Fast Food Industry Essay

2033 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The relationship between mcdonaldization and social change in american society

The fast food industry is something that is familiar to everyone. Living in the United States, you can usually only go a few miles without seeing a multitude of fast food restaurants popping up. The bright neon lights flashing and enticing all to come and have a quick, easy and cheap meal. Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation, points out, “Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, or new cars. They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, and recorded music - combined.” Without the fast food industry our country would be significantly different, it has changed the nation environmentally, economically, and culturally and has done many beneficial things …show more content…

In the era of the 1950’s, America was a top world power that was flourishing economically. There were new houses, industries, and cars. With the invention of the car, people started to want things faster and on the go. The car changed the pace of America, everything needed to be faster and that included food. It all began with drive-ins, specifically Carl’s Drive-In Barbeque in Anaheim, California. Customers were able to park their car and honk their horn while someone would come out to take their order and then deliver it. The point was that you were able to stay in your car, while someone else did all the work for you. Drive-ins were able to work with less employees, letting the price of the food lessen while profits rose greatly. The drive-in is the perfect expression of America 's passions: speed, efficiency, and sometimes, laziness. Carl’s Drive-In Barbeque was thriving and he thought business could only get better, until he heard of a restaurant in San Bernadino, California named the McDonald Brothers Burger Bar Drive-In. This new Drive-In was being raved about and was selling their hamburgers for only 15 cents -20 cents less than what Carl was charging. Carl drove to check out the competition and found dozens of people lining up to try “McDonald’s Famous Hamburgers.” The McDonald brothers had a completely new method to drive-ins that would increase the speed, lower prices, and raise volume of sales. They had a simple menu and eliminated all dishes and glassware, only using paper products. The kitchen ran more like a factory, with each worker having a certain station and task to be accomplished. The restaurant became known as a completely self-service system. Inspired by the the McDonald brothers Speedee Service System, Carl decided to turn his own drive-in into a self-service restaurant. Word of quality hamburgers, service and low prices attracted many, historian

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    The New York Times bestseller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is one of the most riveting books to come out about fast food restaurants to date (Schlosser, 2004). Fast food consumption has become a way of life for many in the United States as well as many other countries in the world. The author Eric Schlosser an investigative reporter whose impeccable researching and bold interviewing captures the true essence of the immense impact that fast food restaurants are having in America (2004). Beginning with McDonald’s, the first fast food restaurant, which opened on April 15, 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois to current trends of making fast food a global realization McDonald’s has paved the way for many fast food restaurants following the same basic ideal that is tasty foods served fast at a minimal cost (2011). Schlosser explains how fast food restaurants have gained substantial market share of the consumers; he also shows that by marketing to children and offering less unhealthful fare, that are purchased from mega-companies which are often camouflaged with added ingredients and cooked unhealthful ways, that these companies are indeed causing irreparable harm to our country (2004).

    Read More

  • Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation: Fast Food's Impact on Society

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Fast food is popular because it's convenient, it's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu.” – Eric Schlosser --

    Read More

  • Reform Fast Food Nation

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like the vast majority of Americans, I’ve eaten at a fast food restaurant before. Maybe the tables were sticky, or chicken was suspiciously white, but the fries tasted great, so I’d overlook the less enjoyable aspects of my experience. After reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, I understand that isn’t an option anymore. In ways both big and small, the fast food industry exerts a ridiculous amount of power over the American consumer, and it’s imperative that this be understood, should any impactful changes be made. As it stands now, the fast food industry is in dire need of reform, as it poses innumerable health and societal risks to the country and the world.

    Read More

  • what we eat

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    The fast food has a negative impact on the American people. The fast food industry can be compared to that of a drug dealer pushing their product down the throats of suspecting, but ever willing customers. The community is doing nothing to stop this going industry and yet encouraging them to continue to impact the health of its customers.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Fast Food Nation

    1247 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is happening to our economy is that so many people are going to these fast food restaurants because they are basically on just about every corner. So, for adults that makes it easy if they didn’t have anything planned for dinner because they can just pick something up from the local fast food restaurant on their way home from work. Also, it is very cheap. For example, a bundle at McDonald’s can feed up to four people at one time and it only costs about fifteen dollars! So, in the long run, it is just easier to go pick up some fast food rather than wasting your time cooking an actual meal. Lastly, even though fast food is very cheap and on every corner, it is not healthy at all. Studies have proven that a person that ate McDonald’s for his meals for a full month ended up having some serious health changes. In conclusion, even though it is very easy to access and very cheap, fast food has some serious health issues and be very harmful.

    Read More

  • Affects Of The Meat Industry On Water

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    Effects of the meat industry on water Encompassing the agricultural processes involved in the raising and slaughtering of livestock, the meat industry naturally involves some economical, environmental, biological, geographical, and ethical consequences. As one of the largest components of the global agricultural sector, the meat industry is able to impact the world’s water resources on an alarming level. It does this in primarily two very significant ways: through its consumption of water and its contributions to water pollution. These effects on the world’s water are an increasing cause for concern as water scarcity escalates. The economic scope and impact of the meat industry is a significant factor in its ability to affect water supplies

    Read More

  • Essay On Fast Food Nation

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    This particular article sheds a different light onto how advertising affects the life of a child. This author suggests that our society has grown away from respected the opinions of our elders and now the opinion lies in the hands of the child. As the author states that front door is now a permeable membrane allowing advertisers into their homes and allowing children to view them through the many sources of technology that lie beyond that membrane.

    Read More

  • Fast Food: A Revolutionary Force In American Society

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society and has become nothing less than a revolutionary force in American life. Fast food has gained a great popularity among different age groups in different parts of the globe, becoming a favorite delicacy of both adults and children.

    Read More

  • hgk

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Section 1: Typically, we need a well-balanced meal to give us the energy to do day-to-day tasks and sometimes we aren’t able to get home cooked meals that are healthy and nutritious on a daily basis, due to the reasons of perhaps low income or your mom not being able to have the time to cook. People rely on fast food, because it’s quicker and always very convenient for full-time workers or anyone in general who just want a quick meal. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation argues that Americans should change their nutritional behaviors. In his book, Schlosser inspects the social and economic penalties of the processes of one specific section of the American food system: the fast food industry. Schlosser details the stages of the fast food production process, like the farms, the slaughterhouse and processing plant, and the fast food franchise itself. Schlosser uses his skill as a journalist to bring together appropriate historical developments and trends, illustrative statistics, and telling stories about the lives of industry participants. Schlosser is troubled by our nation’s fast-food habit and the reasons Schlosser sees fast food as a national plague have more to do with the pure presence of the stuff — the way it has penetrated almost every feature of our culture, altering “not only the American food, but also our landscape, economy, staff, and popular culture. This book is about fast food, the values it represents, and the world it has made," writes Eric Schlosser in the introduction of his book. His argument against fast food is based on the evidence that "the real price never appears on the menu." The "real price," according to Schlosser, varieties from destroying small business, scattering pathogenic germs, abusing wor...

    Read More

  • Essay On Fast Food In America

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Americans made a big mistake back in 1916 that has changed the way other countries view America! In 1916 in America, the first ever fast food restaurant was opened. It was called White Castle, according to http://www.accupos.com/pos-articles/history-of-fast-food-in-america.php. Though this fast food restaurant did not affect people and their weight, until the end of the 1950’s, when people were inspired by White Castle to start their own fast food restaurants. Fast food is one of the main causes of obesity and causes many Americans suffer from chronic diseases, like gallbladder cancer, atherosclerosis, and diabetes, every year. Fast food has also shaped the way other countries see America.

    Read More

  • Food Inc Essay

    1528 Words  | 4 Pages

    America is a capitalist society. It should come to a surprise when we live like this daily. We work for profit. We’ll buy either for pleasure or to sell later for profit. It should come to no surprise that our food is made the same way because we are what we eat. We are capitalist that eat a capitalist meal. So we must question our politics. Is our government system to blame for accepting and encouraging monopolies?

    Read More

  • Fast Food Industry

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is not a surprise that fast food has become a way of life in America. Every day about a quarter of the adult population n United States visits the fast food restaurant. Every month about 90 percent of children aged 3-9 visit McDonald's. According to Schlosser, Americans spent more than $110 billion a year on the fast food. In his book "Fast Food Nation" Eric Schlosser is not chiefly interested in the consumption of fast food, but his primary objective is to explore manufacturing starting with the unemployment. His book deals with United States politics and raises many social issues.

    Read More

  • Fast Food: The Truth Behind Fast Food Consumption

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fast food has changed the face of the world. Major chains like McDonalds span all over the world. Fast food chains are continuing to grow despite numerous facts of their unhealthiness. Fast food has been proven to be a dangerous food source, yet people continue to purchase it. The more people buy fast food the more it allows the big corporations to grow. People continue to eat fast food because there are no other convenient options.

    Read More

  • Fast Food Abuse Essay

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children today are suffering from both verbal and physical abuse, but a form of child abuse that is being overlooked is feeding children fast food on a regular basis. The leading cause of obesity in America is bad nutrition, and part of the cause of bad nutrition is the fast food industry. People do not realize how bad fast food actually is for the body, it creates bad habits for children by allowing them to think putting poison in their body is okay. Continually feeding fast food to children is abuse because of the sugar intake, weight gain and mental problems the fast food brings.

    Read More

  • Essay About Food Service

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    In America, many are not aware of the inequalities that exist in the Food Service. The food service sector has at least 125,951 companies and approximately 12 million employees with almost 7 million foreigners. This sector includes individually owned restaurants, mid-priced chains, quick service (fast food), hotels, and beverage establishments. Food service plays a major role in institutional establishments like schools, hospitals, prisons and meals on wheels. They cater to the tastes of their particular customers and are often leaders of food innovation. In the food service, we find: bartenders, wait staff, hosts, busboys, chefs, cooks, managers, and dishwashers .The food service workers perform a variety of customer service, food preparation and cleaning tasks, all that which are very important to keep a business running. More concerning , some of the major working conditions that foodservice workers face with daily is no health benefits and significantly low wages. These employees working in the food industry make it possible for millions of people to enjoy food in restaurants but are not being treated or appreciated fairly.

    Read More

More about Fast Food Industry Essay

Open Document