The Influence Of Food In Popular Culture

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“Food is very much a part of popular culture, and the beliefs, practices, and trends in a culture affect its eating practices. Popular culture includes the ideas and objects generated by a society, including commercial, political, media, and other systems, as well as the impact of these ideas and objects on society” ( Popular Culture). “Today, more than 160,000 fast- food restaurants feed more than 50 million Americans each and every day, generating sales of more than $110 billion dollars annually (one green). Fast food is America’s way of eating. Fast food is easy to get, cheap, has good taste, and its finger food. Fast food has a limited menu, quickly prepared, usually eaten with fingers or plastic utensils, and it is consumed quickly. …show more content…

Everything fast food contains can lead to obesity and even diabetes. “In the United States, subjects like eating disorders, obesity, and unhealthy eating habits receive much attention from the media and the medical community.” (The Nature of Food in Popular Culture). According to Theresa English of Tulane University she states that American pop culture has transformed the way we eat. With the introduction of pre-packaged boxed meals such as Hamburger Helper and Rice-A-Roni, it is now more convenient for families to eat together. The prevalence of a fast-food culture has contributed to the rise of childhood obesity. “People never paid attention to the culture of food until the late 70s and early 80s but then food came to the forefront of culture and people talked about it and enjoyed it” (Lucky Peach). Fast food has been a big part in popular culture, it is so easy to get so Americans take advantage of that for their source of eating …show more content…

Their first restaurant opened in San Bernardino, California, in 1945. The decision to franchise with their Golden Arch sign was put on a map. It was known everywhere and many people began opening a McDonald’s restaurant in their city. By 1960, there were 100 franchises operating across the country Along with other pioneers in the fast-food businesses, including Burger King, and Wendy’s, and numerous others came to the scene, and by 1990 fast food had taken over the American landscape with 11,800 McDonald’s, 6,298 Burger Kings and 3,721 Wendy’s. Today there are over 14 thousand McDonald’s restaurants in America and over 22 thousand in the world. Fast food is constantly expanding each year and will always get

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