The Sociat Costs and Benefits of a Fast Food Industry
There are many social benefits to a fast food industry. Firstly, it’s
the accessibility and convenience of having the fast food restaurants
– they’re located practically everywhere. The service is also fast,
hence “fast food” and therefore maximizing the convenience of them to
consumers.
Most of the time, the products of the fast food industry are cheap,
tasty and therefore have good value for the product. The existence of
so many fast food restaurants also means lots of play areas for
children (as there are very few playgrounds in most places, the some
industries such as McDonalds have playgrounds) and also social areas
to “hang out” in, for young adults.
The existence of these industries also benefits the government (as
they provide lots of employment opportunities to local people and thus
reduce any unemployment problems). As well as providing jobs into
their business, they also provide jobs into other businesses related
to them. For example as the fast food industry increases the suppliers
increase and expand and therefore they create more jobs for other
people.
As well as this, the expansion of the fast food industry also means
increase in taxes which help the economy and government. The fast food
industry may also sponsor local charities or sports teams, which
benefits society.
However, there are also many social costs in the existence of the fast
food industry. These costs include health, choice and culture costs.
Health-wise, the existence of the fast food industry means the
existence of deep-fried, salty and ultimately unhealthy food. Many
people don’...
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areas.
Culture is also being affected badly by the expansion of the fast food
industry. There’s the globalization issue. The fast food industry
expands worldwide which damages local restaurants and national culture
– as the restaurants with local traditions are being driven out. One
example of this is McDonald’s golden arc versus the Christian cross.
It has been proven that the golden arc is recognized more often than t
he Christian cross.
By comparing the social benefits and the social costs of the existence
of the fast food industry, it can be seen clearly that social costs
outweigh the social benefits of the fast food industry. It is shown
that the community suffers much more than it benefits from fast food
restaurants. Therefore society is worst off with the existence of the
fast food industry.
In the article, "Why Investing in Fast Food May Be a Good Thing," Amy Domini starts it off by expressing her support for the Slow Food movement. Domini expands on her views following by statistics about Slow Food and the growth of the fast food industry. Throughout the article, Dominic accuses the Slow Food movement of being short-sighted. The first way she does this is when she makes a comment about Slow Food not being available in communities and if it is it's overpriced. Another way she seems to accuse the Slow Food movement of being short-sighted is when she explains how people tend to focus on the growing industries such as fast food and how people see it's growth and interest. Due to the fact that many of us, citizens of the United States, live
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...
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.
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).
The American life has been transformed by the fast food industry not just changing the American diet but also the culture, workplace, economy, and the landscape. “Today about half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants-mainly fast food restaurants.” (Schlosser) This could be due to the fact that about two-thirds of working women are mothers. The impact of fast food on the American culture is transparent when just looking at McDonald’s. McDonald’s has become the world’s most famous brand; the golden arches are more known than the Christian cross. “A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald.” (Schlosser) McDonald’s is responsible for 90 percent of new jobs in The United States. The landscape has changed due to the fast food ...
However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension”
"We provide food that customers love, day after day after day. People just want more of it” (Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald’s). Coronary Artery Disease is a type of heart disease and the most common cause of heart attacks. Plaque from eating unhealthy foods, builds up in the arteries, the arteries harden and begin to become narrow and can cause chest pain and heart attacks. “Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems.” The environment is affected by the fast food industry because of the amount of pollution and trash they produce on a daily basis. The fast food industry has a harmful effect on society.
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.
For millions, fast food restaurants are the source of positive associations with birthday parties, play dates and accessible comfort food. For others, they represent a lifeline meal on a busy day, or the secret to quieting a cranky toddler on a long trip because hurrying residents of cities have no time to cook a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fast food presents even in the lives of people who are trying
In the nonfiction text, McJobs, by Eric Schlosser, the author takes the readers through a detailed passage about the advantages and disadvantages of fast food industries, eventually leaving the reader with a burning question in mind: does fast food affect society in a good or bad way? Clearly, the answer to this question is that fast food has a negative influence on society.
America is known to many as the land of of opportunity and innovation. These innovations have spurred the success of the modern fast food industry. In American society today, we are now able to do things that would have been unthinkable 50 years ago. Today, you can receive a made to order meal in under 5 minutes for less than 5 dollars. Meat prices are now at the lowest point in the market since the beef trusts of the 1970's. Indeed, the fast food industry, through its focus on efficiency,conformity, and profit, have affected American culture and society today.
Moreover, fast food restaurants provide reasonable prices on food, which also attracts consumers. Thus, people prefer fast food. The article, “Introduction to Fast Food: At Issue” describes the problems that fast food brings to our society during the development of fast food. “In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2014, fast food sales were projected to be more than $195 billion. According to a 2013 Gallup poll, eight in ten Americans report eating fast
each block. But how are they able to open as many stores as this? The
Through Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation he examines the effects that fast food has impacted the world and the way it is affecting the people that are consuming it. As the fast food industry continues to grow throughout not only the United States but the whole world, marketing companies are always looking for ways to broaden the group of people that are interested in buying their product over another company’s. As a marketer for a fast food company it is essential to have a group of people that you can rely on to always buy the company’s product, to many fast food companies they found this group of people to be adolescents and children. Marketing groups specifically market their products to entice this group of people to lure them in. Food is an object that is needed for the survival of a human, but the type of food that humans chose to eat is also not always the best. Because fast food is so cheap and easily accessible just about everywhere you turn your head, many people resort to eating it even though it is very unhealthy. With these factors present, many adults have exposed their children to fast food at a young age, these parents do not always think about the long term effects of feeding their children fast food because they are so caught up in the moment of feeding their kids right then and there; they do not think about the health risks that can occur later as a result from eating fast food now.
Another point of reason I would like to argue about is fast-food restaurants are everywhere and it is difficult for one to find any alternatives. I would also like to ask of the consumers to look at it from another view. There are many choices available to consumers each day some can do harm, while othe...