Why popcorn? Because what else is truly American. Tastes great and maybe there is a thing or two to read in this article

My fellow Americans, we must fight the hoards of foreign imports of potatoes and buy more popcorn. That is right folks of this great land. Did you know that according to the data source FAOSTAT, one of the leaders in following the data on growth of our farming industry, in 2015 the United States takes the bronze home with Putin's Russia in as the number 3 grower of potatoes in the world. I hate to break the bad news folks but our spuds are no longer studs!!! This election year we are no longer the worlds number one grower of potatoes. Soon, Wang Fing Ding a Ling will rule the world of the spud. My fellow Americans we have a bright spot though. We are the number one grower of corn in the world. That is right we are numero uno, the big cheese of the kernel, the red , white and blue on the cob, good old fashioned number one grower of corn in the world, our husky husk are still grown tall and erect. Yes folks we are the styro middle finger number one in corn growing. So why the heck would you want any other snack that isn't made from corn alas popcorn!!!!!

Did you know that China grows more rice, potatoes and wheat than the good old USA. Once we were the bread basket of the world; now we have to settle for the also ran all except in one of our products, good old fashioned corn. Ah yes, the corn husks , standing tall through the fields of dreams in Iowa ( notice the movie inference and Iowa is the number one state for growing corn). Nebraska what else could I say but the corn husker state. Illinois, what can I say about Illinois ummm beside a cry baby owner of the Cubs when they lost to my Mets, they also grew a great president ( Lincoln) but also have some great corn growers and of course for the football fans out there they do have Da Bears. Yes even in my state of NY we grow corn. It has a bit of an ego and may tell you off now and again but yes we still grown freakin corn in NY. So let me ask again why the hell would you not eat a snack  guaranteed to be made from home grown USA corn at least by GNP ( shamless plug there had to).

I am going give you a history lesson on popcorn. In Chicago, the Creators Popcorn Company was the first to produce a popcorn machine. It gave the second city a new way to produce popcorn at an easy rate. You know Chicago is a wonderful town but they do call it second city for a reason, the Cubs.( pitchers and catchers did report you know and Americans game is back baby) Though Creators is a fine machine, this humble popcorn man chooses the company that was born out of the depth of the great depression, Gold Medal products. There is something about a company that opens against all odds during the greatest economic turmoil that history ever, 1933, and makes what I consider the best popcorn machines in the world. Yes they are based in Cincinnati, the Queen city. I wont go there but there is a lot to say about a city that calls itself a queen city. Freddie Mercury better be playing all day that is all I am saying. Popcorn became a snack food bought on city streets, in movie theaters and now you can by that same movie theater popcorn for home ( yes it shameless plug time. Just look for GNP Popcorn where you shop. If they do now have it rise up and demand the real fresh movie theater popcorn from GNP by making the managers and owners of your local store call 516-221-5500).

Could you image sitting in a movie theater with a bag of potato chips that cost 3.99 for 2.5 ounces and all you hear is crunch during the lastest Star wars movie. Really I just paid 17 million pesos to watch Star Wars and CRUNCH. Now popcorn, this wonderful snack food, has grown to become one of the leaders in snack foods in the world because what else can you buy in a movie that your date has to reach over into your lap and grab the bucket. Ah yes popcorn, the Barry White of snacks, the quiet the kids are in the other room snack. Ok never mind getting a bit off track here.  

The production of popcorn is done in two ways, air popped and wet pop. The companies you see with the really yellow popcorn, with greasy feeling popcorn you know I just ate a fried donut feeling popcorn, and you get yellow fingers from is air popped popcorn. It is also made from corn that large corporation are buying on a commodity buy rather than a quality buy. There are two types of seed, mushroom and butterfly. Now the butterfly is the proper seed to use for shall we say classic popcorn, however the larger companies use mushroom. You ask why you say ? Why is air popped considered so much healthier and they use the wrong seed? I shall tell you as in most urban myths, this is total BS. Picture this ( very twilight show) you have a big machine that looks like a dryer at a laundry mat. They place 50 lbs of what ever kernel they can find that is the cheapest on the market, in the machine. It spins and pops and the popcorn is then evacuated out of the machine onto a conveyor belt. Remember it is mushroom seed, for those of the sixties reading this not that kind of mushroom, but a kernel that is rounded instead of winged.  Now the popcorn is transported on a conveyor belt and sprayed with what ever oil, dairy, soy, food coloring coating to give it that wonderful yellow look. You can only get a good color coating on a flat or rounded surface. its tough to spray crap on a butterflies wings you know.  Yes ah yes the healthier that air popped gets. Then it goes into a shoot to dry, and a machine dispenses 4.5 ounces of product and 5.0 ounce of gas, you get charged 3.99 for this so called health product and not but two workers have made this product that I would not feed to a lab rat. Do forget the greasy hand feeling from the sprayed on oils and other colorful items.How about the cat ball cough you get after eating this wonderful product. You know what I am talking about. You sound like Garfield or you are coughing  to try to get rid of that piece of mushroom corn out of you throat. I would love for the big corporations to deny this, it on the freakin bag and you will see contains dairy and all the other things I say. How does this get on the product if you don not spray it on????? Remember its air popped

GNP on the other hand pops using the old fashioned way. There are only people in the factory operating kettles, bagging popcorn, hand sealing and checking each bag and hand boxing and delivering each case. Yes we make a hell of a lot less than the other who charge you more for less product, but think about who we are helping. My small company hires people that can feed,cloth and pay taxes to our country. It helps keep families together and helps bring back my dream of a Norman Rockwell Americana for all Americans. What is so wrong in putting people ahead of profits if profits will happen the more people are able to buy the product. Can that air popper conveyor belt and oil dispenser walk into your store and buy your goods? Ask yourself one thing, who is making money when you buy from the big companies, shareholders or  a company that wants to expand and grown in your home town, hire your people and make money the old fashioned way EARN IT. 

Here at GNP, we pop only one type of popcorn companies seed and we use only olive oil or canola oil, no iodine salt only natural sea salt, no gmo, no gluten, no hulls ( well maybe one or two no one is perfect), no soy, no dairy and yes only flavor and real popcorn the way it should taste. Your mother, sister, brother, father, uncle fester, aunt rosie with the wild right eye could be working at this factory.  Yes we cook the popcorn in a small amount of oil however it has zero trans fats, low to no calories, and you will never feel on drop of grease on your hands from our products. Just think you just make a healthy snack, and protected your clothes and chair arms from the snack and swipe. Guys and kids forget napkins sometimes. Now charge a better price, fill the bag, make it a clear bag so the people can see a beautiful not sprayed on grease pit product. No fancy colored labels or packaging because you do not eat the package. Why should you not put the money in the product and the hell with the colorful bag and gas. We do not gas or give you gas from our product. Well some people are natural gassy and nothing you can do about that. I want people shopping on Main street and grocery stores. I want people to know that they made the product on the shelves of your local store. 

GNP ( here comes another shameless plug) now manufactures an organic popcorn that is made from olive oil and only the freshest herbs, natural cane sugars for kettle corn and even a real fruit popcorn. Think about it folks we have made a kettle corn with real fruit and olive oil. Lets see the air pop companies pull that off. They will someday as soon as the bottom line is hurt. You do really believe that a large corporation is sitting there saying lets help fight obesity when a soda company buys a potato chip and snack company. Lets stop using preservatives in our products that may cause learning disabilities in our children and heart disease in adults. What about making the product affordable so every family can have the benefits of GNP Popcorn ( shameless plug) without having to make a decision between milk and a snack when you now can buy both. When was it that a snack in a 12 ounce bag without gas , a true full bag of popcorn cost less than a gallon of milk or even a gallon a gas in certain places. Now is this not the responsibility of a company to feed our country, help our farmers, give back to community, employee people and give hope. I am not PC nor will I ever be. People have said you are picking on giants that will crush you. I say so be it. If telling America and educating people is something that will get me in trouble I say bring it on. They can only kill the company once but the thoughts of people may change where they will realize that there is a better way. Please go to you tube and listen to the great Paul Harvey " And god made a farmer" and if that doesn't stir you in why I am doing this then maybe you do not get what GNP is about. I called it the GREAT NEW POPCORN CO. because it is time we put great back into us. Maybe it time that the phoenix rises from the ashes and we think about others and we all will benefit. If not in the wallet but in the community of humanity

Who knows what lays beyond the turn, it could be the bright sunshine of a life and a business that takes people first over profit;or it could be a corporate ambush that will take us to pieces. Either way this is one fun and hell of a ride baby so all Abooooarrdddd the GNP express. Just a popcorn man popping off. Until next time I hope you think about this, if it made you chuckle great that was part of it ; however the real message is help the helpless, feed the hungry, thank and take care of our vets, help the farmers, teach our children there is better, and love thy neighbor and if she happens to have a single woman friend that looks good and eats popcorn ok never mind that part.  ( shamless begging on my part but hey I did write this ) God bless and be well. EAT MORE GNP POPCORN. I love feed back and debate let me know please and put it on this article. 

Written by John Manzo