Find any synonym for humongous and you'll know where the fast food industry is going with its burger offerings.
According to a podcast report from Advertising Age, the so-called brawny burger category has grown four percent over the last year while regular burgers are up one percent.
Kate MacArthur of Ad Age, said, "Most of the big burger chains are experimenting with large burgers designed to attract people who love hearty portions and meat. Virtually everyone is creating them now because there's money in it. And, even if it's a limited time offer, it drives people in the door. One expert I talked said it is its value or novelty and certainly a massive burger is a novelty... Hardee's and Carl Jr. really started a lot of that on their own before Burger King picked up on it. Some of the large casual dining chains are even doing that with big mouth burgers and Bennigan's had actually relaunched their menu with a cheeseburger program and just recently Chile's did the same."
Nutritionists and consumer health advocates are understandably concerned (Ad Age says "outraged") about the brawny burger trend.
"The argument that you will inevitably get from anybody in the food industry about this kind of topic is that this is America and people have a choice. In fact, John Bass, founder of the Heart Attack Grill (home of the double bypass burger) adamantly says that he tells people that they shouldn't eat there often and spends a lot of time telling people that it's really bad for you and that you shouldn't eat it but that he can't stop it so he might as well cash in."
Discussion Question: Will the growth of sales of "bad for you" items continue to outpace more nutritionally beneficial foods in foodservice and retail environments?
Free choice ... moderation ... America, pretty much sums it up for us.