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In the international debates over the decision to launch the 2003 invasion of Iraq, France expressed opposition to the US insistence on military action.
On March 11, 2003, Representatives Robert W. Ney and Walter Jones declared that all references to "french fries" and " French toast" on the menus of the restaurants and snack bars run by the House of Representatives would be removed. House cafeterias were ordered to re-name french fries as "freedom fries". This action was carried out without a congressional vote, under the authority of Congressman Ney's position as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, which oversees restaurant operations in the house.
According to a statement released by Ney, this move was a symbolic effort to express displeasure with France's "continued refusal to stand with their U.S. allies" (see Iraq disarmament crisis). The statement further read: "This action today is a small, but symbolic, effort to show the strong displeasure many on Capitol Hill have with our so-called ally, France."
The French embassy made no comment, except to note that French fries are Belgian. "We are at a very serious moment dealing with very serious issues and we are not focusing on the name you give to potatoesThe potato Solanum tuberosum is a perennial tuber of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, which is one of the most widely used vegetables in Europe and North and South America. There are thousands of varieties of potato in cultivation. The potato is unr," said Nathalie Loisau, an embassy spokeswoman.
Congressmen Ney and Jones, however, were not the first to re-name french fries as freedom fries. A number of private restaurants across the country started the renaming movement. Neal Rowland, owner of a privately owned fast-food restaurant Cubbie's in Beaufort, North CarolinaBeaufort is a town located in Carteret County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 3,771. It is the county seat of Carteret County 6. The movie A Walk to Remember takes place in this town. Geography Beaufort is locate, decided to sell his fried potatoThe potato Solanum tuberosum is a perennial tuber of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, which is one of the most widely used vegetables in Europe and North and South America. There are thousands of varieties of potato in cultivation. The potato is unr strips under the name "freedom fries." Rowland claimed that his intent was not to slight the French people, but to be patriotic and support President George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. His first four-year term as President began on January 20, 2001 following the controversial U. presidential election, 2000, where for the first time in American. Many of Rowland's customers were among the local military troops.
The word play is reminiscent of anti-German sentiment during the First World WarWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of in which sauerkrautSauerkraut is finely-sliced white cabbage fermented with lactobacillus bacteria. The sugars in the cabbage are thereby converted into lactic acid and serve as a preservative. The German word Sauerkraut literally translates to sour cabbage''. Geographical was renamed liberty cabbageLiberty cabbage is a bowdlerization of the word " sauerkraut. It was used most in the first half of the twentieth century, mostly during World War I. Similar euphemisms, some of which did not spring up until World War II, include " liberty measles" for ", and hamburgerThis article is about the sandwich known as a hamburger. The term hamburger is also sometimes used as a synonym for ground beef. A hamburger (or, less frequently, a hamburg or in the United Kingdom, a beefburger is a variant on a sandwich involving a patts were transformed into liberty steaks. (Even the German measles got a new name: liberty measles.) This similarity is intentional: Rowland described a conversation about these renamed foods during World War I as the inspiration for "freedom fries."
Despite the symbolic change, it did not take hold in any meaningful way. Many Americans refer to french fries simply as fries, so the leading adjective is largely ignored anyway. Previous attempts to rename food during wartime have been largely unsuccessful, with one notable exception being the change of frankfurter to hot dog during World War II, although frankfurter is still recognized, but not commonly used.
Other examples were filete imperial ("imperial beef"), an euphemism for filete ruso ("Russian beef") appearing in Spain after the triumph of the anti-Communist General Franco, and kafe elliniko ("Greek coffee") replacing kafe turkiko ("Turkish coffee") on Greek menus after the Turkish-Greek collisions of the 1920s.
French kissing, French poodles, and French dip sandwiches were not renamed freedom kissing, freedom poodles, freedom dip sandwiches, though some political satirists referred to them as if they had been. However, French's (makers of mustard, french fried onions, and other foods) was sufficiently concerned to issue a press release affirming its patriotism.