Trying to explain to my son (age 13) WHY Twinkies are so bad:

"Have you ever heard the saying that after a nuclear war cockroaches are the only thing that will be left? Well, they got it wrong. There will be cockroaches AND Twinkies" Funny thing is, about 2 days later we watched an episode of Family Guy where there was a nuclear explosion and they were making a trek to the Twinkie factory 'cuz they figured that was the only thing left to eat on Earth

Twinkies have to be the most revolting "food" on the planet. The Hostess Cupcakes (with that white curl of icing on the top) are another story

The irony behind the Twinkies story is that they were invented to cheer people up during the depression.

But I won't be sad to see this bakery go. They have all kinds of unfair hiring practices, and when I went to their website, there was no way to reach them. NOT ONE.

B******s!

I do not mean to make fun of the 30,000 employees of Interstate, of course. I'm sure they're all good floks just trying to earn a living for their families.

This diet revolution is going to have drastic effects on many sectors of the economy. But it is for the best I think. And none too soon, with the baby boomers hitting elderly status health care is going to be tough enough to come by without adding dietary-realted health problems.

I used to looooooooooove Twinkies.

Just so y'all know, though...it isn't any "low-carb explosion" that caused the Twinkie Men to close up shop. It's just the economy, period. K-mart wasn't able to use the Twinkie excuse. Nor any of the other major corporations that are teetering on the edge of Chapter 11 at the moment.

When companies give their guidances (future predictions), they ALWAYS say "Oh, we're gonna make soooooo much money this quarter/period/year!" because they're afraid their stockholders (the common man!) will come at them with pitchforks and torches if they don't tell them something they want to hear. But then when that quarter or year is up and the company didn't make money, they have to come up with some lame excuse. I work in the cosmetics and personal care industry (the publishing end) and the excuse is traditionally "The strength of the U.S. dollar vs. the softness of the (insert_foreign_currency_here) negatively impacted our previous predictions..." I'm not kidding, I may as well just copy & paste that one statement onto EVERY financial we release here. But Twinkies didn't have that excuse, since NOBODY digs into a case of Twinkies like an American, soooo....they had to blame low-carb. For the record, of all the people I know, at work, at home, online, wherever, the percentage of low-carbers vs. carb fanatics has gotta be 5 or less. Much less, probably. Seriously, look around you at all the people you see battling their weight...can you honestly say Twinkies aren't continuing to have a place in the heart of Joe or Jill Consumer?

Just wanted to put in my (overly strong vs. the foreign_currency) $.02!

Oooooh I remember those. Many moonpies ago, my father took me out to learn how to ride my bike ... and then I'd get a fruit pie. I always had cherry. Somehow I doubt it would taste the same today.

Those little pies were the best. Of course, I always loved the chocolate ones.

I wouldn't worry about this much, there's lots of companies in Chapter 11 that continue to operate. In fact, at just about any given time there's an Airline or two in Chapter 11 that is still functioning.

Wouldn't surprise me. Didn't they bring out a low fat version when low fat was all the rage?

Twinkies were actually not bad when I was a little guy (mid 1960s). They changed considerably after the company was bought.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...03&page=1&pp=15

Why don't you read my opinion on this

I have 3 posts, and while your at it, READ potatofree's posts!

What would you like to know?

why don't you read this other thread...

.

SeeMyself, I'm so sorry you're going through this and I feel for you.

I'll bet a lot of people can relate, though. I worked for a company, Residential Money Centers, that had 100 people on-staff. 50 were let go in a day. A few months later, the other 50 were let go...AFTER we'd cleaned up all the prior-to-shutting-down messes, buyoed by a lot of company lies.

My husband is going through this right now. Sony just merged with BMG. A few hundred employees are guaranteed to go; those are just the guarantees. There are a few hundred more who "might" be let go.

So, trust me, nobody is trying to belittle your pain. But it is not only the bakery business that is seeing hard times. It is *all* businesses in today's economy. I really do not feel it's low-carbing that has caused this current crisis, or has caused you to lose your job. I feel that is a lame excuse on the part of the company. No, I KNOW it's a lame excuse on the part of the company. What was Kmart's excuse? What's BMG's excuse? What was RMC's excuse? They were owned by GM, for God's sake. So...people are making light of a tough situation b/c sometimes it's easier to laugh when you see your world spinning out of control. But trust me. I would put money on it that a lot of people on this very thread (I'm one of them) have gone through just what you're talking about. I know you're upset and I'm sorry. I feel for you.

..........

Also, for the record, Gillette has been teetering on the brink of ruin for upwards of 4 years (officially) now. They have hired and fired people within the space of mere months. But...more firing than hiring. Yes, that huge, huge company...with just "a few departments" here and there...adds up to thousands. Unable to row its own boat, Gillette put itself up on the auction block two years ago. Can you imagine? "Please buy me." And NOBODY would take it. Yargh. Think about this, now. This is a company that sells razors. RAZORS. Who the heck doesn't use razors? If there is a single solitary person on this board who does not use razors, please stand up and raise your hand. I personally will be shocked to see it waving there.

It is not only companies whose products are no longer in demand, that are in trouble. It is virtually every major corporation in this country, currently. Did you check out Colgate-Palmolive and Unilver (the U.S. division) this week? They lowered their guidances drastically--they are not making money. They just aren't. It is not just baked goods that are on the chopping block. People here are NOT gloating about these companies being unable to sell flour products. They're laughing at the insanity of the company saying it IS because people "won't" eat flour products. Nobody means to hurt anybody--it just seems to be very ironic, that's all.

Again, I feel for your situation and I hope you find another position soon. That's what we all do--the many, many, many other people, in other industries, that this has happened to. When my mortgage company went down, I felt sad (and terrified of not having a job) but I knew they were starting to do really crappy stuff. At one point, my company put out a mortgage for an 80-year-old woman who was about to starve to death unless she mortgaged her home. 80 years...30 year mortgage. You do the math. It was sickening. I did NOT mind ANY jokes about that company going under. Joking about it was what kept us all sane in those final weeks before we were axed for good. We just had to laugh...sometimes you just have to.

Death to Twinkie! The chant of the low carb revolution. But does anyone think it will be that easy? Do I feel sorry for any company that has taken advantage of American citizens and their weakness for all things loaded with sugar. It is unfortunate that hard working Americans will lose their jobs as these companies get their just dessert. Perhaps those who lose their jobs can work in the new "low-carb" driven food industry. At least their jobs won't be leaving the country like the high tech industry. Yet...

Waves hand. Sorry. But other than that, I have to agree with and admire your commentary on the situation.

Kay

You got me there, Kay! I should have known better than to make a stupid sweeping statement like that!