Burger King is serving up a new item this summer—soft serve ice cream with chocolate sauce and caramel, garnished with bacon bits and a strip of bacon on top. Frequent New Yorker contributor Rachel Arons tasted the new delicacy, but she is more interested in what others are saying about it in the many reviews and commentaries that have appeared in national magazines and local papers. This essay appeared in New Yorker in June 2012.
Read it here: Arons, “Why Does Fancy Fast Food Make Us Mad?”
- Who is Arons criticizing in her article? Burger King? Food journalists? The eating public? Everybody? How do you know? Identify the target(s) of her criticism and summarize her argument. Do you agree with her? Why or why not?
- Arons quotes Daniel Coudreaut, a McDonald’s executive who defends the high caloric content of his employer’s food by saying that he could easily eat a two-thousand calorie meal at the French Laundry, a pricey, high end restaurant in California. What is Coudreaut implying in his statement? Why is it relevant to Arons’ main argument?
- Three of the authors in Chapter 16 of your text—David Zinczenco, Radley Balko, and Judith Warner—address various aspects of fast food. Choose any two of them and speculate on their likely responses to the new BK bacon sundae. Would they agree with each other? Why or why not? With which of them do you agree more? Why? Explain your reasoning.
- Do you think that Burger King has rolled out a splendid new menu item, or has it simply used its menu to generate publicity and interest, and perhaps to stimulate sales of its more traditional offerings? Is the bacon sundae a stroke of marketing genius or has the company lost its corporate marbles? Write an essay in which you reflect on the bacon sundae and the public discourse that it has inspired. Use your own responses and the comments of those around you to support your ideas.
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Instead of talking about your opinion, going on and on about it, Arons takes a different approach. In her article, she goes out to others and gets their opinions on the new bacon sundae. She even puts in quotes of what some have said to her. On top of that, instead of making a quick decision, she goes out and tries the sundae herself which was a bold move. Arons herself writes, “… Burger King’s new bacon sundae, … clocks in at five hundred and ten calories, eighteen grams of fat and sixty-one grams of sugar… the bacon sundae seems like a proudly low-brow fast-food novelty item… (Arons, Why Does Fancy Fast Food Make Us Mad?)”. In other words, she explains how it has many doubts from other companies and people, saying it may be a disappointment, or even insulting. But she also argues that this new launch is meant to be a more healthy tactile while others view it in a bad way. I guess you can say it all depends on people’s opinions on what the calories are and if they think bacon is good or bad for a person.
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Fast food restaurants will never be anything more than fast food restaurants, it seems as though they prefer it that way too, they may claim to be fancier than others but deep down they are all the same.Likewise Arons uses short segments or quotations in her arguments to sometimes show that she is in a way questioning the statement, “K.F.C.’s Double Down ‘sandwich’.” Even with such delicately named creations such as Burger King’s, “Hardwood-Smoked Bacon” they never create a new fancy ideal for the company, Burger King has already made itself a name in the fast food industry and it won’t change until something drastic occurs. Arons seems to agree with these claims, that Fast food restaurants are becoming fanciful but in reality, they sell food for cheap. The majority of the time the food is poorly made and tastes like any regular burger would taste, greasy, meaty deliciousness
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Instead of talking about your opinion, going on and on about it, Arons takes a different approach. In her article, she goes out to others and gets their opinions on the new bacon sundae. She even puts in quotes of what some have said to her. On top of that, instead of making a quick decision, she goes out and tries the sundae herself which was a bold move. Arons herself writes, “… Burger King’s new bacon sundae, … clocks in at five hundred and ten calories, eighteen grams of fat and sixty-one grams of sugar… the bacon sundae seems like a proudly low-brow fast-food novelty item… (Arons, Why Does Fancy Fast Food Make Us Mad?)”. In other words, she explains how it has many doubts from other companies and people, saying it may be a disappointment, or even insulting. But she also argues that this new launch is meant to be a more healthy tactile while others view it in a bad way. I guess you can say it all depends on people’s opinions on what the calories are and if they think bacon is good or bad for a person.
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In the article “Why does fancy fast food make us mad?”, Arons speaks negatively about Burger King’s new menu item, the bacon sundae. I agree with her in the sense that fast food chains are trying too hard to make their menus more upscale. Arons’ point is that “the idea of accessorizing desserts with bacon isn’t so much a novelty as a tapped-out culinary trend that was made popular several years ago by high-end chefs.” Trying to make fast food items fancy is unnecessary and these restaurants should just stick with what they know.
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Burger King’s new Bacon Sundae is just like any other food: fine in moderation. It is loaded with calories and fat, but most ice cream is and this sundae just happens to be more loaded than some because of its additional toppings. I think it is a creative new promotional item being used to grab people’s’ attention, which isn’t a bad thing. As long as the nutritional content of the item is clearly indicated to the public, there is nothing wrong with Burger King adding this to their menu. It is true that some are not educated on how to make healthy food choices or know that this is not a good choice but choose to eat it anyway, but it is up to the consumer whether they want to try this and to decide how often they want to eat it. There is nothing crazy or irresponsible about a fast food company (already known for not presenting the public with perfectly healthy options) advertising a new product.
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I definitely feel The bacon ice cream was an attempt to get people to really talk about BK. But it seems to me that some people are almost feeling insulted by this. This is a treat a dessert, you don’t have to buy it. No one is making you eat it, and like I read in a different response this may just be something sold in an area of the country where you don’t live. To me bacon on other things is not in the least bit uncommon. People shouldn’t hate on something just because it’s uncommon to them.
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Aron touches on basically how burger king is trying to break free from the fast food stigma and trying to pull in a bigger audience but at the same time they are trying to have a more healthier approach in the industry that is what triggered them to produce lighter wraps and other foods. Also the way they are trying to setup the appearance of their food makes people want to buy it more
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I’m honestly not surprised that Burger King has created a ice cream sundae topped with hot fudge, caramel and bacon. Americans love bacon and consume this fatty food on an regular basis, overlooking the risk factors such as high blood pressure, and clogged up arteries that can be fatal if not corrected. However,these fast food companies do not care about the consumer, and their health all they are concern about is making their food products appealing to the consumer so that they can be purchased. Those healthy- conscious individuals don’t care either, because if they did they would make better choices, instead of un healthy choices. I personal would not purchase this item
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I believe that companies, such as Burger King, should be able to sell fast-food full of fats and and sugar. However, they should not be able to lie to consumers and tell them that a bacon sundae is perfectly fine for them. The outrage over the bacon sundae is completely justified because Burger King is selfishly trying to reverse the health consciousness momentum back towards cheapness and ease. Arons is justified for criticizing Burger King’s attempts to re brand itself after marketing a product like this.
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The American public should have the right to know whether or not the food that is being sold to them is healthy or not. By lying to the public and saying their bacon is healthy Burger King is violating the people’s rights. It is no surprise that Burger King would try and lie to the people, or even put bacon on their sundae, but it is up to the government to intervene. The government should protect its people from dangers, especially dangers they believe to be safe. They first put regulations on the tobacco industry, it is now time to put regulations on the food industry.
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