Stealing a companion’s food gives us an adrenaline rush similar to riding roller coaster rides or watching a horror film and is its own form of stress, according to a leading behavioural psychologist. With 39 million of us having been a victim of “fry theft”, with regular handfuls being swiped from our plates by friends or family members, it has been revealed that having your food pinched can feel like a genuine loss with emotions ranging from good humour to the feeling of being robbed.
In response to this growing trend, McDonald’s is launching a service for victims of ‘fry theft’. “Fries Claims’ will take over McDonald’s Twitter feed today, Friday, October 7, encouraging fans to report their stolen fries. A ‘Fries Claims’ lawyer will hand out legal advice, live video replies and vouchers to act as compensation for successful claimants throughout the day.
In the report for McDonald’s, psychologist Jo Hemmings found that perpetrators justify their behaviour because of the quantity and feeling that small amounts won’t be missed. “Thefts” tend to be carried out by “plate separatists” who prefer their food in individual portions and that in evolutional psychology terms are doing so to stop the food being lost to another predator.
The study comes off the back of new data that suggests that there are many thieves living among us, with more than one in five (27%) admitting that if their eating companion doesn’t offer to share their McDonald’s Fries with them, they would still just take them anyway. The investigative research of 2,000 McDonald’s customers also shed light on the worst ‘crime areas’ for the theft of Fries, with Birmingham topping the table followed by Sheffield in second with Bristol as the third crime hotspot.
The most common culprits are people’s partners (47%), siblings (16%) and friends (11%). Women are the most prolific robbers – 66% of women versus 46% of men admit to taking food from a dining companion’s plate. But what causes Fries theft? According to the research, Brits might be resorting to this crime because they think it tastes better when pinched off a partner’s plate – nearly two-fifths (39%) have confessed to this belief. But it seems this act isn’t without repercussions, with a third (34%) saying that someone nicking their food has caused an argument between them.
One in five (21%) think the culprits do it because they are sneaky, while one in ten suggest it is because they do not have any respect for the person they are with. Over a third (36%) feel annoyed when a friend or family member takes mouthfuls of the food they’ve ordered and one in ten feel angry (14%), disrespected (11 %) and annoyed (10%).
Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings says we do it for the adrenaline rush, commenting: “Nabbing someone’s food from their plate or take away container, without their knowledge, is more likely to see your adrenaline spike – from the rush of excitement – as well as cortisol, the hormone that increases when we are stressed, especially as we might not want to get caught.”
The psychologist added: “If you are someone who leaves the ‘best until last’ at mealtimes, there is also a rush in taking something from someone who is likely to eat the best part of their food first. In evolutionary psychology terms, this also means that you are saving them from potentially losing their food to another predator.”
A spokesperson at McDonald’s said: “At McDonald’s, we’re standing up for everyone who has been the victim of Fries theft – it’s finally time for this to come to an end. This Friday, we’re pleased to be able to dish out the compensation victims deserve: justice and Fries are finally being served for the worst criminal acts.”
Victims of ‘fry theft’ can report incidents to McDonald’s Twitter feed throughout the day on Friday and are able to claim ‘compensation’ in the form of McDonald’s Fries after sharing their evidence.
