By Kate Olesin Collegian Staff
One of America’s most common snack foods is on the verge of disappearing – the infamous Twinkie.
Interstate Bakeries Corp., the creator of the Hostess line, Wonderbread and Drake’s coffee cakes, announced recently that if it can’t win concessions from its 20,000 union workers soon, they will close.
“That kind of junk food that has no purpose in the human body should be eradicated,” said University of Massachusetts senior Joshua Farrell-Starbuck.
Sept. 30 is the final date for union workers to give the corporation concessions – and for the decision of the Twinkie’s fate.
The 77-year-old Hostess Twinkie has endured criticism from students, dietitians and even authors.
In March, author Steve Ettlinger wrote the book “Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats.”
According to Publisher’s Weekly, each chapter examines the ingredients in a Twinkie snack, in the order presented on the wrapper.
At one point, the author found himself at heavily-fortified manufacturing plants that produced small quantities of toxic chlorine to make the bleached flour found in a Twinkie.
But UMass students are divided when thinking about the fluffy, creamy cake.
Some students were excited for its proposed liquidation, like freshman M.J. Furnia, who said “Hostess is the devil.”
Other students, who claimed that they had never tried a Twinkie, said that they wouldn’t mind if the snack – or even just the wrapper – became a rare item.
“I’ve never really been into Twinkies,” student Asher Putnam said. “It would be nice to see what the wrapper looks like and keep it for future generations. But I like my arteries the size they are.”
The idea that a Twinkie snack is indestructible was also on many students’ minds.
“I’ve heard they last forever so at least we’ll have them for novelty items,” said sophomore Sarah Jaffe.
Students also focused on how there are plenty of other foods that are better for the body than a yellow sponge cake filled with synthetic cream.
“I don’t even like Twinkies,” said freshman Mike Mills. “There’s just a lot of crap in it.”
The nation’s sudden attention to low-carbohydrate diets has cut into dessert and white-bread sales, according to an ABC News report. The company has been under bankruptcy since September 2004.
In 2000, poor diet and lack of exercise caused 400,000 deaths in the United States – a 16.6 percent increase since 1990, according to Today’s Dietitian.
Many UMass students don’t want to lose their Twinkie memories, since they frequently stuffed the snack into their lunchboxes in elementary school.
“I’d be kind of sad [if they got rid of Twinkies] because as a kid I would pack them in my lunch,” said junior Bonnie Solomon. “They’re a childhood food.”
Other students said the desire to consume a Twinkie is tempting when the snack is right in front of them.
“Here’s the thing with me and Twinkies,” said senior Brittany Gwinn. “I think they are poison. But my mom once gave me a box of Twinkies for Christmas. If you gave me one right now I would probably eat it – but I still think they’re poison.”
If Interstate Bakeries Corp. sells the company, the buyer would most likely continue to produce the popular snack food.
Kate Olesin can be reached at [email protected].
