Will Clinton Join Their Battle Against Pepsico and Excess Pounds?
A group of conservative Christians who fight their potato chip addiction day by day and chip by chip want presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to join their battle against Lay’s Potato Chips.
For almost two years, Pray No Lay’s has pressured Pepsico, the soft drink and snack foods giant, to insert prayer cards in each bag of Lay’s Potato Chips. The prayer cards would help potato chip addicts pray to God for help in curbing their addictive gobbling of the calorie-laden chips.
Lay’s has steadfastly resisted. So Pray No Lay’s turned to candidate Clinton for help.
“A middle-aged woman like Senator Clinton must constantly fight a battle against calories and a big rear end, so we are hoping she will join our cause and speak out against Lay’s and all potato chip manufacturers on behalf of millions of American who suffer from potato chip addiction,” said Jasmine Portillo of Amarillo, Texas, the group’s founder.
A Clinton campaign spokesman demurred when asked if Senator Clinton planned to support Pray No Lay’s campaign.
“We are aware of what they are doing and, of course, Senator Clinton supports all people who want to lose weight and eat a more healthful diet,” the spokesman said.
Pepsico has warily watched the Pray No Lay’s movement grow from a handful of overweight potato chip addicts who communicated via conservative Christian Internet chat rooms to a national movement strong enough to credibly press a presidential candidate for support.
Pepsico declined to comment on Pray No Lay’s appeal to the Clinton campaign.
“Lay’s Potato Chips are healthful when consumed with moderation and there is no evidence whatsoever that they are addictive,” a Pepsico spokeswoman said, repeating the company’s longstanding stance on the issue. “We completely respect and support any effort that consumers undertake to control their compulsive behaviors, whatever they might be.”
Pray No Lay’s primary target is the 12-ounce bag of Lay’s Classic Potato chips, which sells for around $1.50 in gas stations and convenience stores and contains 1,800 calories and 120 grams of fat. Each one-ounce serving — about 20 chips — has 150 calories and 10 grams of fat.
The most widely used prayer furnished by Pray No Lay’s simply asks God to “help me banish Lay’s sinful potato chips from my life forever.”
“This is potentially a very dicey issue for Pepsico,” said a Wall Street securities analyst who asked for anonymity because he fights is own battle against potato chip addiction. “It’s a no win situation for Pepsio and all other snack food manufacturers should potato chip addiction break out into the open and become a presidential campaign issue.”
The Pray No Lay’s movement is believed to have sprung up outside a 7-Eleven convenience store in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania when a 300-pound woman emerged from the store clutching two of the 12-ounce bags. (3,600 calories, 240 grams of fat).
Bystanders recalled that the woman, Janice Sturgeon, suddenly got down on her knees and began loudly praying to God to help her resist opening the potato chip bags. When she struggled to her feet several minutes later, she began stomping on the bags and then threw them into a dumpster behind the store.