I read an article in the January 2001 issue of the Atlantic Monthly titled “Why McDonald Fries Taste So Good” by Eric Schlosser. It caught my attention because of how much I’ve loved fries all of my life and I was interested and severely dismayed at the following paragraph which discloses what is in strawberry flavoring:

A typical artificial strawberry flavor, like the kind found in a Burger King strawberry milk shake, contains the following ingredients: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylgylcidate, ethyl nitrate, ethly propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxy-phenyl-2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol) x-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, nethyl cinnamate, methyl petine carbonate, methyl napthyyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, nroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ehter, y0undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent.

This didn’t stop me from allowing my son’s request for a strawberry milkshake at Maid Marion’s today. What is wrong with me?