Fast Food Nation Chapter 5

Today A 15 year old middle school drop-out already has "troubled kid, not going anywhere in life," written all over it. For J.R. Simplot case that was not the outcome. Starting with the status of a 15 year old drop-out he is now a billionaire, because of his brilliant ideas with potatoes. It astounds me how he started with a simple business of selling horse hides for $2 each saved up his money for a year and started a potato farm. Today I don't think that kids at such a young age are a mature, or have the same determination that J.R. Simplot. I can remember my brother at that age, and he complained over the insignificant bit of homework he had to do, because he wanted to play video games. One of the quotes i enjoyed from this chapter was "The only thing I did smart, and just remember this - ninety-nine percent of people would have sold out when they got their first twenty-five or thirty million. I didn't sell out. I just hung on." Truly he was smart to hang on to the franchise of McDonald's. like it said in the intro, McDonald started off with simply one thousand restaurants, and today about thirty thousand restaurants worldwide. If he didn't "hang on" who knows if J.R. Simplot name would be as famous as it is today, or he would be as wealthy as he is.

So the question is what makes french fries taste so good? The answer can be be found in the artificial flavoring in food. These artificial flavors are made inside of large factories, with men and women wearing science coats, mixing chemicals day in and day out trying to make the perfect smell to activated your taste buds. To me, that doesn't really make fast food appetizing. You would think that what you see behind the counter is where the smell is coming from, when actually the smell was injected in and shipped thousands of miles. Not only is this disgusting, but i think it puts the wonderful world of culinary to shame. Yes, I must say it is a brilliant idea! It attracts customers in, making them believe what they smell is really what is smells like, but it isn't morally right. Food should be kept natural, cause that's where the true delicious flavors lie!



QUESTIONS:

Who is J.R.Simplot? What connection does J. R.Simplot have to the fast food industry?
A: J.R. Simplot was a man who started a potato business in Idaho. He collaborated with McDonald's and still today they sell his french fries

How have the potato farms in Idaho changed in the last 25 years or so?
A: The potato farms are technically farms anymore, They are more so factories. The potatoes are grown, skinned,sliced, and then frozen, or dehydrated to be shipped. Before they were grown, skinned, sliced, The potato farms weren't introduced the the technology of freezing them and dehydrating them.

What are some of the similarities and some of the differences between "
A: The difference is that "natural Flavors," are made with natural chemicals, as in "Artificial Flavors," are made with synthetic chemicals. The world largest Flavor industry is located in Dayton, New Jersey, The second larges in East Hanover.