This isn't as dramatic as the discovery last year that East African herding tribes micro-evolved the ability to digest milk from their cattle, but it does attest to the power of late-era capitalism.
McDonalds wanted to sell ice cream in its Indonesian franchises--except lactose-intolerant Indonesians can't eat the stuff without getting nastily ill. Solution: gum up some kind of non-dairy ice cream for that market sector? Nah. Just give the usual stuff away for free, and let nature take its course.
Like any consumption-indoctrinated modern human, Indonesians' "gimme dat free sh*t!" reflex trumped their gag reflex. Soon enough, enough of them had ingested enough ice cream that their built-in lactose intolerance went away. Presto: target market secured.
Now, if only we could monitor the population to see if McDonalds-induced lactose tolerance afforded any kind of reproductive advantage. That'd truly be a banner day for the... no wait, that'd be horrifying.
[via The Long Tail blog]
UPDATE: This story is most likely b.s. It happens to the best of us sometimes. That's what I get for blind faith in the blogging of a usually-impeccable source.
Comments
Christopher Mims
says:
Rather than express my innate skepticism (I thought lactose intolerance was incontrovertibly genetic?) I will simply copy and paste the best comment from the original blog post you reference:
MCDONALD'S HAS INCREASED THEIR PROFIT MARGIN BY CURING INDIA OF LACTOSE PROBLEMS. THROUGH THIS ACTION MCDONALD'S HAS OPENED UP THE WORLD OF DAIRY TO THE PEOPLE OF INDIA. ANY NATIVE OF INDIA CAN NOW ENJOY WHOLE MILK, RICOTTA CHEESE, AND SMETANA.
February 1, 2008 11:41 AM
Patrick says:
Some forms of lactose intolerance can be reduced over time.
(Building up a tolerance to lactose intolerance?)
As a kid I was violently lactose intolerant.
(Read projectile vomiting and moderate to sever allergic type reactions.)
However I LIKE milk and, as I am now over 40 years old, there was no lactose-free milk when I was growing up, I have built up a tolerance to lactose.
Now when I drink milk the only reaction I have is dark circles under my eyes and some moderate lung congestion.
So it may be a case of them building up a tolerance or maybe Micky D's is simply using lactose free milk.
February 4, 2008 9:03 AM
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