Supersize Me!
I’ve never been anywhere where fast food and convenience stores banded together toward a common cause - the ability to give its customer the Supersize option.
Before I came to the US, french fries comes in small and medium packages, soda at McDonald’s can be ordered in small, medium or large, and by large I mean you have to ask for “Go Big Time”. Boy were we missing out on something!
So I came to the US and like most Americans, went on the road travelling. Gassing up at the station, I would go in to grab something to drink and I am floored by the sheer variety of beverage cup sizes available. coffee cups come in standard, 8oz, 12 oz & 24 oz cups. Soda cups come in 24oz, 32oz, 48oz, half liter, 1 liter, and the mega jumbo 2 liter bucket that comes equipped with a footlong straw. People sure like to drink and drive around here =)
Time to eat, we stopped by at the famous American icon, McDonald’s. That’s where I first heard the term, would you like to supersize that? Supersize what? I thought I already ordered a big mac, a large french fries and a large coke. Aparrently for 59 cents more I can order an even bigger version of the things I already ordered. I declined, but my friend sure won’t miss out on the 59cent deal. Next to his, my large coke cup looked like a kiddie sippy cup.
So okay, the documentary came out years ago, there is research [several really] out there chronicling the “fattening” of the US of A. Why am I writing this just now? Makes you wonder, with rising cost of food and fuel, how can fastfood chains still offer supersize versions at a fraction of a cost?
Granted, a newer concept is coming up, which may or may not become a trend - the snack size chomp. You know, for 99 cents you get a burger or a KFC meal which disappears when you inhale, er, in two bites. But wait, I just saw a commercial for “Pizzone” a calzone the size of half a large round pizza .. I guess supersize is here to stay …
