the corner office : World Cup Burgers

World Cup Burgers

McDonalds is releasing a World Cup burger which is 40% bigger than a Big Mac, (which will probably nudge it into the realm of respectable-sized burgers in this country), and this Sky News article (via CherryFlava) details how there's a big outcry in the UK about it.

I have two comments on the article.

First, a hamburger is not a frigging sandwich! A sandwich is one or more slices of bread with stuff on or between. Something wedged in a roll is, well, a couple of things depending on what you put in it, but it's not a bloody sandwich. I don't know if it's just a foreign turn of phrase where people in the US or the UK go around saying 'ooh, I'd like me a tasty McDonalds Quarter Pounder With Cheese sandwich today', or if it's just stupid-ass marketing-speak, but it must go.

Second, Liberal Democrat MP Steve Webb and the 'outraged' health campaigners can all just sod off. It's not even a polite 'people are concerned' anymore, it's fury and outrage. People enjoying themselves? People making unhealthy lifestyle choices? Oh, the humanity! Woe! How dare they!

Yes, we all eat too much and we're all fat and unhealthy. That's irrelevant. How long before quaint notions like 'freedom' and 'personal responsibility' become nothing more than outlawed anachronisms?

If McDonalds ZA decides to flog these World Cup burgers, I'm gonna buy some just on principle.

{2006.06.05 17:18}

Comments:

1. Debbie (2006.06.05 - 18:56) #

The thing that annoys me is now they're trying to get restaurants to cut back on portion sizes. No one SAYS you have to eat the whole plateful in one sitting!! I like to take half home for the next day! If they take the portion sizes down, we'll still be paying the same price for less food...and I'll only get one meal instead of two even three!

2. Colin (2006.06.05 - 19:12) #

Absolutely. I'm not sure if you've seen (or were referring) to this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201586.html

(via The Agitator)

3. Ronwen (2006.06.06 - 08:06) #

It can absolutely be classified as a sandwich!

I put the fault of finishing over-sized portions of food down to my parents. I wasn't allowed to leave the table until my "plate was clean".

And if MacGyver was about to start, you can be your ass it was cleaned in double-time. :)

4. Colin (2006.06.06 - 21:08) #

Normally you whup me in the word stakes m'dear, but I must stand my ground on this one (cause I looked it up ;-). A sandwich is defined in the dictionary as something with slices of bread. No rolls allowed.

5. Ronwen (2006.06.07 - 07:44) #

Your OWN link states:

"A partly split long or round roll containing a filling."

Merriam Webster confirms.

6. Colin (2006.06.07 - 15:36) #

True (drat). Yet I prevail! We're in the colonies, M-W is Amerkin; no rolls in the OED.