45 years ago, in the late 1950's our forefathers may have been unaware of the potential health dangers that lay within the flame broiled mask of the Whopper. Perhaps they were naïve in the ways of calories and fat grams back then and were just too excited about the new burger craze that had swept the nation. So ate them they did as they drag raced their cars and danced at their soc hops…ignorance was bliss. However, in these days with our super computers and information highways, we are well schooled in the ways of health matters. We are more informed and as a culture try to be more health conscious. We all know that the Double Whopper with cheese has 950 calories and 63 grams of fat. There is no illusion anymore, we know that the whopper is fattening. We all know that fast food is not good for us. But the here is the kicker…Burger King knows we know. Burger King and its fast food brothers are well aware of the fact that their food is creating spare tires and pot bellies across the planet. Knowing this information, they choose not to succumb to the demands of the healthy crazed populace but rather continue to innovate new ways to make us more obese. And it is with this bravado that Burger King and its fast food alumni have staked their claim as the bad boys of the restaurant industry.
In some ways you have to respect the fast food world for its sheer defiance of the health obsessed mainstream. While we are being told to count our calories, McDonalds is adding burritos to its breakfast menu. Have you glanced at a McDonalds menu lately? It is a virtual cornucopia of fattening food items. They have broadened their menu selection to include wings, pizza, fajitas, wraps, poutine, cookies, and flurries. It appears that Ronald McDonald and the gang are sourcing out any time type of unhealthy food to add to their menu regardless of cuisine. If it's fattening, we got it! Instead of bowing to the pressures of the fitness fanatics and adding some more health minded items to their offerings, McDonalds is devilishly augmenting their product line to make it worse. As if spitting in the face of the calorie reducers. Now they have Triple Thick Shakes. Thick is out, there is no thick anymore. Only triple thick is available. "Give me the thickest possible shake substance available!" And after 45 years of the fat soaked whopper, does Burger King rest on its laurels? No, rather it is celebrating the occasion by introducing "Shake 'Em Up Fries". Fries that are served in a bag which consumers shake to coat the fries in a cheese seasoning. I can only imagine the product development teams for these fast food chains with their devil may care attitudes creating these new items. Sitting in boardrooms, snickering like children opposing their parents as they concoct these new outlandish foods like the Cheesy Gordita Crunch or the Cheddar Sausage Bacon Deluxe McMuffin.
The fast food category shows no sign of backing down to public opinion. They know their place and are standing firm. That is what has made the Burger Kings, McDonalds, Taco Bells and the countless others successful; they have never strayed from their original mission. And as long as people keep buying the Double Decker Taco Supremes they will keep serving them. Despite an apparent shift towards a more health focused society, they have continued to be who they always were. You may not like their food, but in way you have to admire their tenacity. They are countering the health minded consumer each step of the way like a good chess opponent. They are boldly resisting the calorie counters one piece of cheddar cheese at a time…
…but that's just my opinion.
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