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The fattening of America
Jun. 11th, 2003 05:11 pmA thought that popped into my head the other day has just been kind of sitting here festering. I've mentioned it to a couple of people, and they've all thought that I'm just being the kind of me that asks if you can play air guitar in a vaccuum. However, I'm actually at least a little bit serious about this one.
Blame it on 7-Eleven.
I'm wondering, had 7-Eleven never devised the Big Gulp, would there be such a push to super-size everything? I suppose the first question would be whether 7-Eleven was, in fact, the first company to market the idea of a huge volume of soda as a single serving. Certainly, had they (or anyone) not devised the 32-oz Big Gulp, there likely wouldn't have been the popularity of 44 oz. or 64 oz. beverages. Had they not been successful, would McDonald's be asking if you want to super-size your value meal? Would Wendy's be asking you if you'd like to Biggie Size your combo? Hey Gale, what are the common sizes of fountain drinks in Sweden?
Of course, not everything can be blamed on 7-Eleven, as more jobs have become sedentary in nature, and more automation, and so on, but it's just something that came to mind. I suppose I still need to read "Fast Food Nation" and see if they mention anything about it there.
Blame it on 7-Eleven.
I'm wondering, had 7-Eleven never devised the Big Gulp, would there be such a push to super-size everything? I suppose the first question would be whether 7-Eleven was, in fact, the first company to market the idea of a huge volume of soda as a single serving. Certainly, had they (or anyone) not devised the 32-oz Big Gulp, there likely wouldn't have been the popularity of 44 oz. or 64 oz. beverages. Had they not been successful, would McDonald's be asking if you want to super-size your value meal? Would Wendy's be asking you if you'd like to Biggie Size your combo? Hey Gale, what are the common sizes of fountain drinks in Sweden?
Of course, not everything can be blamed on 7-Eleven, as more jobs have become sedentary in nature, and more automation, and so on, but it's just something that came to mind. I suppose I still need to read "Fast Food Nation" and see if they mention anything about it there.
