Time again for a small serving of news bites to nourish your brain. We’ve been gathering snippets of food-related stories that were too small to rate a full post, but which we felt you should know about, nevertheless…
COSTCO’s famous $1.50 Hot Dog. At the centre of a new controversy…
You’ll be shocked! You’ll be amazed! You’ll be madder than Hell!
Shocked! Doritos partnership blows up!
Right wing ‘influencers’ are hammering Doritos for it’s new social media partnership with Spanish social media influencer Samantha Hudson.
It’s reported that Doritos Spain featured Hudson in a 50-second branded online video titled ‘Crunch Talks’. The post has since been taken down.
Same stupid smears
Critics dredged up quotes from Hudson’s past, including a 10-year-old social media post in which she is alleged to have mocked rape victims. She also, in a Spanish TV interview, apparently said the traditional monogamous nuclear family should be be abolished. Not a popular idea in staunchly catholic Spain.
“We have ended the relationship and stopped all related campaign activity due to the comments,” a spokesperson for Doritos Spain told Rolling Stone. “We strongly condemn words or actions that promote violence or sexism of any kind.”
Ran for cover
Yes. Doritos Spain ran for cover at the first sign of rain. But that’s the standard corporate response to these situations. What happened to standing behind your choices? And your people?
Again, someone who ended up being a public figure has been haunted, and condemned for things she said a whole life, and whole world ago.
Amazed! ‘Bottle Night’ a STUPID thing
What’s Bottle Night?
Collin Rutherford (@collin_ruth89) (see photo, top of page) explained, on his X (Twitter) account.
“My gf and I invented it during a 2023 blizzard in Buffalo, NY. We lock our phones away, turn the TV off… Each grab a bottle of wine, and talk. That’s it, we simply talk and enjoy each other’s presence. We live together, but it’s easy to miss out on ‘quality time’. What do you think? Do you have other methods for enjoying quality time with your partner?”
All for Quality Time
I’m totally in favour of Quality Time. And I like Collin’s description of his and his gf’s version. But why do they need the bottles? In my experience, mixing too much alcohol in an intimate context, is like oil and water. And the more you drink, the more likely an argument will break out. Or someone will end up locked in the bathroom crying their eyes out.
About the alcohol…
Collin seems to suggest that you and your SO should each drink a whole bottle of wine in the course of the event. Geese, Louise! That’s way more alcohol than the average person can handle. Your system can only process 1 oz. / 30 ml of alcohol per hour. And a bottle contains almost 7 standard 4 oz. / 120 ml glasses. You’d have to nurse your bottle a 7-hour period to stay even with sobriety.
For what it’s worth…
I could never endorse something like Bottle Night. Though it’s already gone viral on the social media, and I suspect thousands – if not tens or hundreds of thousands – of young couples are trying it. We can only hope Bottle Night goes the way of the Flat Croissant and Mustard Ice Cream…
Mad! COSTCO tightening access to food court
COSTO has plunged into the deep end, and the pool is filled with cold water. Far from a polar bear dip, the giant ‘warehouse’ retailer has tightened up anally on its access rules. And the fans are mad as Hell.
Among the new rules is one that particularly rankles. Not just COSTCO members, but the hordes of others who have made the outlet’s food court a regular thing. Many times more folks come to COSTCO for the cheap food at its foot court than come to shop. Especially for the famous $1.50 Hot Dog.
More implications than meet the eye
This ‘members only’ policy has more implications than show up on the surface. The biggest one I see is the fact that many low-income folks – struggling to make ends meet amid crushing inflation and unaffordable food prices – have been relying on the COSTCO food court as a source of cheap food. It’s occurred to me that the influx of non-members is one reason (at least) that the stores have decided to ‘bar the gates’. The $1.50 Hot Dog has always been a loss leader. But now, I suspect, it’s making a noticeable hole in COSTCO’s profits.
The takeaway
This is just another symptom of the food price ‘disease’ that’s ravaging society. High food prices are driving some families to desperate measures, such as missing meals. In others, parents go hungry so their kids can eat. Yet grocery billionaires such as Loblaw’s Galen Weston seem blissfully unaware that millions of ordinary folks are on the verge of starving. The prevailing reaction among the rich seems to be, “They can’t afford hamburger? Let them eat steak!”
My take
Just this: The extreme food stories coming down the news pipe are just getting more and more extreme. An indication of growing pressure in the foodsphere. And this is not a good thing…
~ Maggie J.