Posted on 06/17/2005 5:37:09 AM PDT by Cagey
Super-sizing is back -- for drinks, anyway.
Fifteen months after McDonald's stopped offering "super-sized" portions of french fries and soft drinks, its Chicago area restaurants are selling the extra-large sodas again. Restaurants in the Chicago Co-Op -- made up of McDonald's franchisees in the area -- have big plans for the 42-ounce drinks this summer.
"The Chicago Co-Op is running a local promotion in which customers that purchase a Big Mac and fries get a free, 42-ounce beverage," said McDonald's spokeswoman Anna Rozenich.
The promotion will start July 11 and last through the month.
In addition, Rozenich said, franchisees have flexibility to sell 42-ounce drinks this summer "because they might be located near a competitive trading area, where competitors might be offering something like that."
"This is not super-sizing," she added.
Still, getting rid of 42-ounce drinks was a key part of McDonald's highly touted March 2004 rollback of super-sizing. The Oak Brook-based company depicted it as an effort to simplify its menu, but the move followed stepped-up criticism by health advocates who charged the fast-food giant with contributing to the nation's obesity problem. It also coincided with the release of "Super Size Me," a documentary alleging bad health effects from an all-McDonald's diet.
Now, critics of McDonald's are finding the return of super-sized drinks hard to swallow.
"I guess their promises don't last very long, do they?" said John Banzhaf, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University. Banzhaf served as adviser to the plaintiffs' lawyer in a 2002 lawsuit brought by New York teenagers who charged that McDonald's food made them obese.
Though dismissed by the trial judge, a federal appeals court reinstated the case in January. A bill pending in Congress would bar customers from bringing obesity suits against restaurants.
One in three Americans is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition to axing super-sizes, McDonald's has taken other steps in the past two years to establish a healthier image. It has introduced entree salads, added fruit and milk options to Happy Meals, and developed a carefully crafted ad campaign around a "healthy lifestyles" theme. But, Banzhaf said, "they're back to their old tricks again" by selling 42-ounce drinks.
Rozenich noted the company's March 2004 announcement said 42-ounce drinks could be brought back as a promotion.
A 42-ounce Coke contains 410 calories. According to Mercedes Carthenon, an assistant professor at Northwestern University medical school, the average adult male should get 2,000 calories per day, while a female needs about 1,500.
"You're not getting any nutrients in the soda. You're just getting calories in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which is unhealthy," Carthenon said.
A large Coke at McDonald's, which is 32 ounces, contains 310 calories, according to the company's Web site.
While McDonald's has brought back the 42-ounce soda, its drink sizes look small compared with those at 7-11 stores. A 7-11 Super Big Gulp holds 44 ounces of pop, while a Double Gulp holds 64 ounces.
Right, it's never the fault of the person jamming it down their own throats.
Yah, and Dean isn't criticizing Christians. McDonalds, we don't care. You wanna sell up to 100 oz. drinks, go ahead! Be my guest! 5 Gallon containers? Sure thing. Just don't tell blatant effing lies to us. It is supersizing.
Yeah, well... downing 42 oz of Coke doesn't seem like such a good idea to me, but I'll be damned if some filthy, slacker, Michael Moore - wanna be is going to have any say in it.
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Wait just a sec, there.
How many calories does a Diet Coke have?
I can't stomach the stuff, myself, but the article left out that rather important point.
I agree with you, a Diet Coke is a lot less in terms of calories. But what a slam...why is it only at McDonald's that 42-ounce Cokes are 410 calories? Aren't 42-ounce Cokes the same number of calories regardless of where they're served?
Good point.
Furthermore, I don't see how you could hold McDonald's responsible for people's obesity problems simply because they offer a larger portion.
Many people seem unable to go anywhere without a bottle of water.
It's no wonder houses today have so many bathrooms!
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