Quote 3

"Today the French fry is the dominant form of potato and America's favorite vegatable."

In the "Journal of Economic Perspectives- Volume 17" there is a section called "What have Americans Become More Obese?" The section brings up reasons why the obesity rate has climbed over the decades, linking it to fast-food, packaged foods, and lack of exercise and movement. To decribe the change in eating patterens of Americans, the authors David M. Cutler, Edward L. Glaeser, and Jesse M. Sharpiro used the potato as an example. Before World War II the potato was the most popular vegatable. They were usually either boiled, mashed, or baked. French fries were not popular because they required a large time of peeling, cutting, and cooking. Since there was not high technological machinery, this process would take a very long time. Fast forward to today's society. Many machines are around now that can peel, cut, cook, and then freeze the french fry to later be distributed and quickly deep fried at fast food restaurants, or even in the oven at home. It is common knowledge that boiling food is healthier than frying food. Frying food adds extra fat and calories to the food which results in weight gain, and clogging of the arteries. Taking a simple vegatable that is supposed to be good for the body, and then frying it and turning it into a fattening food is the reason why the obesity rate is steady climbing.  Fast food restaurants serve a large amount of fries everday, and this is another reason why the fast-food industry can be linked to the obesity rate climbing.