Fast Food Industry
In recent times, the fast food industry has grown by leaps and bounds. Today, one can confidently say that the industry, whose background is relatively modest, has in a big way affected the way of life in America. In this text, I concern myself with the impact the fast food industry has had on both the health of the American society and the environment. I also give a personal opinion on whether it is ethical for the fast food industry to rake in profits given the adverse effects of fast foods on consumer health.
Apart from the well documented impact on the health of consumers, the fast food industry has also had far reaching implications on the nation from the cultural and social perspective. Some of the well-known pertinent issues in relation to fast food restaurants include workplace injuries, advent of food-borne infections and obesity (from a cardiovascular point-of-view).…...
mlaWorks Cited
DeMaria, A.N. "Of Fast Food and Franchises. "Journal of the American College of Cardiology" 2003; 41:1227-1228.
Shalala, Donna E. And David Satcher. Healthy People, 2010: Conference Edition. DIANE Publishing, 2010. Print.
Fast Food
In the United States right now the country is facing an epidemic of obesity which means that too many people are overweight to an unhealthy level which is very bad. More and more people are becoming unhealthy because they do not eat the right things. People live a very hectic lifestyle in the current time and this makes them want to get things fast. Instead of going home and cooking a healthy meal, people go through the drive thru lane of the fast food restaurant and get their food there. They feel that they do not have time to eat healthy because this takes work and time which they do not have. Although this is a fast way of getting food, the things that you buy are very unhealthy. Eating too much fast food is very bad for you and can have many negative effects for your health including…...
mlaWorks Cited
French, S.A., Story, M., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Fulkerson, J.A., and Hannan, P. "Fast Food
Restaurant Use Among Adolescents: Associations with Nutrient Intake, Food Choices and Behavioral and Psychosocial Variables." Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 25(12). 2001. 1823-33. Print.
Paeratakul, S., Ferdinand, D.P., Champagne, C.M., Ryan, DH, and Bray, G.A. "Fast-Food
Consumption Among U.S. Adults and Children: Dietary and Nutrition Intake Profile." Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana UP. 103(10), 2003. 1332-38. Print.
Therefore from the results of this study alone it would be quite easy to conclude that access to fast food is responsible for increased obesity. Other evidence may however dispute this conclusion though.
A very recent study by Morland & Evenson found examined the relationship between the presence of different types of food establishments and a number of different diet-related health outcomes, including obesity, in the southern region of the U.S. The study utilized data collected from almost 1300 participants and found that the prevalence of obesity was associated with distance to a fast food restaurant, although not in the direction expected: "each mile closer to a fast food restaurant was associated with a lower prevalence of obesity" (493). This may help to explain the comment made by Schlosser that "in Italy and Spain...spending on fast food is relatively low." Although in these countries there remains a high density of…...
mlaWorks Cited
Jeffery, Robert W., Judy Baxter, Maureen McGuire & Jennifer Linde. "Are fast food restaurants an environmental risk factor for obesity?" International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 3(2006): 2-7.
Maddock, J. "The relationship between obesity and the prevalence of fast food restaurants: State-level analysis." American Journal of Health Promotion 19.2(2004): 137-143.
Morland, Kimberly B. & Kelly R. Evenson. "Obesity prevalence and the local food environment." Health & Place 25 (2009): 491-495.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001.
The industry leaders often attempt to utilize the standards of this and other associations, as well as their literature and logos to associate their own food offerings with health consciousness, a claim that is occasionally challenged by the anti-fast food movement.
Sweet 8) Industry leaders such as McDonalds as well as many others even offer pamphlets that are meant to guide the consumer to healthier choices, these offerings are also available online, a copycat system offered by almost all major fast food chains, in response to public demands for information. This niche has created a system where many if not most of product offerings are seen through health conscious eyes, if the individual takes the time to seek them out. This electronic market channel is entirely new, and those seeking an online menu to help them make choices before they arrive in the store are bombarded with health information that…...
mlaWorks Cited
Chicken Chain to Drop Trans Fats; Two Fast-Food Giants to Follow." The Washington Times 31 Oct. 2006: C09.
Fast Food for THOUGHT; Eric Schlosser's Expose of America's Burger Industry Has Finally Made it to the Big Screen. But Will it Really Change the Way We Eat?." The Evening Standard (London, England) 19 Apr. 2007: NA.
Health Claims Are Junk, Say Fast Food Firms." The Birmingham Post (England) 27 Jan. 2007: 24.
Sweet, Cheryl a. "Rethinking Eating Out." FDA Consumer Nov. 1989: 8.
These firms are now multinationals with strong presence in almost every major country of the world. The consumption of this food can only be limited by individual action where each person decided to resort to healthier food and thus avoid this kind of non-nutritional meals. The frightening side of fast food consumption has created awareness in some sections of the society and people are making an effort to resort to healthier eating. However it will be some time before we can see a serious reversal in the trend. It will only be then that we can expect a complete change in our diet and health.
Fast food is closely linked to our perception of Americanization as well. It is our trademark diet for the rest of the world and that has given rise to political and social problems as well. These have been identified by Schlosser in his book. However…...
mlaReferences
Eric Schlosser. Fast Food Nation. The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Perennial. 2003.
Effects of Fast-Food Consumption on Energy Intake and Diet Quality Among Children in a National Household Survey," Volume 4, Number 12 Feb 2004 http://www.healthinschools.org/ejournal/2004/feb4.htm
Fast Food Business
Advisory for Fast Food Business and Takeaway
Here, we will give a brief intro on fast food business, explain what it is and its pros and cons. We will also look at some facts surrounding fast foods just to give an amateur reader the idea of the whole business. "The Fast Food is the type of food which is fast (in avail), more convenient and in many cases inexpensive." (Harvey, 2004, p. 144) It can be bought from any place which sells foods or different kinds of snacks such as in different kinds of restaurants, stores or even the vending machines. It is made very popular mainly because of its cheap price, like in less than five dollars a person can get its desired filling meal. "It is also considered to be cheap because it is made out of less expensive ingredients like meat which is of high in…...
mlaReferences
Lazer, W. (1971). Marketing Management, New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Adkins, S. (1999). Cause Related Marketing, Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Reynolds, P. (2005). Management of Marketing, Burlington: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Sheaff, R. (2002). Marketing for a Public Service, Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Fast Food advertising has been allowed to profess anything, from the 'healthy quality' of their food to the food company's contribution to homeless kids. While fast food giants are quick to take any of their detractors to court for any erroneous allegations made by members of the public, it doesn't stop these same companies from committing libel themselves through their promotions. However, most fast food companies steer clear of making outrageous claims such any health benefits, preferring to concentrate on marketing their service's convenience, economy and perceived lifestyle. This paper endeavors to highlight this discrepancy in the industry and showcases three fast food companies and their advertising efforts in that regard. Only when the general population breaks free from the cycle of apathy and addiction that compels us to tolerate the abuses of these fast food giants, will these companies finally be made accountable for their advertising claims.
Fast food outlets…...
mlaReferences
Hendricks, Kevin D. (2001) Book Reviews: Fast Food Nation. http://www.realmagazine.com/new/reviews/books/schlosser1.html
KFC® Claims Burger Chains Offer "Taste Blandness" Launches Latest Salvo in Highly Competitive Fast Food Wars. http://www.kfc.com/news/pr/072701.htm
McDonalds is Getting Sued Again," Hypocrisy Today. http://hyprocrisytoday.com/mcdonald.htm
McTasty? McDonalds Arouses More Emotional Responses Than Your Average Multi-national. But Why? http://nttrcn.8m.com/mcdonalds.html
"While a handful of workers manage to rise up the corporate ladder, the vast majority lack full-time employment, receive no benefits, learn few skills" (chlosser 6). The companies actually receive tax credits for hiring low-income workers although "in 1996 an investigation by the U.. Department of Labor concluded that 92% of these workers would have been hired by the companies anyway" (chlosser 72).
"While the real value of the wages paid to restaurant workers has declined for the past three decades, the earnings of restaurant company executives have risen considerably" (chlosser 73). This turns the concept of a company making an investment in its workforce on its head, and may be one reason for the resentful behavior of many fast food employees, as witnessed by the recent scandal of the YouTube video featuring disgruntled Dominos Pizza workers doing unsanitary things to their food. Poor treatment of workers within the industry…...
mlaSchlosser admits as much: "I do not mean to suggest that fast food is solely responsible for every social problem now haunting the United States. In some cases (such as the malling and sprawling of the West) the fast food industry has been a catalyst and a symptom of larger economic trends. In other cases (such as the rise of franchising and the spread of obesity) fast food has played a more central role" (Schlosser 9). Fast food robs the land, numbs the soul to worker abuses, and numbs the palate. Unsanitary and unhealthy food sold with toys is what people crave, rather than fresh produce or even fresh versions of these comfort foods. Thousands of calories can be consumed in minutes, behind the wheel of the car, and obesity makes it difficult for individuals to enjoy life, much less 'real food.' The health costs and the psychological costs of obesity, a condition facilitated by the fast food industry, are incalculable.
Works Cite
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001.
However, as bad as the conditions may be working inside the restaurants, conditions in the meat-processing plants that provide the animal products used by the industry are far worse. orkers safety laws are ignored, and disease is prevalent. Schlosser reports a heart-rending tale of a young boy who died from E.coli bacteria after eating a tainted Jack-in-the-Box burger. It is difficult to track the source of an infection because "a single fast-food hamburger now contains meat from dozens or even hundreds of different cattle" (Schlosser 2004). . Despite the fact that cows are herbivores, they are fed scraps of animals to inexpensively fatten them up for slaughter. Cattle, chickens, and pigs themselves suffer under terrible, confining and unsanitary conditions to sate the insatiable appetite for beef, chicken, and pork of the major American fast food companies
Schlosser's book is dark, even depressing at times, but his anecdotal style gives it…...
mlaWork Cited
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002.
Fast Food Nation -- Chapter 2
merica without McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and other fast food restaurants is difficult to imagine these days, but before Ray Kroc bought the franchise rights to McDonald's in the mid-twentieth century, fast food was not an entrenched part of our culture. In Fast Food Nation,' Eric Schlosser spends the second chapter of his book describing how Ray Kroc paralleled the work of Walt Disney and filled a cultural void in merica. Because merica was a relatively young country, there was no established food culture like there was in older countries such as France, Italy and Spain. Until Ray Kroc's innovations, there was no food that could be described as "merican," and in the ironically titled chapter "Your Trusted Friends," Schlosser described exactly how Kroc helped create merica's fast food culture.
Schlosser begins chapter two of Fast Food Nation by describing McDonald's as it exists today and…...
mlaAnother way in which McDonald's has made itself a part of American culture is by linking with manufacturers of toys and giving away prizes in Happy Meals. Again, Kroc's idea that fast food is not just about the food is demonstrated with the success of the Happy Meal; Schlosser writes that when McDonald's gave away Beenie Babies in its Happy Meals, they sold about 10 million Happy Meals in a typical week. In 1996, McDonald's finally connected with its inspiration, Disney, and signed a ten-year marketing agreement with the Walt Disney Company. This connection between Disney and McDonald's seemed to ensure that both would remain significant parts of American culture, food and otherwise, and as Schlosser says, the work of Walt Disney and Ray Kroc "had come full circle."
Schlosser ends his chapter by pointing out how McDonald's role in American food culture is creating problems, particularly for children. By convincing families that McDonald's is a "trusted friend," a partner in life, they implied that McDonald's cared about the health and well-being of its customers. In fact, the phrase, found in confidential marketing materials never meant for public consumption, implied that McDonald's was primarily about food, which Schlosser contends it is not. He goes on to point out that McDonald's uses corporate sponsorship to gets its products in schools and influence students to eat its products, and this has a detrimental effect on the health of Americans, especially children.
Schlosser does not deny the impressive level of influence that companies like McDonald's and Disney have had on Americans, but he seems to be cautioning that America's lack of a true food culture has led us down a road toward poor health and obesity. It's important to understand just how deeply McDonald's is ingrained in our everyday lives; this understanding goes hand in hand with making better choices about what we eat. We also need to understand that choosing to eat fast food isn't usually a fully conscious choice at all thanks to Ray Kroc; instead, eating burgers, shakes and fries feels normal to Americans thanks to McDonald's extensive marketing efforts. If we had an established food culture at the time of Kroc's rise, McDonald's might just be another novelty, secondary to real American food. Instead, McDonald's has become synonymous with American food and the company helps shape our tastes and desires through marketing.
This is the construction Schlosser follows in this chapter.
Schlosser's style and progression in this chapter both builds and strengthens his argument in several ways. The picture plays on typical views of families while also detailing a specific instance of the problems that occur in the slaughterhouse and meat packing world. The passage that follows does the same thing, at first noting that nothing seems especially amiss, but then notes sees the workers, "about half of them women, almost all of them young and Latino," and that a few of the women...are sweating, even though the place is freezing cold." These subtle problems, like the subtlety of the man's odd posture in the photograph at the start of the passage, reveal deeper issues -- like the blood running down the man's arm. His description of the armor that the workers wear and his comment that the knife makes it through,…...
Why are we feeding our children things that we wouldn't even feed our pets?
The bottom line is that Pollan makes a very good point about how we as humans have come to be so separated from the natural world. Animals in the wild don't worry about food like we do (well, they might worry where their next meal is coming from, but they don't have to worry about what kinds of chemicals and strange genetically modified foods they are eating). If we eat "industrially," we are essentially eating corn all the time. It is in everything we eat -- soda, chicken nuggets, even in meat we buy at the store and cook ourselves because it is used to fatten the meat. The idea that we humans are now essentially ridden with corn in our bodies is disturbing. How is this going to effect the human race down the line?…...
The Surgeon General produces estimates, such as the rising costs of healthcare due to obesity related illnesses. Congress issues law and regulation aimed at the safety and fairness in society. FDA has interests in the safety and protection of consumer products. Economist also issue reports, such as studying the Body Mass Index (BMI) and determining that obesity is caused by higher caloric intake, lower work activity, technological change reducing the costs of food, so consumers eat more, and the failure to provide nutritional information. Animal activists groups have interest in how livestock is fed and cared for to produce food products. Trial lawyers have interest in the issues to prosecute tort claims. Healthcare providers have interest in the teaching of public health. News media has interest in getting the information out to the public. and, product associations have interests in the keeping of the quality and safety of their…...
Fast Food
Sara had worked all day and then picked the children up from the day care center. On the way home she knew there was no time to cook before her class. Going back to school had been a hard decision, especially when she was a single mother to Ben, age four and Sally age 5. The children would benefit in the end she constantly reminded herself as she pushed the mommy guilt to the back of her mind. "Mommy I'm hungry," chirped Sally. In true little brother fashion Ben chimed in right behind big sister. "Me too Mommy ....VEY hungry!." Sara knew they did not have time to get home and cook dinner. She wanted time to play with the children, read stories and cuddle with them a bit before her mother arrived to babysit while Sara attended night school. She pulled into the KFC parking lot and…...
mlaWORKS CITED
A Fast Food Nation (accessed 12-12-04)
http://www.seethedonkey.com/presents/fastfoodhistory/history.html
Fast Food History (Accessed 12-12-04)
Fast food: Placing the blame
In Morgan Spurlock's documentary Supersize Me, the fast food corporation of McDonald's is portrayed as making food that is particularly damaging to human health. On a month-long diet of McDonald's cuisine, Spurlock's weight balloons and his health rapidly deteriorates. Of course, he consistently consumed more calories than he burned, even when not feeling hungry. He also reduced his activity level. But while Spurlock's one-man experiment may not have been perfectly 'controlled' and the effects on his body may have been exaggerated, his anecdotal experience, reinforced by the experiences of other fast food consumers underlines what many people have observed about fast food: its addictive properties. The carefully-constructed blending of salty and sweet is designed to encourage consumers not to merely eat, but to over-eat.
Although it may seem that only the consumer is to blame for over-eating fast food, much like cigarette companies must bear some…...
mlaReferences
Tweedie, Neil. (2010). Old-fashioned hunger doesn't come into it. BBC. Retrieved:
Supersize Me. (2003). Directed by Morgan Spurlock.
Why are U.S. kids obese? Just look around them. (2007). Impact Lab. Retrieved:
There are many different topics to select when writing about online education. You can approach the essay from the point-of-view of an educator or of a student, and you can also look at it by grade level for K-12 students, for classes for undergraduate and graduate students. You can focus on the challenges that people face as remote learners or the benefits of remote learning. Many people who are looking at online education today also look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on remote learning/ online education and how different school districts and educational institutions have....
There have been many studies that have looked at the impact of popular media on children’s behavior. The general consensus is that children are significantly impacted by media exposure. Of course, this impact increases when the media in question is an advertisement; the whole purpose of advertising is to bring about a targeted change in the audience. The goal of advertising is to inspire the target audience to want to purchase the goods or supplies. Children’s advertising appears to successfully accomplish that goal; studies reveal that after being exposed to advertising children....
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