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Group Discussion: Why McDonald’s Fries Taste So Good – Eric Schlosser...

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Group Discussion: Why McDonald’s Fries Taste So Good – Eric Schlosser •

Activity – Jellybean-Tasting Contest • Ask for # volunteers to come up (# should be about 1/3 of class), dim lights • Each person is given a jellybean, they eat them with closed eyes and secretly guess their flavors (we have them write guesses on board) • Then lights are brought up and # more volunteers come up and eat same flavor jellybeans, but now they can see color, but have to plug noses, and they secretly record their guesses before unplugging noses • Then a third group of # volunteers comes up and they can now taste AND see jellybeans, and they record their guesses • Then we compare all three sets of guesses, and actual flavors • Conclusion: Our senses of sight and smell play an important role in how we taste, identify, and experience food.

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Comprehension • What were the topics discussed? • How do they all connect? - What was the author’s main idea? • How did Schlosser describe the flavor industries? • Why is the flavor industry so secretive? • Why is smell so important to taste? • Why is color so important to taste? • What is the connection between the processed/fast food industry and the flavor industry? – How do they work together? What are the differences between them? • What do flavorists do? • According to the article, what determines if whether not people buy a product, or whether or not they buy it again? • Why do McDonald’s fries taste so good?

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Analysis • Do you disagree or agree with the author’s main idea? • What really surprised/stood out to you in this reading? – What was most interesting? – What did you think about the complex science behind flavor creation? • Did it surprise you that “the aroma of food can be responsible for as much as 90 percent of its taste”? • What did you think about the people becoming ill when they realized they were eating blue steak and green French fries? – Have any of you refused to eat a food just because of its color? – How is color helpful for identifying food? • Did your point of view on anything changed because of this article? – How about the jellybeans you just ate? • Why did Schlosser say, “The similarities between natural and artificial

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flavors are more significant than the differences”? Have any of you ever wondered what Natural and Artificial Flavors really were before reading this article? (Justin tells his story) –Have any of you had experiences like Justin’s? (In the excerpt, Schlosser says: “The basic science behind the scent of your shaving cream is the same as that governing the flavor of your TV dinner.”) – How do you react to the knowledge of how our food is colored, flavored, and textured? – Do any of you like the fact that a lot of your food is flavored by advanced technology in a couple of factories? What do you think would happen if flavors and colors were suddenly removed from processed foods? How one-sided or objective was this article? Why do you think Schlosser spends so much time describing the history and the inner workings of the flavor companies? How accurate do you think was Schlosser’s conclusion – that “the look and taste of what we eat are now deceiving by design”? – Are most people deceived?...