they sell those? Simple answer: money

Look at it this way. The labor required for a sandwich is almost the same no matter how large or small the sandwich is, and while the food cost of a larger portion goes up, the labor cost will stay about the same. So when the restaurant charges more for the larger size, their profit is considerably more because the labor cost did not go up.

Almost all restaurants do this, but the fast food places - even the 'nicer' fast food places like Olive Garden, Applebees, Fridays, Chilis, etc. - seem to go for the macho thing more, with meals which would make a sane person gag; meals which are essentially a dare, the food equivalent of skateboarding off a roof. It's like the show Jackass for your body.

[formercia]

11. In hard times, some hit the bottle. Others pig out.

Pick your poison.

[tridim]

17. Just don't smoke the devil weed, m'kay.

[imdjh]

12. Those oyster fritters and fried soft crabs my grandmother made weren't exactly health food.

[Fearless]

16. True story!

[Recursion]

18. Right, but we don't use lard anymore

It seems counterintuitive, but getting rid of lard and tallow has a lot to do with why we're getting fatter, IMO. You can't eat more than a small order of tallow-fried french fries or lard-fried chicken. But when you fry them in "lighter" hydrogenated oils, you don't feel full like you do after eating natural fats.

It's one of the in-jokes behind the high-protein high-animal-fat diets like Atkins, et al: sure, you can eat all the steak, lobster, and drawn butter you want -- but you actually can't get down that much rich food.

[imdjh]

19. My problem is that I like peasant food.

I have done Atkins and very successfully (168 pounds off), and I go back to it when I tip the scale. But if you gave me a choice between Lobster and corn bread, I'll take the corn bread. Caviar or Cheetos- hand me the bag. I have no use for a steak if there is ravioli in the room. And nothing goes better with any of this than Diet Coke- so you can have all the Chardonnay you brought with you.

[dugaresa]

26. I use lard in my pie dough, and I cook with real butter

and yet my spouse, my kids and I are all thin. We eat and enjoy good food but are active.

[Berry Cool]

31. Actually, those partially hydrogenated oils are worse for you than lard

because of all the trans fats!

You're better off with lard!

[Recursion]

33. Oh, I'm a fan of lard

[pipi_k]

21. No such thing as "small" anymore.

I don't do fast food all that often, but when I do, I'm always rather dismayed to see how huge the portions are.

I get the smallest sizes they have. Even the sodas are huge. Or, the cups are, anyway...we fill them ourselves, and I only fill halfway.

Can only finish half the fries

And when I order fish or chicken sandwich, I can never finish that, either.

I throw it away and then feel guilty because the remainder would probably be a meal for someone who doesn't have any food.


At least in a restaurant I can take the leftovers home and feast on them for a day or two.

[Zoeisright]

22. Because it's good?

Sorry - couldn't help it.

[kenfrequed]

23. hmm

As much as that much fatty badly prepared and factory farmed meat is certainly bad for you, we could also do with a bit of cutting back on our consumption of grains, cereals and breads.

Putting it in terms of "suffering through the bread portion" makes it sound as though the bread portion is automatically worthwhile. If we were to reject the absurd and probably toxic meat on meat on meat we would do better to move towards a heavy wrapper of leafy greens.

[Captain Hilts]

24. Burger King had a breakfast sandwich that had a lot more calories than that. nt

[MidwestRick]

25. Why shouldn't I?

Who is this guy to broad brush as he does? I try to eat between 3,500 to 5k calories a day during the winter months when I am bulking, if I'd like to eat this much in one sitting, so what? I do cardio, 4-5 times a week in addition to hitting the weights 4-5 times a week. If I'd like to partake in one of these sandwiches, why can't I? Who is the author to question my reasoning? It's not like I would eat one of these daily, or for that matter weekly, but from time to time, if I'd like one, I don't need somebody questioning my intent.

Stay out of my diet, thank you very much.

[madmom]

27. What I find equally repulsive are the "sandwiches" where they pile everything on it...

like onion rings, or the "bowls" mashed potatoes, corn, some kind of meat and call it a meal. Why not just go to the local pig trough? That's exactly what it is.

[RedCloud]

29. Our stomachs can stretch to twice our body size!

I read that somewhere.

[cliffordu]

30. When riding a 130lb bicycle cross country that would be breakfast.

yummy.

[bhikkhu]

32. I've never had a weight problem, but I wouldn't

I simply find that kind of thing indigestible.

The more exercise I get, the more I appreciate simpler foods - like fruit and bread and milk and so forth. Dinner is rice and chicken stir fry or some variety...I can't imagine what it would be like to eat fast food regularly.