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The federal government, displaying even less sense than usual, has yielded
to the French fry industry. Frozen French fries—sliced, fried in oil, and then
packaged—are now approved as “fresh vegetables” by the US Department of
Agriculture.
The French fry industry has been petitioning the USDA for years to get this
approval. They say that their product is similar to cucumbers that have a wax
coating. They argue that they use 100 percent vegetable oil, which is much
healthier for consumers than plain wax.
Most consumers, of course, beg to differ. “You must be joking,” said Annie,
50. “How can you consider a product that’s deep-fried in oil to be a fresh
vegetable? Even if I steamed broccoli, I could no longer call it fresh
broccoli—it’s cooked! I wish I were a lobbyist, so my congressman would help me.
Unfortunately, I’m only a tax-paying citizen.”
The USDA defends its decision, saying that potatoes undeniably are
vegetables. Although French fries are fried in oil, they are still potatoes. If
you let them sit on your countertop for a couple of weeks, a USDA spokesman
said, the fries will rot just like all other fresh vegetables.
Consumer advocates say the USDA has totally lost touch with the consumers.
“They'd probably declare that eggshells are nutritious if a lobbyist asked them
to,” said one advocate. |
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发表于 2016-7-10 09:21:12