[Picture from Wikipedia]. A box of Twinkies.There was talk about the Hostess company and its popular Twinkie (sponge cake filled with cream) snack food even in Ogden last week when I was there. The company is in serious financial trouble, and the news today is that it will declare bankruptcy. (So the factory in Ogden will possibly close, with the loss of several hundred jobs there). So if this American food icon would go away*, is it really a loss? Steve Ettlinger points out in his book ‘Twinkie, Deconstructed’ that the little spongecake is fashioned out of at least 37 ingredients. The website caloriecount grades Twinkies an F (the lowest score) for nutrition. One Twinkie packs 150 calories and has 13% of your daily saturated fat intake.
*It’s quite possible that another food company will buy the brand from Hostess.
As for who is to blame for the bankruptcy, here is business magazine Forbes’ take – http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/11/18/hostess-twinkie-defense-is-a-management-failure/ Forbes also mentions the 1978 ‘Twinkie Defense’ incident where Dan White killed San Francisco‘s mayor George Moscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk. The press labeled his defense the ‘Twinkie Defense’ because he claimed eating sugary junk food – like Twinkies – caused diminished capacity. Amazingly the jury bought it, and convicted him of manslaughter instead of murder saying he really wasn’t responsible for his own actions. An outraged city rioted.
