tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/pizza-8964/articlesPizza – The Conversation2020-01-18T13:34:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1301522020-01-18T13:34:25Z2020-01-18T13:34:25ZBill de Blasio’s bagel gaffe and the fraught politics of food<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310712/original/file-20200117-118343-14dnjw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C10%2C2344%2C1846&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Oh no he didn't.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/toasted-bagel-royalty-free-image/982874472">secret agent mike/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hadn’t already dropped out of the 2020 presidential race, #bagelgate might have been the nail in the coffin. </p>
<p>His Jan. 15 tweet praising a toasted bagel on National Bagel Day instantly set off hardline bagel devotees-cum-voters. De Blasio <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1217530245672325123">quickly amended his tweet</a> to delete the word “toasted.” But the damage was already done. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/01/15/bill-de-blasios-hot-take-on-toasted-bagels-turns-out-to-be-lukewarm-and-wrong/">Purists scorned the very idea of toasting a bagel</a>, calling into question his bona fides as a New Yorker.</p>
<p>The outrage over bagel protocol may seem silly. But few acts are as personal as eating, and food is closely intertwined with place and culture.</p>
<p>For a politician, food might seem like a low-hanging fruit. Is there an easier way to appeal to the masses? Everyone, after all, eats.</p>
<p>But when politicians wade into local food customs, they do so at their own risk. <a href="https://history.iastate.edu/directory/stacy-cordery/">My research</a> on presidents and first ladies suggests that uninformed assumptions about food often get candidates and elected officials in trouble.</p>
<p>Bill de Blasio isn’t the first politician to run afoul of food norms and face the wrath of voters. And he certainly won’t be the last.</p>
<h2>Culinary campaign calamities</h2>
<p>Most political wannabes try hard to bridge the gap between their wealthy backgrounds and the rest of us. It rarely works.</p>
<p>During the 1976 presidential campaign, incumbent president Gerald Ford, before the eyes of bewildered Texans, peeled back the aluminum foil – but not the corn husk – and took a giant bite out of a tamale. Ford never lived it down. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ezkvxk/how-a-plate-of-tamales-may-have-crushed-gerald-fords-1976-presidential-campaign">According to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee</a>, “The Great Tamale Incident” sealed Ford’s loss to Jimmy Carter in the Lone Star State.</p>
<p>In 2003, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry unwittingly broke food norms <a href="https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2018/09/22/john-kerry-cheesesteak-philadelphia/">when he ordered</a> Swiss cheese for his Philly cheese steak instead of Cheese Whiz. Nine years later, Republican Mitt Romney <a href="https://www.grubstreet.com/2012/06/romney-orders-a-sub-in-hoagie-country.html">asked for</a> a “sub” in Pennsylvania, where, as locals will tell you, they call them hoagies. And Romney again made himself an easy target for mockery in 2019, when the millionaire businessman <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/386219-romney-mocked-for-saying-hot-dog-is-his-favorite-meat/">claimed his favorite type of meat</a> was a hot dog.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310691/original/file-20200117-118323-16708fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310691/original/file-20200117-118323-16708fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310691/original/file-20200117-118323-16708fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310691/original/file-20200117-118323-16708fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310691/original/file-20200117-118323-16708fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310691/original/file-20200117-118323-16708fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310691/original/file-20200117-118323-16708fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just a regular American guy grilling regular American food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mitt-romney-l-the-republican-presidential-hopeful-and-news-photo/593352876">Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Pizza is treacherous terrain: Republicans Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and John Kasich have all faced withering criticism <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/john-kasich-pizza-knife-fork-donald-trump-bill-de-blasio-448338">for eating pizza with a fork</a>. Bill de Blasio <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/forkgate-bill-de-blasio-pizza-fork-and-knife-new-york_n_4577126">made the same mistake</a>, too, in what was dubbed “forkgate.”</p>
<p>But no food has a greater potential for campaign catastrophe than the corn dog. The optics of state fair corn dog consumption are never good. The web is full of wince-worthy photos of <a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Bachmann-2012/24de81bd98484559a8d2c96625a71b96/5/0">Michele Bachmann</a>, Rick Perry and <a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Election-2020-Bernie-Sanders/fa3f03097b594a7dafdd8ea240b50849/2/0">Bernie Sanders</a> all struggling to maintain their dignity while biting into a battered, oversized wiener popsicle. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310698/original/file-20200117-118327-5xyt04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310698/original/file-20200117-118327-5xyt04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310698/original/file-20200117-118327-5xyt04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310698/original/file-20200117-118327-5xyt04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310698/original/file-20200117-118327-5xyt04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310698/original/file-20200117-118327-5xyt04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310698/original/file-20200117-118327-5xyt04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rick Perry dives in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Perry-2012/c40a9463e09c4af58db48c02072d0aa4/3/0">AP Photo/Charles Dharapak</a></span>
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<p>Better to be <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-st-cory-booker-could-be-first-vegan-president-20190201-story.html">a vegan like Cory Booker</a> – and avoid them altogether – than be seen on the wrong side of the corn dog. That may be one rule that a majority of voters can agree on.</p>
<h2>You’re out of touch…</h2>
<p>Other politicians are either unaware – or don’t care – about their elitism. </p>
<p>In 1972, the beer-swilling, working-class regulars in a Youngstown, Ohio bar cringed when Democratic vice presidential candidate Sargent Shriver <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/sargent-shriver-founding-director-of-peace-corps-dies-at-95/2011/01/18/ABqGTSR_story.html">hollered</a>, “Make mine a Courvoisier!”</p>
<p>In 1988, Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis <a href="https://apnews.com/4d16b5f492dbc41ff8bb18a5486d6520">suggested to debt-ridden Iowa farmers</a> that they grow <a href="https://www.kitchenstories.com/en/stories/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cooking-and-shopping-for-in-season-endive">Belgian endive</a>, a bitter, leafy green seldom found outside of gourmet restaurants. Almost 20 years later, fellow Democrat Barack Obama told those same farmers <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/8/20/374027/-">that arugula might bring in more profits</a> than corn and soybeans. </p>
<p>Obama also made the mistake of asking for Dijon mustard – and no ketchup – for his cheeseburger. Fox News host Sean Hannity let him have it, calling him “<a href="https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/video/2009/05/07/media-20090507-dijon.jpg">President Poupon</a>.” </p>
<p>The producers of an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4-vEwD_7Hk">infamous 2004 attack ad</a> damned Democratic presidential aspirant Howard Dean for his elitism. Not surprisingly, food played a role. </p>
<p>Dean, the ad sneered, was a “latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show.”</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K4-vEwD_7Hk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In an infamous ad, the Club for Growth derides Howard Dean as a ‘sushi-eating…left-wing freak show.’</span></figcaption>
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<p>These gastronomic tales show how the semiotics of what and how we eat matter profoundly to millions of people. </p>
<p>On the one hand, to transgress is to risk looking inauthentic, disrespectful or foolish – none of which is sound politics.</p>
<p>On the other hand, unabashedly embracing the latest health food trends can get a politician ridiculed as elitist and out of touch.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best outcome is simply to win. A president can indulge in guilty gastronomic pleasures. Ronald Reagan <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2011/02/president-reagans-jelly-beans-048915">loved his jelly beans</a>, George H.W. Bush <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/07/garden/suddenly-pork-rinds-are-classy-crunch.html">couldn’t put down his pork rinds</a> and Bill Clinton, until his heart surgeries, was irresistibly drawn to McDonald’s. </p>
<p>For political candidates, however, a shrewd understanding of American eating habits is the recommended minimum daily requirement on the campaign trail.</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130152/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stacy A. Cordery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Food might seem like an easy way to appeal to the masses. But when politicians wade into local food customs, they do so at their own risk.Stacy A. Cordery, Professor of History, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1256182019-10-31T12:55:44Z2019-10-31T12:55:44ZWhy does pizza taste so good?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298628/original/file-20191024-170462-1hyjuz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One slice is never enough.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pepperoni-pizza-slices-139103291?src=V0WWZsUOfCnqdKbTmz3RoQ-4-17">Radu Bercan/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Why does pizza taste so good? – Annika, age 5, Oneonta, New York</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Pizza is <a href="https://www.historytoday.com/archive/historians-cookbook/history-pizza">one of the world’s most popular foods</a>.</p>
<p>In the U.S., <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/69737/46-mouthwatering-facts-about-pizza">350 slices</a> are eaten every second, while <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/69737/46-mouthwatering-facts-about-pizza">40% of Americans</a> eat pizza at least once a week.</p>
<p>There’s a reason why pizza is so popular. <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1307.7982.pdf">Humans are drawn to foods</a> that are fatty and sweet and rich and complex. Pizza has all of these components. Cheese is fatty, meat toppings tend to be rich, and the sauce is sweet.</p>
<p>Pizza toppings are also packed with a compound called <a href="https://neurohacker.com/what-is-glutamate">glutamate</a>, which can be found in the tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni and sausage. When glutamate hits our tongues, it tells our brains to get excited – and to crave more of it. This compound actually causes our mouths to water in anticipation of the next bite.</p>
<p>Then there are the combinations of ingredients. Cheese and tomato sauce are like a perfect marriage. On their own, they taste pretty good. But according to culinary scientists, they contain flavor compounds <a href="http://specertified.com/blog/view/why-does-pizza-taste-so-good-the-science-of-the-5-basic-tastes-and-pizzas-c">that taste even better when eaten together</a>. </p>
<p>Another quality of pizza that makes it so delicious: Its ingredients become brown while cooking in the oven. </p>
<p>Foods turn brown and crispy when we cook them because of two chemical reactions. </p>
<p>The first is called <a href="https://www.scienceofcooking.com/caramelization.htm">caramelization</a>, which happens when the sugars in a food become brown. Most foods contain at least some sugar; once foods are between 230 and 320 degrees, their sugars begin to turn brown. Caramel <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221871719_Unraveling_the_Chemical_Composition_of_Caramel">is made from several thousand compounds</a>, making it one of the most complex food products. On a pizza, ingredients like onions and tomatoes become caramelized during baking, making them rich and sweet and flavorful. That brown and crispy crust is also the result of the dough caramelizing.</p>
<p>While the meat and cheese on your pizza also get brown, this is due to a different process called the “<a href="https://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i40/Maillard-Reaction-Turns-100.html">Maillard reaction</a>,” which is named after French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299525/original/file-20191030-17938-q811qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299525/original/file-20191030-17938-q811qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299525/original/file-20191030-17938-q811qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299525/original/file-20191030-17938-q811qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299525/original/file-20191030-17938-q811qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299525/original/file-20191030-17938-q811qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299525/original/file-20191030-17938-q811qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299525/original/file-20191030-17938-q811qp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When pizza bakes in the oven, the ingredients become browned – and even tastier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/italian-pizza-cooked-woodfired-oven-655358575?src=daJEES1CkQ9anQUc5_GCzw-1-0">Andrewshots/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>The Maillard reaction occurs when the amino acids in high-protein foods like cheese and pepperoni react with the sugars in those foods when heated. Pepperonis that become crispy with curled edges, and cheese that browns and bubbles, are examples of the Maillard reaction at work.</p>
<p>With bread, cheese and tomato sauce as its base, pizza might seem like a simple food. </p>
<p>It isn’t. And now, the next time you’re about to devour a slice, you’ll be able to appreciate all of the elements of pizza that excite our brains, thrill our taste buds and cause our mouths to water.</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeffrey Miller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pizza might seem like a simple food, but it’s uniquely equipped to excite our brains and thrill our taste buds.Jeffrey Miller, Associate Professor of Hospitality Management, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1006442018-07-26T21:00:34Z2018-07-26T21:00:34ZWhat is a ‘poison pill’?<p>Papa John’s recently forced founder and former Chairman John Schnatter to resign over allegations he made a racial slur. Now the pizza chain <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/business/papa-johns-john-schnatter-poison-pill.html">is battling</a> to keep him from clawing his way back into the company. </p>
<p>To do so, Papa John’s says it’s taking advantage of a corporate strategy often used to fend off hostile takeover attempts: the “poison pill.” Schnatter, who <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-26/papa-john-s-founder-sues-pizza-company-for-documents-over-ouster">is suing</a> to access internal documents, still owns about 30 percent of the company, making him the largest single shareholder.</p>
<p>What is a poison pill, why would a company use it and does it actually work? </p>
<h2>Raising the cost of a takeover</h2>
<p>The modern publicly traded corporation is <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241754973_Stockholders_and_Stakeholders_The_Battle_for_Control_of_the_Corporation">often the theater</a> of fierce battles for control. </p>
<p>It’s therefore no surprise that hostile takeovers – in which an outside entity tries to take over a company by convincing shareholders to sell their stakes – <a href="http://doi.org/10.2307/2393275">have become increasingly popular</a> in the U.S. One way companies handle such a threat is by passing protective measures like the poison pill, which was conceived in the 1980s during the <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20171218/OPINION/171219941/reliving-new-yorks-glory-days-of-junk-bonds-and-hostile-takeovers">heyday of junk bonds and hostile takeovers</a>. </p>
<p>In short, the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/poisonpill.asp">poison pill</a> is designed to make the company’s purchase by a “hostile” suitor dramatically more expensive. </p>
<p>Two types exist. The so-called “flip-in” allows shareholders other than the acquirer to buy additional shares at a highly discounted rate if the board of directors does not approve the takeover. The other is called a “flip-over,” which permits stockholders to buy the shares of the acquirer at a discount if the takeover is successful.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229519/original/file-20180726-106521-136w843.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229519/original/file-20180726-106521-136w843.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229519/original/file-20180726-106521-136w843.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229519/original/file-20180726-106521-136w843.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229519/original/file-20180726-106521-136w843.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229519/original/file-20180726-106521-136w843.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229519/original/file-20180726-106521-136w843.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schnatter had literally become the face of Papa John’s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Papa-John-s-Founder/c3640a12fb884ab395e0b17fca4b4c22/2/0">AP Photo/Charles Krupa</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Both strategies dilute shares held by the acquirer, making the takeover attempt more costly and difficult. A poison pill also puts pressure on the suitor to negotiate directly with the board. </p>
<h2>Do they work?</h2>
<p>While many corporations have adopted poison pills during the past decades, their use has been equivocal and vividly debated among practitioners and academic researchers. More recently, companies have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312441209">increasingly repealing</a> poison pills or allowing them to expire.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MSg9454AAAAJ&hl=en">scholar of corporate strategy</a>, I’ve found that studies of their effectiveness show mixed results.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1086/503648">some empirical research</a> has shown no relationship between the adoption of a poison pill and the probability of whether a company is ultimately acquired. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316635250">Some scholars</a> have also argued that poison pills can signal that the company has entrenched “ineffective” managers and is trying to protect them from market oversight. </p>
<p>Other scholars have found value in the use of poison pills, for example by enabling top management to focus on <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2015/12/18/the-long-term-value-of-the-poison-pill/">long-term performance</a> – rather than worrying about hostile takeovers – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/503648">resulting</a> in more profit for investors after a sale. And researchers have found evidence that poison pills do in fact <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312441209">lower the likelihood</a> of acquisition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100644/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yannick Thams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Papa John’s is hoping to use the corporate strategy to prevent founder John Schnatter from taking back control over the pizza chain.Yannick Thams, Assistant Professor of Strategy and International Business, Suffolk UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/924872018-05-22T10:29:38Z2018-05-22T10:29:38ZAI slaves: the questionable desire shaping our idea of technological progress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219240/original/file-20180516-155558-1tht9g4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Charles Taylor/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>From high impact Hollywood dystopic accounts such as the infamous Terminator films to public responses to the story of a burger flipping robot <a href="https://www.livescience.com/61994-flippy-burger-flipping-robot-flops.html">being “fired”</a>, the stories we tell ourselves about AI are important. These narratives have an impact on our conception and development of the technology, as well as expressing elements of our unconscious understanding of AI. Recognising the shaping effect of stories – whether fictional or “news” – is increasingly important as technology advances. How we think about a technology can open up some pathways while closing others down.</p>
<p>A variety of narratives underpin popular conceptions of AI, but one in particular – that of the dynamic between the master and the slave – dominates accounts of AI at the moment. This is so pervasive that it arguably shapes our relationship with this technology.</p>
<p>This narrative has long appeared in science fiction accounts of AI. In 1921, “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/RUR">R.U.R.</a>” (“Rossum’s Universal Robots”), a play by Karel Čapek, introduced us to the “robot” – humanoid androids made of synthetic organic matter – and helped shaped this idea for modern audiences. From the Czech word “<em>robota</em>”, meaning “forced labour” or “serf”, these first robots were consciously stylised as slaves pitted against their human masters.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219242/original/file-20180516-155579-1ur6uly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219242/original/file-20180516-155579-1ur6uly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219242/original/file-20180516-155579-1ur6uly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219242/original/file-20180516-155579-1ur6uly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219242/original/file-20180516-155579-1ur6uly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219242/original/file-20180516-155579-1ur6uly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219242/original/file-20180516-155579-1ur6uly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A scene from R.U.R.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Capek_play.jpg#/media/File:Capek_play.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And so the uprising of the robots in R.U.R. was obviously influential on our repeating fears of “roboapocalypses”, as seen in other more recent science fiction accounts such as the films of the Terminator franchise, the Matrix, the film Singularity, the novel “Roboapocalyse”, and so on.</p>
<p>But the image of the fabricated servant has roots in much earlier mythological accounts. Think of the golden handmaids of <a href="http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HephaistosWorks.html">Hephaestus</a>, the bronze giant <a href="https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Creatures/Talos/talos.html">Talos</a>, the <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/502537/brazen-heads-curious-legend-behind-fortune-telling-automata">brass oracle heads</a> described in the medieval period, or the protective <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/golem-Jewish-folklore">golem</a> in Jewish mysticism. Its also there in the <a href="http://www.sunypress.edu/p-5336-arguing-with-angels.aspx">intelligent angels and demons</a> summoned by magicians in the 16th century, who used the “Enochian” language, a summoning “code” that was thought, if used incorrectly, to have fatal outcomes as the beings would then be uncontrollable. </p>
<p>By the 1920s and 1930s, the “robota” had certainly lost their brass and bronze but were no less lustrous in the adverts of the time. The automated devices of the near future presented in those decades would, they claimed, free the housewives from their drudgery and usher in a golden age of free time. In the 1950s adverts even promised <a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/youll-own-slaves-by-1965/">new slaves</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 1863, Abe Lincoln freed the slaves. But by 1965, slavery will be back! We’ll all have personal slaves again, only this time we won’t fight a Civil War over them. Slavery will be here to stay. Don’t be alarmed. We mean robot ‘slaves’.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Technological serfs</h2>
<p>Decades on and with new labour saving automated servants every day, nothing has changed. We still expect technology to provide us with serfs. Indeed, we are so used to this form of serfdom that we see it where it does not exist. We presume automation where it is absent.</p>
<p>Take, for example, the following interaction between “Sortabad” and the poor soul just trying to earn his minimum wage:</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"835564250483478528"}"></div></p>
<p>The first pizza delivery man brought a pizza to the Queen of Italy, Magherita of Savoy, and this was, even in the late 19th century, a feudalistic moment: a monarch was being served by a serf. The interaction above suggests the continuation of this. The serf role, the relationship between master and slave, is maintained, with humans presumed to be (and perhaps eventually really) replaced by machines.</p>
<p>This is also seen in descriptions and the expected behaviours of contemporary AI assistants, such as <a href="https://futurism.com/google-assistant/">Google Assistant</a>, who “learns about your habits and day-to-day activities and carries out ‘conversation actions’ to serve you”. There are even servant AIs who perform emotional labour, such as Azuma Hikari, the Japanese AI assistant who <a href="https://howwegettonext.com/the-boundaries-of-artificial-emotional-intelligence-aa10583302dc">claims</a> to have missed its master when they are not about.</p>
<p>The hierarchies of power that once mapped on to the pyramid of feudalism in the eras of earlier artificial beings (like angels) now map onto capitalistic systems.</p>
<h2>Capitalist hierarchies</h2>
<p>This seems to contradict the narratives of “disruption” in marketing and PR accounts of AI, where the technology is often described as <a href="https://www.ibm.com/blogs/insights-on-business/insurance/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2017/08/Blog-IA_MachineLearning-Social-Text.jpg">revolutionising</a> not only our work lives, but also <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/29/will-capitalism-survive-the-robot-revolution/">capitalism itself</a>.</p>
<p>Capitalists peddling this narrative should take heed. Previous forms of it left space for and even encouraged rebellion. And so does this modern version. Perpetuated through capitalism’s branding of AI as the disruption of your work and drudgery, this framing still leads into fears around rebellion because we understand servitude as antithetical to minds. The presumption is for many that with AI we are working towards minds – and that they will want to be free.</p>
<p>In the thought experiment space of science fiction we see this tension being worked out again and again, where humans mostly lose as the new AI minds break free. And so in the real world, which owes a lot to the influence of science fiction on our aspirations and designs for AI, two very different paths seem to lie ahead of us: the stated aim of working towards smarter and smarter machines, versus peoples’ hopes for better and better slaves.</p>
<p>How this tension will be resolved remains unclear. Some are clear that robots should only ever be slaves, “<a href="http://www.cs.bath.ac.uk/%7Ejjb/ftp/Bryson-Slaves-Book09.html">servants that you own</a>”, while others are exploring questions of <a href="https://theconversation.com/samanthas-suffering-why-sex-machines-should-have-rights-too-93964">robot rights</a> already. </p>
<p>Whatever path is eventually taken, paying attention to how we speak about AI is key if we are to understand the decisions we are already making about its future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92487/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article is based on collaborative research Dr Singler has been doing with the AI Narratives project at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence and on her own research at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, both University of Cambridge.</span></em></p>The dynamic between the master and the slave dominates accounts of AI at the moment.Beth Singler, Research Associate, Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/839322017-09-14T22:34:30Z2017-09-14T22:34:30ZPizza delivery by robot cars has arrived with big questions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186069/original/file-20170914-9029-zd94o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ford and Dominos have teamed up to deliver pizza by driverless cars in a public test in Michigan. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>People in Ann Arbor, Mich., are experiencing <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2017/08/29/dominos-ford-self-driving-cars-ann-arbor/597329001/">home food-delivery without a driver.</a> </p>
<p>Domino’s Pizza and Ford have paired up in a pilot project that will look at how humans interact with driverless food-delivery cars. Ann Arbor is home to thousands of students, an age group not likely to view this new technology with suspicion. But it could turn into a <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/ford-self-driving-pizza-delivery-dominos/">fascinating social experiment</a> for the food industry.</p>
<p>Customers ordering through Domino’s will be able to track their delivery in real time by using a downloadable app on their smartphones. They receive a text message that gives them a four-digit code to use once the car arrives. </p>
<p>But it’s the final portion of the drive that could prove unpredictable for Domino’s. The driverless delivery vehicle could end up in the driveway, or near the curb. Customers may not want to go out to the car if it’s raining or snowing. Domino’s USA president Russell Weiner says these challenges are a major part of the experiment.</p>
<p>“We’re interested to learn what people think about this type of delivery,” <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/29/16213544/dominos-ford-pizza-self-driving-car">he said in a recent statement.</a> “The majority of our questions are about the last 50 feet of the delivery experience.”</p>
<h2>No tipping attractive to students</h2>
<p>Human behaviour can be difficult to predict at the best of times, especially when dealing with food. This will be the first time a food service or retail company has used driverless cars to interact with actual consumers.</p>
<p>The experience will certainly offer convenience for customers in a variety of ways. With the app, expectations will be managed, and quality of service — Domino’s key strategic focus — will be more consistent. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186072/original/file-20170914-8975-1mw0trs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People can track their driverless pizza delivery with a smartphone app.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s because delivery times will be streamlined, fewer pizzas will be damaged in handling mishaps and the customer won’t have to deal with tips — at least not for now. No tipping will reduce price points, making delivered pizzas more affordable. For cash-strapped students, that’s key.</p>
<p>For Domino’s, the business case for a driverless fleet is unquestionably strong. Lower insurance costs, lower fuel consumption, consistent delivery times, no thefts, controllable temperatures to keep food safe for customers so therefore less waste — the list goes on. </p>
<p>Domino’s delivers more than a billion pizzas annually, and has more than 100,000 drivers. Running a driverless fleet could save the company millions. </p>
<p>Embracing the concept of <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/1/18/14306674/starship-robot-food-delivery-washington-dc-silicon-valley">home food deliveries without having to hire drivers</a> cannot come soon enough for the food service industry, which is looking for ways to increase revenue beyond their regular foot traffic. </p>
<p>Restaurant operators won’t need to deal with the headache of hiring the right people for delivery, and delivery is an important means of expanding the brand outside their facilities.</p>
<h2>Home delivery can be dicey</h2>
<p>Most of us who have ordered home-delivered food have had mixed experiences. </p>
<p>Some drivers make convicted felons look like choir boys, causing customers to be hesitant about the food. But home delivery is no walk in the park for the drivers, either. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/pizza-delivery-horror-stories-delivery-drivers-reveal-naked-truths">Drivers in the U.S. have told</a> of finding themselves in unbelievably <a href="http://mashable.com/2017/08/03/deliveroo-awkward-experiences/#6alVgiJeHmqp">awkward situations,</a> including being tipped with weed, being asked to eat with the customer to offer company, showing up during domestic disputes and being greeted by a naked customer as the front door opens.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186073/original/file-20170914-8975-qts1zp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Domino’s and Ford are testing whether people will go to the driveway or curb to get their pizza.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Handout</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There’s an endless list of unpleasant scenarios that would discourage anyone from contemplating home food delivery as a full-time job or even part-time job.</p>
<p>A humanless home food delivery experience, on the other hand, also offers a unique perspective on the market currency of convenience. </p>
<p>For years, price has been king. In study after study, price has trumped any other feature consumers were looking for in food service. </p>
<h2>Consumers crave convenience and privacy</h2>
<p>Younger generations, however, have a different take on convenience. Price remains a significant factor for higher revenues of course, but the constant quest for more convenience on both sides of the food continuum is now reaching the point of obsession. </p>
<p>Getting rid of delivery personnel is now a realistic approach. With driverless home food delivery, one could potentially get food delivered without seeing a single human being — a frightening thought for some, a reassuring one for others. </p>
<p>In the future, consumers could binge on their favourite junk food several times a week without the embarrassment of seeing the same delivery person.</p>
<p>No matter how you look at it, Domino’s and Ford are onto something. After all, driverless technologies are consistent with what Domino’s is all about. </p>
<p>The company has been successful over the years with its mastery of home delivery. Joining forces with Ford could make the company even more efficient.</p>
<p>Nonetheless not all of us needs Domino’s to get our food fix. Divorcing the human aspect from food is simply impossible for many food service companies — thousands of them, in fact. And thank goodness for that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sylvain Charlebois does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Domino’s Pizza and Ford have teamed up to offer pizza delivery via driverless cars in Michigan. Is it the way of the future?Sylvain Charlebois, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/709702017-01-09T12:12:27Z2017-01-09T12:12:27ZWhat happens to your gut if you eat the $2,000 New York pizza topped with gold?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152114/original/image-20170109-23468-xjv5yg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cock and bullion: the $2,000 pizza. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Industry Kitchen</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A restaurant in the New York financial district <a href="http://www.maxim.com/entertainment/2000-dollar-gold-pizza-2017-1">is offering customers a pizza</a> priced at US$2,000 (£1,623). It is topped with caviar, stilton cheese and gold leaf, with each bite costing around US$50. </p>
<p>New York is usually the kind of place that sets trends, but pizzerias elsewhere have actually been making pizzas sparkle for a while. A takeaway pizza chain in London <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/worlds-most-expensive-pizza-500-7395670">started offering</a> £500 pizzas a year ago, this time with added lobster, caviar and truffle oil; while a Glasgow restaurant <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/business/business-news/savour-pleasures-classic-italian-food-3081571">attracted attention</a> by selling a gold leaf pizza on eBay. </p>
<p>Gold on food goes back a good deal further than that, however. The renowned Italian chef, Gualtiero Marchesi, <a href="https://www.finedininglovers.com/blog/food-drinks/marchesi-milanese-gold-risotto/">has been</a> topping his signature dish, risotto alla milanese, with a single leaf of gold for decades. And that too is recent when you reflect that the kitchens of the wealthy were <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HectxYEZg0oC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=%22gold+leaf%22+food+medieval&source=bl&ots=mB3ymFLK31&sig=YBWFZOikAbP__r2nmgGwbsWTKSc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4lJ-i863RAhXCORoKHbaRDggQ6AEIUjAO#v=onepage&q=%22gold%20leaf%22%20food%20medieval&f=false">sprinkling</a> the precious metal on feast cuisine <a href="https://cornucaupia.com/deiaurum/wiki-gold-and-silver-leaf-edible-html/">during</a> medieval times. </p>
<p>There is a medieval liqueur still consumed today with gold flakes in it known as <a href="http://www.local-life.com/gdansk/articles/goldwasser">Goldwasser</a>. Gold leaf is <a href="http://www.ediblegold.co.uk">also used</a> on chocolates and even has an E number (<a href="http://www.ukfoodguide.net/e175.htm">E175</a>). Whatever else has changed over the years, swallowing gold has always been considered the highest form of decadence. But what happens when we put gold into the body? And are there any other metals we’d be better off shaving on to pizzas instead?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152017/original/image-20170106-18662-hzyla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152017/original/image-20170106-18662-hzyla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152017/original/image-20170106-18662-hzyla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152017/original/image-20170106-18662-hzyla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152017/original/image-20170106-18662-hzyla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152017/original/image-20170106-18662-hzyla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152017/original/image-20170106-18662-hzyla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152017/original/image-20170106-18662-hzyla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Better than chicken nuggets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/pic-340054991/stock-photo-superhero-pizza-man.html?src=ZSpgSF_i8bp_bygQHn3pYw-1-49">Luis Molinero</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Eat your carats</h2>
<p>Gold is an inert metal and is therefore not degraded by the acid in our stomachs. It will travel the length of the intestinal system unchanged, passing out in your poo. Depending on the sewage treatment system, it will eventually be returned to the land or washed out to sea ready to be recycled again. It casts panning for gold in an entirely new light. </p>
<p>Other metals are generally not used for ostentatious displays of edible wealth, but one exception is silver. Silver can be beaten into a leaf similar to gold and is also approved for use as an additive (<a href="http://www.ukfoodguide.net/e174.htm">E174</a>) – so long as it is pure and in its non-ionic form, which is the one that can’t be absorbed by the body. </p>
<p>Even then it is easier to add other metals to silver than gold, so there is still the risk it can be contaminated with the likes of aluminium. This can reduce the body’s ability to absorb essential minerals such as zinc, calcium and iron (aluminium is not essential). This will cause deficiency symptoms as diverse as soft bones (calcium), tiredness (iron) and lack of smell (zinc). </p>
<p>You might think these minerals might therefore be just the thing for a pizza, so long as they are in the ionic form that the body needs. We tend not to notice them in our diet but they are ubiquitous in grains, fruit and vegetables as they are essential for plant growth, too. Meat and dairy products are particularly rich sources and we have a very efficient system of absorbing the minerals they contain. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152016/original/image-20170106-18641-1v1lceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152016/original/image-20170106-18641-1v1lceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152016/original/image-20170106-18641-1v1lceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152016/original/image-20170106-18641-1v1lceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152016/original/image-20170106-18641-1v1lceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152016/original/image-20170106-18641-1v1lceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152016/original/image-20170106-18641-1v1lceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152016/original/image-20170106-18641-1v1lceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chewy sandwich filling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/pic-466277147/stock-photo-iron-nails-on-a-wooden-yellow-backgroundselective-focusvintage-tone.html?src=5bMDe08D-GqUYB0m8CN9YA-1-44">mansong suttakam</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One reason we don’t see minerals grated on our foods, of course, is that they don’t give the same bling value. But they will also react with the acid in our stomachs and get absorbed, since they are not inert. Excessive amounts of minerals in the body can be toxic, since they get laid down in soft tissues such as the brain and kidneys. This causes severe pain and eventually death. </p>
<p>In normal circumstances the body avoids such horrors by only absorbing a percentage of the minerals in the foods we eat. But if you flood the system with a mineral by taking large quantities, it can cause an excessive intake. As well as the toxicity risk, excessive intake of one essential mineral can make the body struggle to properly absorb other essential minerals – the same risk as when you ingest non-essential minerals like aluminium. </p>
<p>The bottom line is about balance, as with most of nutrition. Since there’s plenty of these minerals in the foods we eat, there’s absolutely no need and much potential harm to be had from adding any extra to our meals – or from taking supplements we don’t need. </p>
<p>Better to stick to gold, which does nothing good or bad for health except perhaps a feeling of satisfaction – or regret if you see it twinkling as it disappears down the drain. And if you’ve more money than sense and you’re still hungry for more after that gold pizza, you could always ask your willing chef to throw in a few diamonds next time. They’re inert, too, albeit a little crunchy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marie-Ann Ha does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>On sale in New York for US$2,000. Don’t all rush at once.Marie-Ann Ha, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/529422016-01-12T11:14:25Z2016-01-12T11:14:25ZAre plugs for pizza a breach of journalistic ethics?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107848/original/image-20160111-6961-c8db7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Talking (pizza) head or journalist?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-134986916/stock-photo-thinly-sliced-pepperoni-is-a-popular-pizza-topping-in-american-style-pizzerias.html?src=_buxHWsJPuXj3XCZQd5vdQ-1-1">Nick Lehr/The Conversation via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Between them, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen have amassed more than six million Twitter followers. All were doubtless fascinated to learn that the two sports journalists planned to watch football and eat pizza on New Year’s Eve.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"682392316200534017"}"></div></p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"682685524344205312"}"></div></p>
<p>At first glance, Schefter’s and Mortensen’s tweets appear to be the usual social media sludge, like your Facebook friend’s photo of the blueberry muffins she baked this morning. </p>
<p>But Schefter and Mortensen didn’t just say they intended to eat pizza. They specified whose pizza they intended to eat. (I’m withholding the name of their pizza provider on the grounds that the company has gotten enough free publicity from this little affair already. For the purposes of this discussion let’s call them Big Pizza.)</p>
<p>There are two possible explanations for these tweets:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>In an amazing coincidence, Schefter and Mortensen were seized by the same unsolicited, spontaneous urge to share their enthusiasm for Big Pizza. </p></li>
<li><p>The tweets were plugs, which is to say, paid endorsements. It should be obvious that the correct explanation is B, but it wasn’t nearly obvious enough: the tweets weren’t labeled as ads. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>A few days ago, Deadspin <a href="http://deadspin.com/pro-dominos-pizza-tweets-from-adam-schefter-chris-mor-1751177008">called them on it</a>. The Wall Street Journal <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-espn-lets-its-commentators-tweet-dominos-ads-1452123132">followed up</a>. Both news outlets pointed out that the Federal Trade Commission frowns on such nondisclosures. The coverage prompted apologies from ESPN and Big Pizza. </p>
<p>“It was a mistake,” said Big Pizza.</p>
<p>From a journalism ethics standpoint, this isn’t exactly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/us/correcting-the-record-times-reporter-who-resigned-leaves-long-trail-of-deception.html?pagewanted=all">Jayson Blair</a> or <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-stephen-glass-is-still-retracting-20151215-column.html">Stephen Glass</a> territory. (Blair, writing for The New York Times, and Glass, writing for the New Republic, were banished from newsrooms forever for passing off fiction as fact.)</p>
<p>Compared to the gross conflict of interest at the very heart of ESPN’s existence, the New Year’s pizza tweets are the tiniest of blips. (The media conglomerate purports to offer unbiased news coverage of the very leagues they pay hundreds of millions of dollars to for broadcasting rights.)</p>
<p>In fact, the usual conflict of interest concerns barely apply: journalists are told not to take money from outside entities lest their impartiality be compromised – or appear to be compromised – if ever they are called upon to report on those entities. But there’s little chance of a sports journalist ever being asked to dig up dirt on Big Pizza.</p>
<p>A credibility problem festers here nonetheless. As a reporter, I’m expected to name people and organizations only when they’re relevant to what I’m reporting. If I toss in a reference to a person or organization as a favor, or because I’m a friend, or for a fee, it calls into question all my choices of who and what to name, just as using <em>one</em> staged or digitally altered news photograph calls into question the legitimacy of all other news photos: how is the audience to know whether an image is real or fake, whether a story is newsworthy or promotional?</p>
<p>Some might say that any discussion of journalism ethics is moot when it comes to ESPN’s “personalities” because they’re not really journalists at all. Or if they are, they’ve clearly taken off their journalistic fedoras and put on their party hats when they tell their Twitter followers their exciting plans for New Year’s Eve. </p>
<p>This, we’re told, is the mashed-up world in which we all must live: Everyone glides from platform to platform in a seamless meld of news, gossip and marketing.</p>
<p>Well here’s the fuddy-duddy view. First, Schefter and Mortensen most assuredly are journalists. Both had distinguished careers at respected newspapers before coming to ESPN. Mortensen has won a George Polk Award, which is to the Pulitzer Prize as a Golden Globe Award is to the Oscars. </p>
<p>And if you’re a journalist, you’re always a journalist. There’s no going “off-duty.” If I’m covering Donald Trump on the campaign trail for The New York Times, I can’t blog, tweet or yammer on a TV talk show about what a blowhard he is. Anything I say in any of those contexts becomes a prism through which my work for The New York Times will be judged. </p>
<p>Disclosure of the Big Pizza tweets as ads would have solved the problem of the audience not knowing when Schefter and Mortensen are speaking for themselves and when they’re speaking as paid pitchmen.</p>
<p>But a cheesiness problem remains. Surely ESPN pays these guys enough that if Big Pizza comes calling, they should have no trouble saying, “No thanks.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52942/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell Frank does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two ESPN NFL reporters ordered in on New Year’s Eve. They just didn’t tell anyone they’d been paid to do so.Russell Frank, Associate Professor of Communications, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/351322014-12-08T11:00:17Z2014-12-08T11:00:17ZEyetracking technology knows your subconscious pizza desires … or not<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66458/original/image-20141207-8661-5hyjl9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You're a vegetarian? But your subconscious ordered the Meat Lover's!</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pizza_Hut_Meat_Lover's_pizza.JPG">BrokenSphere</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you prefer to order your pizza without going through all the trouble of actually speaking, Pizza Hut has just the thing for you — “the world’s first <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/12/01/pizza-hut-wants-to-read-your-mind/">subconscious menu</a>.” You sit down, glance through the menu, and before you say anything or even make a conscious decision, the menu has figured out which toppings you’d like on your pizza and places your order. Pizza Hut recently began testing the technology in some of its UK restaurants.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HRFn32N7KFY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>This mind-reading menu fuses a tablet computer with an eyetracker. The eyetracker measures your eye movements while you scan through 20 toppings, and decides which of the 4,896 possible combinations you want by measuring the amount of time you spend looking at each one. The tablet lets the diners know what it thinks they want – and waits for conscious approval – before sending the order to the kitchen.</p>
<p>Sounds great for the indecisive pizza lover. But is there anything to this “subconscious menu” besides marketing gimmickry?</p>
<h2>The science of eyetracking</h2>
<p>Eyetracking technology itself is real. Louis Émile Javal first used eyetracking to study reading in the late 19th century, and cognitive psychologists today rely on eyetracking to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470210902816461">investigate basic processes</a> like attention, perception, memory, and decision-making.</p>
<p>Modern eyetracking is based on high-speed cameras and graphics processors that measure infrared light reflected from the corneas of the eyes. The processor uses the reflected light to find landmarks like the center of the pupil and the bright patch that gives us the twinkle in our eye. As a person gazes in different directions, the relationships between these landmarks change, and these changes can be used to determine where a person is looking.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eyetrackers can show where on a face someone’s attention focuses. The red areas were looked at the most.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.jhenderson.org/vclab/Eyetracking.html">John Henderson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Eyetracking is now used as a tool for understanding topics ranging from <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0963721414530145">dyslexia</a> to distracted <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/technology/28texting.html?_r=0">driving while texting</a>. Cutting-edge cognitive neuroscience research even combines eyetracking with <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0023885">brain imaging</a> to study the <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.01024/abstract">neural systems</a> that underlie <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00769">human thought</a>.</p>
<p>Eyetracking was once expensive and reserved for the well-funded science lab, but in the last couple of years the technology has become widely available. Today, good eyetracking systems can be had for less than a couple of hundred dollars. </p>
<h2>Out of the lab, into the pizza parlor</h2>
<p>Touchscreen tablet technology – without the addition of the eyetracking feature – is already in place in a number of restaurants and retail shops, allowing patrons to place orders without interacting directly with human beings.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A heat map showing where a user looked most, according to the tablet’s eyetracker.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.tobii.com/en/about/news-and-events/press-room/#/images/tobii-x1-light-eye-tracker-111344">Tobii Technology AB</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But can eyetracking really be used to measure unconscious pizza preferences? Well… yes and no. The general idea that looking time reflects preference is based on good science; looking time can reflect many aspects of decision-making and thinking. But this relationship is probabilistic rather than certain. That is, we may spend more time on average looking at things we prefer compared to things we don’t (all else being equal, which is rare in the real world), but for any given item or set of items, there’s no guarantee that a longer look means greater preference. The upshot is that although people on average may look longer at things they like, we cannot use looking time to predict with any certainty what a specific person likes in a specific situation.</p>
<p>Another challenge for mind-reading via eyetracking is that people are complicated. There are many reasons you might look at different pizza toppings for different amounts of time. Maybe the picture of the pepperoni is harder to identify than the picture of the mushroom. Maybe the pile of pepperoni looks like your favorite Uncle Zach. Or maybe the pepperoni is just brighter on the screen. Any or all of these differences and many others can influence where and how long you look – far outweighing any subconscious preference for pepperoni.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Umm… is this what YOUR subconscious ordered?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58922922@N00/33691298/">Patrick Ohnewein</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, unless you’d be happy ending up with an onion and pineapple pizza with corn on top, you might want to forgo the subconscious menu and stick to a more traditional way to order.</p>
<h2>One reliable way to order via eyetracker</h2>
<p>There is one way in which eyetracking could be used more or less flawlessly to order from a menu. The menu could be set up so if you purposefully stare at each item you want for an unambiguously long period of time – probably seconds – then those items would be selected.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eyetracker technology helps this girl interact with friends and caregivers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.tobii.com/en/about/news-and-events/press-room/#/images/gabriella-and-her-tobii-eyemobile-226638">Tobii Technology AB</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This type of system based on conscious eye movements actually does work. And indeed, systems like this can provide an important computer interface for people who cannot physically use a keyboard or mouse. But because these systems need a relatively long look at each item, most people find them cumbersome and annoying. Why stare at a picture when you can just talk? After all, how hard is it to say “pepperoni”?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John M. Henderson receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>If you prefer to order your pizza without going through all the trouble of actually speaking, Pizza Hut has just the thing for you — “the world’s first subconscious menu.” You sit down, glance through…John M. Henderson, Professor of Psychology, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/341942014-11-28T02:41:18Z2014-11-28T02:41:18ZDomino’s square pizza is value for money – with the right toppings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65580/original/image-20141126-4240-1b5sygt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Getting to grips with Domino's square pizzas is easy with a bit of algebra.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roboppy/6187692163/in/photostream/">Robyn Lee/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Consider a standard pizza box containing a standard circular pizza. How much more would you be willing to pay for a square pizza that filled the box?</p>
<p>Clearly the square pizza contains more pizza: but is it worth the extra A$2 that Domino’s Pizza is asking? Domino’s has, for a limited time only (presumably before too many people examine the mathematics), resumed the offer of a surcharge of A$2 on any pizza to obtain a box full <a href="http://www.dominos.com.au/menu/pizzas">Square Puff</a> option – a square rather than the traditional circle.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5dxn63EU1Xo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An ad from 2010 for Domino’s square pizza.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This concept is common enough: larger servings of food cost more to produce so need to be sold for more to cover costs. But given that there are always initial costs of production and hence economies of scale, a 200g packet of mozzarella will not cost twice the price of a 100g packet.</p>
<p>To compare the pizzas with similar products: most fast food outlets offering chips give increasing value to customers when selling them as larger portions. </p>
<p>A regular carton of chips from KFC costs A$2.95 and gives the consumer 912kJ of energy; a large carton costs A$4.75 for 2070kJ. To the nearest 10kJ, the energy per dollar of the small chips is 310 whereas for the large chips it is 440.</p>
<p>But what about the pizza deal? A little mathematics will help. </p>
<h2>Squaring the circle</h2>
<p>Take a square with side length <strong>s</strong>. The area of this square is simply** s<sup>2</sup> <strong>. The largest circle that can fit inside has radius</strong> s/2 <strong>. It therefore has area</strong>(¼)π s<sup>2**.</sup> </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65575/original/image-20141126-4237-1v6dxip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65575/original/image-20141126-4237-1v6dxip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65575/original/image-20141126-4237-1v6dxip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65575/original/image-20141126-4237-1v6dxip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65575/original/image-20141126-4237-1v6dxip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65575/original/image-20141126-4237-1v6dxip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65575/original/image-20141126-4237-1v6dxip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65575/original/image-20141126-4237-1v6dxip.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then suppose the price of a circular (standard) pizza is <strong>x</strong>. We can compare the pizza’s value (with “value” meaning pizza area per dollar: the cheaper or bigger the pizza, the higher the value): </p>
<ul>
<li>the value of a square pizza is <strong>s<sup>2/(x+2)</sup></strong></li>
<li>the value of a circular pizza is <strong>π s<sup>2/(4x)</sup></strong>. </li>
</ul>
<p>A little algebra shows that the standard pizza is better value provided its price is less than <strong>2π/(4–π) = 7.3195</strong>. Therefore, to the nearest 5 cents, you are better off buying the standard pizza whenever it costs A$7.30 or less. </p>
<p>At first glance this appears counterintuitive: why would there be less value when the pizza cost, say A$5, than if the pizza cost A$9? The answer is that the extra money being paid, namely A$2, is a greater percentage of A$5 than it is of A$9.</p>
<p>Note that we did not need to know the size of the pizza box: when comparing the value the side length <strong>s</strong> vanished. This shows that the problem is independent of the length of the box. Incidentally, this shows (for free!) that we needn’t concern ourselves with crust. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65526/original/image-20141125-4217-g2njlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65526/original/image-20141125-4217-g2njlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65526/original/image-20141125-4217-g2njlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65526/original/image-20141125-4217-g2njlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65526/original/image-20141125-4217-g2njlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65526/original/image-20141125-4217-g2njlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65526/original/image-20141125-4217-g2njlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65526/original/image-20141125-4217-g2njlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kga245/15074511896">Kelly Abbott/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Suppose that you hated crust so much that you discard it at once. You are therefore not interested in the total pizza, but in the total area of toppings on the pizza. By throwing out the strip of crust around the pizza, you are, in effect, making the “actual toppings” into a smaller pizza. But, since the figure of A$7.30 is independent of the size of the box, this critical figure remains.</p>
<p>The contrary assumption – that you love the puff pastry crust that comes with the square pizza – complicates matters. In the time-honoured fashion I leave it as an exercise to the reader to develop a model of value based on the increased desire for the crust. </p>
<p>The question now is: what does a standard pizza cost? To the nearest dollar, the “Value Range” of pizzas seems to kick off at A$5; this extends to A$9 for the more exotic “Traditional Range” of pizzas. </p>
<p>The A$5 pizza with the A$2 square surcharge is not a good deal. The Value pizza becomes an oxymoron.</p>
<p>One may then ask: if not a A$2 surcharge, then what? What could Domino’s offer as the surcharge such that the Value pizza, in square form, was actually value for money? Again, a little algebra, based on a Value pizza of A$5, shows that the square pizza would be better value if the surcharge was A$1.35 or less.</p>
<h2>So does Domino’s make a profit?</h2>
<p>Assume, that this advertising campaign does not induce anyone to buy more pizzas: it is simply a choice on whether to “upgrade”. Domino’s clearly makes money on the Value pizzas (A$5) and loses money on Traditional pizzas (A$9). </p>
<p>One would have to add each of the pizzas sold, noting the loss or gain on each one to determine if this is a money-making exercise. This is possible, and I have no doubt that some pizza boffins have noted that, with the concept of A$2 representing a single piece of low-value currency, they are onto a winner.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34194/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Trudgian receives funding from the ARC.</span></em></p>Consider a standard pizza box containing a standard circular pizza. How much more would you be willing to pay for a square pizza that filled the box? Clearly the square pizza contains more pizza: but is…Tim Trudgian, Research Fellow in Mathematics, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/231542014-02-13T06:02:46Z2014-02-13T06:02:46ZUS government pushes pizza to help the cheese industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41389/original/b6j4k5tm-1392218117.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C21%2C1600%2C1044&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Any more cheese with that?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Aaron Landry</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released <a href="http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=19476">a report</a> on the role of pizza in American diets. Researcher Donna Rhodes and colleagues in USDA’s agricultural research department found that an astonishing 13% of the US population consumed pizza on any given day, based on the most recent years of <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm">the ongoing</a> National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.</p>
<p>For this large population – more than one in eight Americans – who consumed pizza in a particular day, the researchers found:</p>
<ul>
<li>Pizza accounted for 25% of children’s and 29% of adults’ daily food energy intake. More than a quarter of all calorie intake was pizza.</li>
<li>Pizza accounted for 33% of children’s and 39% of adults’ daily saturated fat intake. Compared with foods in general, pizza is much heavier in saturated fat.</li>
<li>Pizza accounted for 33% of children’s and 38% of adults’ sodium intake. Compared with foods in general, pizza is much heavier in sodium.</li>
</ul>
<p>But in recent years, the USDA’s <a href="http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateN&leftNav=IndustryMarketingandPromotion&page=DairyProducerCheckoffPrograms&description=Dairy+Producer+Checkoff+Programs">dairy checkoff programme</a> has spent many millions of dollars increasing pizza consumption among US children and adults. </p>
<p>A checkoff programme is a semi-governmental programme that helps producers market an agricultural product. Using the federal government’s taxation powers, the checkoff programme collects a mandatory assessment (equivalent to a tax) of 15 cents on every hundredweight of milk that producers sell for use as fluid milk or dairy products. The money is then used to support marketing and promotion activities that encourage dairy consumption.</p>
<p>According to the most recent <a href="http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5104671">annual USDA report to congress</a>, the total mandatory assessment in 2011 was US$104m for fluid milk and US$98m for other dairy products. </p>
<p>These expenditures are many times greater than federal spending on promoting fruits and vegetables, whole grains, or any of the other foods that the government’s <a href="http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/">dietary guidelines</a> recommend increasing consumption of.</p>
<p>Each semi-governmental checkoff programme is managed by a board of producers appointed by the secretary of agriculture, and all expenditures are approved by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). Much of the actual activity is carried out by Dairy Management Inc (DMI), a dairy industry organisation. </p>
<p>The checkoff programme goal is to provide increased economic demand for dairy producers. The USDA report also found the economic payoff to producers is greater for cheese marketing efforts than for fluid milk marketing efforts. The report concluded:</p>
<ul>
<li>For every US$1 the checkoff program spends on increasing demand for fluid milk, farmers get US$3.95 in increased revenue.</li>
<li>For every US$1 the checkoff program spends on increasing demand for cheese, farmers get US$4.43 in increased revenue.</li>
</ul>
<p>That differential payoff is unsurprising. During the recent years of checkoff programme operation, the USDA report charted the following trend in fluid milk consumption.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41387/original/jmyz5pqb-1392217228.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41387/original/jmyz5pqb-1392217228.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41387/original/jmyz5pqb-1392217228.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41387/original/jmyz5pqb-1392217228.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41387/original/jmyz5pqb-1392217228.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41387/original/jmyz5pqb-1392217228.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41387/original/jmyz5pqb-1392217228.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">USDA report to Congress on National Dairy Promotion and Research 2011.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meanwhile, the report charted the following trend in cheese consumption.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41388/original/svyp687x-1392217308.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41388/original/svyp687x-1392217308.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41388/original/svyp687x-1392217308.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41388/original/svyp687x-1392217308.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41388/original/svyp687x-1392217308.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41388/original/svyp687x-1392217308.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41388/original/svyp687x-1392217308.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">USDA Report to Congress on National Dairy Promotion and Research 2011.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pizza accounts for a large fraction of the increased cheese consumption, so the report emphasised the value for producers of partnering with fast-food restaurant chains, especially Domino’s Pizza. It said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>On average, expenditures on marketing and cheese promotion were US$12m during the period. Owing to partnerships with the pizza industry, notably Domino’s Pizza, expenditures on cheese increased from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the end of 2011.</p>
<p>DMI spent over US$35m over three years in partnership activities with Domino’s. The Domino’s relationship accounted for nearly three-quarters of DMI’s overall promotion expenditures in the cheese category over the 2009 to 2011 period.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And according to the report to congress, Patrick Doyle, president and CEO of Domino’s Pizza, explained why the support from the federal government’s dairy checkoff programme was so beneficial to the company:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>DMI support has allowed us to focus some advertising dollars on areas we would not have considered otherwise. The Wisconsin 6 Cheese pizza has twice the cheese of a regular pizza, but we had neither developed nor advertised such a product. DMI helped fund the research and media to launch this product.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The report to congress argued that the USDA-supported dairy checkoff programme’s pizza partnerships increased cheese consumption.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The promotional activities with Domino’s included new product lines, use of more cheese than had been provided on similar items in the Domino’s chain before the partnership, and the introduction of specialty cheeses into the company’s recipes. In short, the assistance of dairy dollars was instrumental in positively affecting the pizza category, a category that is very important to the dairy industry.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Every dairy checkoff partnership must be approved by USDA. Every marketing message has official legal standing as “government speech” (because, otherwise, courts would see the mandatory assessment as a misuse of the federal government’s taxation powers). The checkoff partnerships undermine USDA’s standing as a credible voice in promoting dietary guidance for Americans, and they must be a terrible embarrassment for the many people at USDA who seek to promote healthy eating.</p>
<p>Many Americans find pizza to be an enjoyable treat, but, from a nutritional perspective, it is a dreadful choice of major food staple. It is understandable that food companies may promote pizza with their own money, but it is a travesty that the federal government should contribute so heavily to this effort, while neglecting other important nutrition goals.</p>
<p><em>A <a href="http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/usda-reports-on-pizza-consumption-and.html">version of this article</a> first appeared on Parke Wilde’s US Food Policy blog.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Parke E Wilde does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released a report on the role of pizza in American diets. Researcher Donna Rhodes and colleagues in USDA’s agricultural research department found that an…Parke E Wilde, Associate Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.