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[Incognito]

Pretty remarkable story just up at the NYTimes

Domino’s Pizza was hurting early last year. Domestic sales had fallen, and a survey of big pizza chain customers left the company tied for the worst tasting pies.

Then help arrived from an organization called Dairy Management. It teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and proceeded to devise and pay for a $12 million marketing campaign.

Consumers devoured the cheesier pizza, and sales soared by double digits. “This partnership is clearly working,” Brandon Solano, the Domino’s vice president for brand innovation, said in a statement to The New York Times.

But as healthy as this pizza has been for Domino’s, one slice contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended amount of saturated fat, which has been linked to heart disease and is high in calories.

And Dairy Management, which has made cheese its cause, is not a private business consultant. It is a marketing creation of the United States Department of Agriculture — the same agency at the center of a federal anti-obesity drive that discourages over-consumption of some of the very foods Dairy Management is vigorously promoting.

Urged on by government warnings about saturated fat, Americans have been moving toward low-fat milk for decades, leaving a surplus of whole milk and milk fat. Yet the government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese.

Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate. Cheese has become the largest source of saturated fat; an ounce of many cheeses contains as much saturated fat as a glass of whole milk.

When Michelle Obama implored restaurateurs in September to help fight obesity, she cited the proliferation of cheeseburgers and macaroni and cheese. “I want to challenge every restaurant to offer healthy menu options,” she told the National Restaurant Association’s annual meeting.

But in a series of confidential agreements approved by agriculture secretaries in both the Bush and Obama administrations, Dairy Management has worked with restaurants to expand their menus with cheese-laden products.

Consider the Taco Bell steak quesadilla, with cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella and a creamy sauce. “The item used an average of eight times more cheese than other items on their menu,” the Agriculture Department said in a report, extolling Dairy Management’s work — without mentioning that the quesadilla has more than three-quarters of the daily recommended level of saturated fat and sodium.

Dairy Management, whose annual budget approaches $140 million, is largely financed by a government-mandated fee on the dairy industry. But it also receives several million dollars a year from the Agriculture Department, which appoints some of its board members, approves its marketing campaigns and major contracts and periodically reports to Congress on its work. ...

Rest at link.

 

[Celsior]

Government dairy group want to sell more dairy products, not really a big deal, everyone knows cheese is fating.

 

[Bluth]

Too delicious to fail.

 

[beelzebozo]

"put more cheese on the pizza"
"good call, here's a billion dollars, thanks"

 

[The Technomancer]

Is this why Domino's suddenly stopped tasting like shit six months ago?

 

[CB3]

BBQ chicken bacon pizza from dominoes is the shit now

 

[sangreal]

Domino's employs 145,000 people and uses a lot of cheese from US farms. The US Department of Agriculture wants them to be successful. What is the problem? Because Pizza is unhealthy? I don't think you'll find anyone in the government that wants all unhealthy food to go away. It's all about moderation

 

[Dresden]

Domino's went from shit to average, so this is a good thing. Good job, government bros.

 

[NumberTwo]

Too delicious to fail.

This made me laugh more than it should have.

 

[Trurl]

"put more cheese on the pizza"
"good call, here's a billion dollars, thanks"

:lol

 

[HeySeuss]

Shouldn't this belong in the other conspiracy thread? I kid...

 

[Vanillalite]

To be fair they supposedly changed up their sauce recipe a bit to along with the cheese. I still don't order dominos, but I'll admit it I've had the new stuff which IS way better.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

God damn socialist bastards making my pizza taste better.

 

[grumble]

Wow, holy demonizing of saturated fat. The stuff doesn't cause heart disease.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Government dairy group want to sell more dairy products, not really a big deal, everyone knows cheese is fating.

:/

 

[Tobor]

"put more cheese on the pizza"
"good call, here's a billion dollars, thanks"

This is the part I don't understand. Domino's couldn't figure this out for themselves? They needed Big Dairy to tell them more cheese makes pizza taste better?

 

[beelzebozo]

This is the part I don't understand. Domino's couldn't figure this out for themselves? They needed Big Dairy to tell them more cheese makes pizza taste better?

i just called dairy queen and sold them an idea for a sundae with more hot fudge for $110,000. i have a whole list of calls to make.

 

[Escape Goat]

PUT IT ON THE PIZZA

 

[beelzebozo]

it's just like the government to try and take a piece of the pie.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

i just called dairy queen and sold them an idea for a sundae with more hot fudge for $110,000. i have a whole list of calls to make.

Hey, KFC, cut the prices by 20%.

Arby's, sell curly fries and chicken tenders exclusively.

 

[Eteric Rice]

Wow, holy demonizing of saturated fat. The stuff doesn't cause heart disease.

Pretty much this.

If we're ever going to overcome to obesity issue, demonizing the wrong foods needs to stop.

 

[WillyFive]

Just had Dominoes a couple hours ago.

You know what, thank you, US government.

 

[siddx]

I dont care, I like pizza, I like cheese.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

They need to work on their buffalo wings too.

 

[Tobor]

i just called dairy queen and sold them an idea for a sundae with more hot fudge for $110,000. i have a whole list of calls to make.

I had no idea you were a pawn of the hot fudge lobby. I thought I knew you man.

 

[Whimsical Phil]

PUT IT ON THE PIZZA

 

[Technosteve]

blame them for the milk propaganda commercials

 

[xbhaskarx]

Government-created industry group worked with Domino’s Pizza to bolster sales

an organization called Dairy Management. It teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese


So Domino's Pizza is the new government cheese...

 

[thefit]

Is this why Domino's suddenly stopped tasting like shit six months ago?

I thought that was just me. But isn't the new better taste due to the better dough recipe.

 

[Hylian7]

I must be the only person here that prefers the way Dominoes pizza used to taste

 

[Kuramu]

FEED IT CAT

 

[beelzebozo]

I had no idea you were a pawn of the hot fudge lobby. I thought I knew you man.

funny you should say it, i just bought a vhs at the flea market called "hot fudge lobby," i'll leave it to your imagination.

 

[CharlieDigital]

I had one of their new recipe pies last week for the first time. Seems like they added a shitload of sodium. I was up pissing all night.

 

[BoboBrazil]

I must be the only person here that prefers the way Dominoes pizza used to taste

Nah I preferred the old style too, especially with ham and pineapple. New style is ok too, but I could do without all the slathering of butter and salt on the crust. I've heard you can still request old style if you want, but I haven't tried.

 

[antonz]

Local dominos around here went under a few months after Pizza Hut started that $10 for any pizza deal. Though it doesnt bother me cause I have good New York Pizza to munch on

 

[Hylian7]

Nah I preferred the old style too, especially with ham and pineapple. New style is ok too, but I could do without all the slathering of butter and salt on the crust. I've heard you can still request old style if you want, but I haven't tried.

Oh god what?! I must try this next time I order from there.

 

[Siebzehn50]

Well, its pizza from a restaurant so it won't be healthy anyway. This doesn't bother me.

 

[Escape Goat]

Dominos is vile. Even with their new recipe. Its like diarrhea soup with crust.

 

[entremet]

I find it funny that article finds that pizza, being full of fat, as a scandalous thing.

I had one of their new recipe pies last week for the first time. Seems like they added a shitload of sodium. I was up pissing all night.

If it has more cheese, it will have definitely have more salt, even if they didn't touch anything else.

 

[jamesinclair]

Standard work by the government.

"People are fat, we need people to walk more!"
*clash for clunkers*
*massive investment in highways*


But holy shit at "one slice contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended amount of saturated fat"

I usually eat 3-4 slices.

And we all know the "recommended amount" is already crap.

Another government fail.

"People are fat, we need people to eat healthy!"
*develops terrible food recommendations, and allows 20% leeway and no-standard serving size*

 

[beelzebozo]

i actually pour a gallon of whole milk over the pizza when i get it anyway, so. . . ?

 

[Thunder Monkey]

Cheese and bread.

Always a good decision.

Taxpayer money well spent.

 

[antonz]

I cant stand drinking anything but Whole Milk. 2% I can tolerate if I have to but anything less may as well just be water.

Skim Milk looks like water someone jizzed in for color

 

[ToxicAdam]

Dominos has come a long way. It went from being the worst pizza on planet earth to slightly worse than Pizza Hut.

Progress!

 

[Thunder Monkey]

Dominos has come a long way. It went from being the worst pizza on planet earth to slightly worse than Pizza Hut.

Progress!

When you're really drunk it all tastes like vomit.

 

[ThLunarian]

Nah I preferred the old style too, especially with ham and pineapple. New style is ok too, but I could do without all the slathering of butter and salt on the crust. I've heard you can still request old style if you want, but I haven't tried.

Not really true. You can ask them not to put the garlic butter on the crust, but the new sauce recipe is the only one available, and same with the cheese. Though you could ask for light cheese if you wanted

 

[sangreal]

Nah I preferred the old style too, especially with ham and pineapple. New style is ok too, but I could do without all the slathering of butter and salt on the crust. I've heard you can still request old style if you want, but I haven't tried.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure at least for the sauce it's an option on the build your own pizza thing.

New style is far better.

 

[YoungHav]

Just ordered 6 pies this week. Thank you U.S. government. Dominos received one hell of a bailout. Much better.

Stimulus package like a check you can cash it!

 

[Aselith]

Dominos is vile. Even with their new recipe. Its like diarrhea soup with crust.

Why does someone always claim that foods they don't like cause diarrhea? Does everyone in America have an exploding asshole except me?

 

[Marvie_3]

"put more cheese on the pizza"
"good call, here's a billion dollars, thanks"

:lol :lol