Although I don’t admire it, I am amazed by the one euro hamburger; how does someone manage to turn a profit on this? There’s a gherkin (albeit small), bread (two pieces of them, with grains on top), ketchup and mayonaise (which in itself consist of many ingredients, too), and there’s the burger itself. There’s also the wrapping, someone handling your order, and the restaurant, often including free wi-fi. And yet somehow, there’s still a profit in the one euro hamburger.

Obviously, the answer lies in scale and distribution optimisation (and, the ill treatment of staff, animals and planet alike).

Hence, there’s a lot of fabrication discontent around, and a reverse movement is gaining traction. People follow caveman diets, buy organic, turn vegan, or simply eat gluten, sugar, artificial additives or meat free.

Part of it is rational. The collapse of home cooking caused lots of convenience, on the short term. On the long term, it led us to epidemic obesity. Healthier food, would stray us away from that.

Part of it is fashion. At home, I hand-crank-grind my coffee beans, and I actually like it. It smells, tastes, and feels fresh, and there’s a greater connection to what I consume.

People taste little with their taste buds.
They taste with their brains.