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A new investigative report by a Food Standards watchdog has found that the promotion of skinny fries by major fast-food chains and other restaurants is distorting our views and expectations of ‘real chips’.
The report found that the proliferation of skinny fries at franchises across the globe has led people to become increasingly dissatisfied with and even dismissive of the chips they usually get at home or more traditional establishments.
An alarming poll conducted for the investigation disclosed that over 65% of people described themselves as being ‘embarrassed to be seen with larger sized chips’, while 20% declared they were ‘repulsed’ by anything other than skinny dimensions.
Lynda Jackson, a campaigner against so-called ‘chip shaming’, explained, “Almost everywhere you go nowadays you see skinny fries receiving the top billing in the sides menu, ahead of regular chips.
“The dangerous implication here is that slender, lithe figure of the skinny fry is now falsely perceived as better and as the new expected norm for how chips should look.”
“What’s really worrying is that normal, ‘real’ chips are labelled by our image-obsessed society as ‘chunky’, which is such a pejorative, condescending and denigrating word.
“To add insult to injury, these larger chips often come with the skin on, presumably so as to conceal their more rounded bodies from a modern public likely to be put-off by anything other than a supposedly more aesthetically pleasing skinny fry.
“These chips are every bit as appealing as their skinnier counterparts, and we should be celebrating their voluptuous beauty, their depth and their boldness, not hiding it.”
