Freedom fries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Freedom Fries" was a name used by some in the United States for French fries, as a result of anti-French sentiment in the United States during the international debate over the decision to launch the 2003 invasion of Iraq. France expressed strong opposition in the United Nations to taking such action. The French position was frowned upon by many in the United States, leading to campaigns for the boycotting of French goods and businesses and the removal of the country's name from products.
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[edit] The Congressional renaming
On 11 March 2003, Representatives Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-North Carolina) declared that all references to French fries and French toast on the menus of the restaurants and snack bars run by the House of Representatives would be removed. House cafeterias were ordered to rename French fries "Freedom fries". This action was carried out without a congressional vote, under the authority of Ney's position as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, which oversees restaurant operations for the chamber. The simultaneous renaming of French toast to "Freedom toast" attracted less attention[1].
According to a statement released by Ney, this move was a symbolic effort to express displeasure with France's "Continued refusal to stand with their U.S. allies" (see Iraq disarmament crisis). The statement further read: "This action today is a small but symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure many on Capitol Hill have with our so-called ally, France."
This sentiment was communicated through the Internet, chain e-mails, and frequent references on 24-hour news coverage from networks such as CNN and Fox News. The move was internationally satirized.[2]
The French embassy made no comment beyond pointing out that French fries probably come from Belgium. "We are at a very serious moment dealing with very serious issues and we are not focusing on the name you give to potatoes," said Nathalie Loisau, an embassy spokeswoman. Critics also asserted that "French Fries" were called such because they are "frenched", or thinly sliced,[3] although this might be a false etymology; the first American reference to French fries was made by Thomas Jefferson, who referred to them as "Potatoes, fried in the French Manner".[4]
Congressmen Ney and Jones, however, were not the first to rename French fries to "Freedom fries". A number of private restaurants across the country started the renaming movement. Neal Rowland, owner of the privately owned fast-food restaurant Cubbie's in Beaufort, North Carolina, began the movement by selling his fried potato strips under the name "Freedom fries". Rowland claimed that his intent was not to slight the French people, but rather to be "Patriotic and supportive of President George W. Bush" after hearing the news of the French opposition on 2003-02-19. He explained that the name change came to mind after a conversation with a history teacher about World War I, during which anti-German sentiment prompted Americans to rename German foods.[5] Sauerkraut was renamed as liberty cabbage, dachshunds (wiener dogs) as liberty pups, frankfurters as hot dogs (a name that has stuck), and hamburgers as liberty steaks or Salisbury steaks (which is also still used in places.)[6] Many of Rowland's customers are local military troops. In March 2007, Rowland obtained a U.S. trademark registration for the mark "Freedom fries".[7] The name change is still used by some restaurants, including notable ones such as Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia.[8]
Reckitt Benckiser, makers of French's mustard, was sufficiently concerned to clarify that their brand name was derived from a family name, and to issue a press release affirming its patriotism. [9][10]
In May 2005, Representative Jones, having arrived at the belief that the United States went to war "With no justification", said of the "Freedom fries" episode: "I wish it had never happened."[11] By July 2006, the House had changed the name of the two foods in all of its restaurants back to "French fries" and "French toast".[12]
[edit] Historical parallels
- Canada: During World War I, the Ontario city of Berlin was renamed Kitchener.[13]
- France: During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety went so far as to banish all words associated with royalty. A major example of their work was taking Kings and Queens out of playing cards and replacing them with Committee members. It lasted less than a year. Also, during World War I, coffee with whipped cream, previously known as Café Viennois (Vienna coffee), was renamed Café Liégeois (Coffee from Liège) due to the state of war with Austria-Hungary. This appellation is still in use today, mainly for ice-creams (chocolat liégeois and café liegeois). And a seemingly eternal debate in food history is whether a lobster recipe should be called Homard à l'Américaine or Homard à l'Armoricaine (Armorique being the name given in the past to a wide area from France including Brittany and Normandy). The arguments often appeal to French culinary nationalism.
- Germany: In 1915, after Italy entered World War I, restaurants in Berlin stopped serving Italian salad.
- Greece: "Ellinikos kafes" ("Greek coffee") replaced "Turkikos kafes" ("Turkish coffee") on Greek menus after the Turkish-Greek collisions of the 1920s.
- Iran: During the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in 2006, several Iranian groups advocated changing the name of Danish pastry to "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad"[14][15].
- New Zealand: In 1998, while the French government was testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific, French loaves were renamed Kiwi loaves in a number of supermarkets and bakeries. This, however, does not appear to have been as extensively reported or publicized as anti-French sentiment in the United States. However, French Fries at a few family restaurants were renamed Kiwi fries, or just "Fries", which was already an established term. The "Fries" tag remains today, though many New Zealanders use the British word "chips". The kiwifruit gets its name from a marketing strategy, naming it after the kiwi, the national bird of New Zealand, where the fruit was first commercially popularized in 1959 by the New Zealand fruit-and-vegetable export company Turners and Growers.[16] It was previously known as the Chinese gooseberry, but due to the Cold War, the Chinese label seemed unfit for popularization of the fruit in Western countries. Also briefly known as a "melonette", growers gradually adopted the Kiwifruit name and in 1974 it was officially renamed.
- Spain: After the triumph of Francisco Franco, filete imperial ("imperial beef") became a euphemism for filete ruso ("Russian beef"), "ensaladilla nacional" ("national salad") for "ensaladilla rusa" ("Russian salad") and Caperucita Encarnada ("Little Red Riding Hood") for Caperucita Roja (which has the same meaning but loses its hypothetical connotations).
- Turkey: Russian salad became American salad because of the anti-Communist sentiment in the country. Similarly, "Constantinople" was renamed Istanbul by the Turks in years following a Greek invasion in the 1920s.
- United Kingdom: During World War I, the German Shepherd was renamed the "Alsatian," and German biscuits were renamed Empire biscuits due to strong anti-German sentiment. Perhaps most famously, in 1917 the name of the royal family was changed by George V to Windsor from the German surname Wettin and house name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
- United States: Food items weren't the only names changed in the United States during World War I. The German Spitz was remaned the American Eskimo Dog, and the German measles were instead called liberty measles.[17]
[edit] See also
- Francophobia
- W Ketchup
- Minuteman Salsa
- Jingoism
- Old Europe
- Roses of the Prophet Muhammad
- Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys
- Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- Astroturfing
- Victory Gin
- Liberty cabbage
[edit] References
- ^ Loughlin, Sean. "House cafeterias change names for 'french' fries and 'french' toast", CNN, 2003-03-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ "A Child’s Guide To United States Foreign Policy", australianpolitics.com, 2003-07-19. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ frenched - Definitions from Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Dictionary.com (2006-01-01). Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ The History of French Fries. Oxford Dictionary of the English Language. Internet Archive (2002-06-06). Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ French fries back on House menu. BBC (2006-08-02). Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Over Here: World War I on the Home Front. Digital History. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ Latest Status Info. United States Patent and Trademark Office (2003-03-11). Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Welcome To Geno's Steaks - The Best in South Philly. Geno's Steaks. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ "French's mustard denies French connection", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2003-03-27. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Emery, David (2003-04-16). Statement from French's Mustard. about.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Wilson, Jamie. "French fries protester regrets war jibe", The Guardian, 2005-05-25. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Bellantoni, Christina. "Hill fries free to be French again ; GOP in House mum about it", Washington Times, 2006-08-02, pp. A.01. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ "Name - If some things never change, when did they begin?", Library and Archives Canada, 2004-02-04. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
- ^ Iranians rename Danish pastries. BBC (2006-02-17). Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Iran targets Danish pastries. Associated Press. Al Jazeera (2006-03-02). Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ The New Zealand Kiwifruit Industry. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Over Here: World War I on the Home Front. Digital History. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
