How Fast Food Affects American Life - Coursework Example

How Fast Food Affects American Life? Table of Contents Introduction 2 Fast Food in Relation to the Changing Structure of the Society 3 Fast Food Is Cheap and Affordable 4 The Affect of Fast Food on Health 5 Conclusion 6 References 7 Introduction Today fast food has entered every nook and corner of the American society. Fast food is sold in schools, cafeterias, restaurants, airports, drive through, and gas stations. It is said that Americans spend more money on fast food than on anything else. It is also said that a nation’s diet says more about its culture than its art or literature. The growth of the fast food industry can be attributed to the changes taking place in the American society. In 1973 the hourly wage of the US workers had been increased to adjust inflation. Over the next 25 years their wages had declined steadily. In 1975 a large number of American mothers were working. Working women no longer have the time for household chores like cooking and cleaning. The solution to this is a fast food restaurant (Schlosser, “Fast-Food Nation: The True Cost of America's Diet”). It was hamburger which is believed to be the initial food item within the periphery of fast food. Charlie Nagreen is credited to discover this widely popular food product way back in 1885 when he tried to sell meat balls in a fair. As the visitors declined his product i.e. the meat balls because of the inconveniences caused in eating while visiting the fair, he put the balls within the two slices of bread and named it hamburger (Schlosser, E. & Wilson, C. “Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food”). The large fast food corporations have immense power over the food supply of the nation. The fast food giants have great bargaining power over their suppliers. The retail industry has obtained its inspiration from the operations of the fast food industry and has identical stores just like the fast food outlets. The term ‘franchisee’ and ‘chains’ are terms generally associated with fast food industry. Fast food is mostly marketed to the young children and they taste good. Fast food is cheap and convenient. A survey conducted on American school children revealed that 96% could identify with Ronald McDonald. Ronald Mc Donald was found to be as popular as Santa Claus. Fast Food in Relation to the Changing Structure of the Society The farm activist Jim Hightower had talked about the ‘McDonaldization of society’ about 25 years back. He had predicted that certain large corporations would dominate the food supply of the nation and there would be homogenization of the American life. Eric Schlosser refers to the fast food industry as “an industry that both feeds and feeds off children”. This industry targets the children and youth and the workers in the fast food outlets are also mostly the youth. The principle pertaining to the fast food industry has spread in the American culture. Fast food has changed people’s lifestyle. People rarely have food at home. Previously eating was a sharing experience. Fast food joints have brought about a new concept of eating alone. They neither have the time nor the inclination to cook food. Fast foods have brought efficiency in terms of time and service but have somehow negatively affected American values, culture and traditions. Americans value efficiency and speed. It is for this reason that the fast food culture has been so popular in America. People today are extremely mobile and fast foods support this mobility (Jakle, J. “Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age”). Changing working as well as family structure in the western world, especially in United States of America has resulted a significant increase in the number of working women and single parent family. Fast food has provided them with a much needed relief from cooking especially on the working days (Ritzer, G. “The McDonaldization of Society 6”). Fast Food Is Cheap and Affordable Analyzing the fast food industry with due sincerity, it would not wrong to comment that the majority of the fast food providing companies are the big players of the industry. They have standard operating systems with assembly lines and conveyor belts. Because of its size and business, such companies have considerable command over their suppliers. In other words, it has resulted low bargaining powers of the suppliers for them as they are bulk and regular purchaser which have invariably reduced the procurement cost for them. Such a mechanism facilitates the fast food companies to remain cheap as they can charge reduced prices from their customers (Smith, A. “Encyclopedia of junk food and fast food”). People prefer fast food because it is inexpensive and affordable. It is much more economical to eat out at a fast food restaurant than the usual restaurants. Psychologically also people have satisfaction that they have got ‘value for money’ which is filling as well as tasty. Time is money and the lesser time one spends in eating the better it is for many people. The Affect of Fast Food on Health An analysis of the weight of the US population over a period of 20 years reveals a trend of increasing weight and obesity. US Children are becoming obese and it is very difficult to lose weight on a long term. This trend is largely being attributed to the fast food restaurants. Obesity brings along with itself other health hazards like diabetes and hypertension. The high calorie intake through fast food is adversely affecting our health. The association between beverage companies and fast food joints further aggravates the menace of obesity. At the 2001 Annual Convention of APA, Kelly Brownell has referred to America’s food environment as ‘toxic food environment’. The ‘toxic signs’ according to Brownell are the following: Unhealthy food: High fat and high sugar content food are easily available and also cheap. Most fast food joints serve breakfast now and also deliver at one’s home. Serving sizes are increasing: ‘Value meals’ in terms of more food at lesser cost are now a common strategy of fast food companies. Attractive advertisements: The fast food advertisements are colorful and show mouth watering pictures of fast food items (Murray, “Fast-food Culture Serves up Super-size Americans”). One third of the American children today are overweight. They are at a risk of developing heart diseases at a very young age. Obesity leads to diabetes which may even lead to blindness, heart attacks, strokes and amputations. The fact that fast food joints are opened in close proximity of the schools further tempts them to eat such food. Fast food is generally very tempting and tastes good. Even though we might be aware about all the health hazards associated with it we cannot resist eating it (Murray, “What Are the Trends in Obesity in the United States Today? Has The Rate Increased In The Last Two Decades? And Is This Affecting both Adults and Children?”). Conclusion The easy and the tasty foods that the fast foods provide us have done wonders with respect to saving of the scarcest resource of our life i.e. the time. The working professionals could find an easy solution in lieu of fast foods. Also, the fast food joints are the preferred destinations for hanging outs for the children with their friends. On the other hand, also it is true that it is the children who are mainly targeted by the fast food companies which are leading them to obesity. Children do not exercise and sit idle for long hours. They satisfy their hunger pangs by eating fast food. The spicy, salty, unhealthy food is adversely affecting their health leading to premature heart diseases and diabetes among them. Fast foods have become almost symbolic of American culture. They serve the purpose of saving on time and money. They are preferred by people because they provide cheap as well as tasty food. It is a solution in view of America’s changing family structure. References Jakle, John. A. & Sculle, Keith. A. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age JHU Press, 2002. Murray, Bridget. “Fast-Food Culture Serves Up Super-Size Americans”. December 02, 2010. American Psychological Association, 2001. Murray, Michelle W. “What Are The Trends In Obesity In The United States Today? Has The Rate Increased In The Last Two Decades? And Is This Affecting both Adults and Children?” December 02, 2010. Feature Stories, 2007. Ritzer, George. The McDonaldization of Society 6 Pine Forge Press, 2010. Schlosser, Eric. & Wilson, Charles. Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007. Schlosser, Eric. “Fast-Food Nation: The True Cost of America's Diet”. December 2, 2010. Rolling Stone magazine, 1998. Smith, Andrew. F. Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. Read More