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