Fast Food Nation Chapter 5

1. Who is J.R. Simplot? What connection does J.R. Simplot have to the fast food industry?
J.R. Simplot is a man who built an entire empire on french fries. According to the author Simplot "displays the contradictory traits that guided the economic development of the American West, the odd mixture of rugged individualism and a dependence upon public land and resources. (Pg. 111) J.R. Simplot's connection to fast food is his potato factory in Idaho, which processess about 1 million pounds of potatos a day. Why potatoes one might ask, but his factory takes those potatoes and they are transformed into french fries. French fries that are available at basically all fast food, mostly McDonalds, establishments all over the country, let alone the world.
2. How has to potato farms in Idaho changed in the last 25 years or so?
Idaho potato farms in Idaho have changed the past 25-ish years ago is that its productivity has been slowed. In '96-'97, prices of potatoes went from 5 dollars per hundredweight to $1.50 per hundredweight. Eventhough the prices have recovered, the annual income of a potato farmer is now determined on its "weather, world market, and the whims of the giant processors." There are now about 1,100 potato farmers left in Idaho, with half on them in the Potato Growers of Idaho.
3. What is PGI and how sucessful has it been in organizing Potato Farmers?
PGI is the Potato Growers of Idaho. About 1,100 potato farmers are left in Idaho with half of them being in the PGI. The PGI tried to create an alliance with Oregon and Washington, to unite the three top states of the potato industry. It was about as successful as the WWII Market Garden Operation (whiched failed). The alliance was undermined by a big processors, which had lucrative deals with a core of the farmers. Since, Potato farmers remain stubbornly independent.
4. What is the "Fallacy of Composition"?
The Fallacy of compsition is a belief that "what seems good for an individual will still be good when others do the same thing. Since WWII, the US has had to get new technology and then pushed farmers off the land. Through this, we've been relying on fertilizers, pesticides,fungicides, herbicides, advanced harvesting, etc.
5. What makes McDonalds French Fries taste different than French Fries at other fast food restaraunts?
McDonalds has been praised for their fries. Other companies use the same fries and the same fryers. McDonalds have used an oil with 93% beef talow, and 7% cottonseed oil. In the 90's, they switched to a pure vegtable oil. But to me, the author didn't really know why McDonald's French Fries taste better than other French Fries. Although, there are chemicals that you add to the fries that give them their specific tastes.
6. What are some of the differences between "artificial flavors" and "natural flavors?" Where is the "flavor industry located.
Artificial flavors are flavor additives to food. German scientests discovered the first artificial flavor by accident, and was the flavoring compound of grape Kool-Aid. It was then added to baked goods, candy and soda pop. It now gets around 1.4 billion dollars a year. Natural Flavor is also a man-made flavoring to sodas and other food products. The flavor industry is located in Dayton New Jersey in America. In Germany, its at the Haarmann &Reimer, and Takasago in Japan.