Washington State Faces Potential French Fry Crisis Over Tariffs

By now you may have realized that I have a certain deep, abiding love and respect for fast food. Fast food is not my friend as far as health goes, but I still love it. So, imagine my distress when I discover that there is a potential for a “French fry crisis”. 

Full disclosure, first of all, I don't eat as many French fries as I used to, in fact if I make a trip to Mickey D’s and get a meal with French fries I usually wind up giving my French fries to my buddy John, because he's so skinny, he can use the empty carbs. So really, it won't be me suffering, it'll be John. (Ohh wait, he doesn't pay for them.) 

The idea here in Washington is that although we have plenty of potatoes. (Thankyou Simplot.) The medium that most potatoes are fried in is canola oil. Much of it imported from Canada and of course there's a tariff on imports from Canada. 

There are a few fast-food institutions that do not use canola oil. They use beef tallow. I'm told (I haven't experienced it myself) that you get better flavor.  

But when those tariffs kick in on canola oil the price of French fries is going to go up. 

According to potatopro.com,
‘While the US grows most of its own potatoes — about 44 billion pounds each year — there’s another french fry ingredient that we largely don’t produce on American soil, cooking oil. To achieve crispy fry perfection, most American chefs prefer canola or soybean oil. And much of our canola oil comes from Canada, which is being threatened by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.’ 

69% of the canola oil that we use in America is imported. Of that, 96% comes from Canada. We also import about $1.7 billion in frozen French fries from Canada.
(I had no idea, I thought we had that covered.) 

The question is, is this going to stop Americans from eating French fries? 

The answer is a resounding no. I don't think there's anything that can stop Americans from eating French fries unless it could be onion rings. (Ohh wait, you've got to fry those as well.)  

So, what does the rising cost of frying mean for the price of KFC Fried chicken, or chicken tenders from Dairy Queen? Wait a minute! What's going to happen to the price of doughnuts? You have to fry doughnuts. 

Well, now they've got my attention. 

This could potentially mean that the cost of frying anything using canola oil is going to go up.
What's going to happen to my apple fritters?
Be afraid, Be very afraid.
America's Comfort Food Under Threat: What You Need to Know About the French Fry Crisis | Watch
Trump's Trade War, Tariffs Might Hit America's Beloved French Fries | PotatoPro