The McGriddle is perhaps the greatest and most disturbing trend in sandwich technology. "Hickory-smoked bacon, a fluffy folded egg and melty American cheese" between "soft, warm griddle cakes with the sweet taste of maple baked right in" is cheap food pornography at best.
KFC's Double Down, the Friendly's Grilled Cheese Burger Melt, the Doritos Locos tacos and a whole phylum of exotic sandwiches stem from the creation of the McGriddle.
However, it's time to stop.
Known more formally as "indulgence foods," these high-calorie, high-fat and high-sodium menu items are an organized marketing tool aimed at attracting and engorging young, new customers. Millennials are far better educated in health and nutrition than their parents' generation, so the usual parlor tricks of the food industry (free toys, celebrities, marketing to young children, etc.) do not suffice.
Instead, the rate of innovation has continued to increase in the past few years, despite more health-conscious consumers, and has expanded beyond the drive-through window.
Young people are buying out tickets for this food spectacle. The Double Down (cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise between two pieces of fried chicken) sold more than 10 million sandwiches in its first three months on the back of a marketing strategy that targeted young men. KFC hired college girls to wear fitted sweatpants with "Double Down" printed on the backside.
The Doritos Locos tacos have sold more than 200 million tacos, and many food companies are jumping on the bandwagon.
There is Friendly's 1,540-calorie Grilled Cheese Burger Melt, a hamburger between two grilled cheeses. The Applebee's Quesadilla Burger packs 1,430 calories.
Grilled cheese stuffed with fried mozzarella sticks is dubiously named the Fried Cheese Melt at Denny's. It only has 1,260 calories.
More? Dunkin' Donuts' Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich is the child of glazed donut, scrambled egg and bacon.
These "signature," "limited," "indulgent" items are flashy and sexy creations dripping in fat and oozing in (most often) fried goodness. The marketing campaigns for these sandwiches feature young, healthy adult males conquering their challenges and winning the day. One of the original McGriddle TV spots notes in an awkward moment of clarity that the McGriddle is "bizarre, but yummy."
There is, however, a real cost in attracting young men. While overweight and obesity prevalence has remained relatively stable for women and girls, it has increased in the past decade among men and boys. Today 69.9 percent of adult males are overweight or obese (compared to 56.6 percent of females). The prevalence of obesity among men has increased to 35.5 percent from 27.5 percent a decade ago. The same is true among boys (14 percent from 1999 to 2000 to 18.6 percent from 2009 to 2010).
The trend in obesity and indulgence food does not seem to be slowing. KFC is counting down the hours to April 14, when it will announce boneless fried chicken. Guy Fieri, the Food Network's frosted-tipped workhorse, has put his name on S'mores Indoors Frozen Pizza, Old Skool Pepperoni Pizza Eggrolls, and Cheeseburger Crispy Ravioli Bites.
This Frankenstein evolution must end.
The meat- and bread-heavy items peddled to young men are essentially about being a man through what you eat. KFC asks, "Are you ready to Double Down?"
Since when did eating a salad become unmasculine?
McDonald's and KFC reach millions of consumers each day. They have an immense amount of power within the food system to cause harm (which they have done quite successfully for the better portion of the last half century), but also the power to enact change.
McDonald's recently killed one of its healthiest menu items, the Fruit and Walnut Salad, because of lagging sales. Instead of investing in healthier menu options, food companies are dreaming of more innovative ways to slowly kill their customers.
Samuel Mendelson is a sophomore in the School of International Service.
edpage@theeagleonline.com
