Fast Food Industry

Résumé du document

Fast food restaurants represent one of the largest segments of the food industry with more than 500,000 restaurants implanted all over the world and their number does not stop growing, particularly in industrialized countries. Fast foods are characterized with a short time of preparation and service, and the food is eat on the go. The very first fast food was born in New York in 1912, by Horn and Hardat who created the ancestor of the fast food restaurant, the Automat. They knew a big success, in particular from the 1920s with their slogan 'less work for mothers'. The drive-in developed some years later with the popularization of the automobile. The concept of ready cooked food for sale is closely connected with urban development. In the 1970s, mothers were working outside their homes, so they had less time to cook. The principle of fast food remains the same, a limited menu, a big volume and low prices.

Extraits

[...] There is also another psychological factor, the sense of smell, strongly connected to memory. The flavours of childhood seem to mark us indelibly, and adults often return to these primary sensations of comfort food, of good moments. And fast food know how to capitalize on this. Fast food also use colour additives to make the food look good and chemical flavour components to make it taste right. This kind of food is reputed unhealthy: it is too much caloric, fat and sweetened. [...]

[...] This new alternative to fast food threatens to steal market share from it. After the criticism of the food, fast food also undergoes the critics connected to the work conditions of the employees. In the USA, approximately 2 million workers are employed in the food sector (including fast food). And their working conditions are often questioned (low salaries, psychological pressure, important overtime hours); The fast food industry is a symbol of globalization, in the sense that it is characterized by multinational companies which have an important economic and politic power. [...]

[...] The most famous variant of the fast food is doubtless the pizza with big chains such as Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut. This commercial food is often prepared in an industrial fashion that is to say on a large scale with standard ingredients and production methods. How does fast food attract clients? The logos of these restaurants are visible by far and have for the most part flashy colours which draw the attention, they are suggestive and easily recognizable. Products are also coloured which gives an impression of healthy and tasty food. [...]

[...] The principle of the fast food remained the same: a limited menu, a big volume and low prices. When we think about fast food, generally the country which comes to mind is the United States: today it has the largest fast food industry in the world with restaurants which are located in more than 100 countries. The most famous fast food chain is unmistakably McDonald's (consumed in 120 countries). The chain becomes established in new emerging markets (China, India . [...]

[...] Through these social consequences there is also a repercussion on the economy, because in the United-States the cost of health care is said to increase by $93million a year mainly from these diseases linked to obesity. But this phenomenon not only affects industrial countries. In China, for instance, we can make also the link between increasing obesity and the arrival of the fast food. In front of this impressive industry there is at the same time a development of the Slow Food. This movement tries to educate the consumer, incites him to eat more healthily and slowly. It is a possible answer in front of sanitary concerns but also a competition for Fast food. [...]