The Evolution of Fast Food

and Society

Anna Meier
Wai Wai Wong
Areeba Siddiqui
Ziying Tan

The Birth of Fast Food

What is Fast Food?
Convenient, cheap food
Dominated by a handful of powerful corporaDons
Main Goal: to drive producDon costs to minimum

The Birth of Fast Food

Even though fast food is thought of as an American classic,
the Industry is relaDvely new
Began in the 1950s during a Dme of increased emphasis on
mechanizaDon in policy and thought
Business men saw an opportunity to make money by
mechanizing the food industry.
Example: Maurice and Richard McDonald
who are thought of as
the founders of
Fast Food

The Birth of Fast Food

How did they drive down cost?
Introduced increased mechanizaDon, which allowed them to hire low-
wage, unskilled workers

For the rst Dme, the guiding principles of a factory
assembly line were applied to a
commercial kitchen. The new division of
labor meant that a worker only had to
be taught how to perform one task.
(fast food naDon, page 20)

The Birth of Fast Food

How did they drive down cost?
Change in food and farming
The fast food industry increased the need for certain
crops, such as corn and chicken, which lead to the
industrializaDon of farming.
The era of Earl Butz, Secretary of Agriculture from
1971-1976
RevoluDonized farming pracDces in America
Subsidies lead to cheaper food, especially mono-crops such as
corn

The Birth of Fast Food

How did they drive down costs?
Eliminated previously crucial restaurant jobs.
Customers order at the counter and drive-through
Eliminated the need for waiters and busboys

The Birth of Fast Food

What are the consequences of this new model?
Change in Americas landscape
Small, family businesses (restaurant and farms) cannot
compete

Change in Farming
Small farms have become increasingly rare because they
cannot keep up with demand

Change in culture and society

ExpectaDons have changed
Speed
Convenience
Low prices

Family Dynamics
Before the emergence of fast food

The importance of Family meals

Feel how strongly belonging to one another
A powerful message of security to children
Listen and share

Pass value along with food

No separate menu
Pass beliefs and values
PracDce manners

Dinning was about us, rather than

the I
InaDon in 1973: women entered the
workforce in record number:
About 1/3 of American mothers worked outside the home
The social and familial bonds weaken(less communicaDon)

Fast food: blended culture

Fast food has opened a door for other countries to
understand American food culture
Common to see many dierent people from dierent
culture in fast food restaurants.

Fast food: blended culture

In other countries fast food restaurants: a fusion
management style, with modern, westernized methods
blended in with an oriental restaurants.
E.g. McDonald in Hong Kong

Another example: McDonald in France

Change in views of ethic food

Taco Bell :one of the successful fast food restaurant in

the U.S.
It was a gateway for Americans to accept Mexican food.
It used to represent as Mexican food in the U.S.

Is the food in taco bell really Mexican

food?
By Comparing to authenDc Mexican food:
There is no such volcano taco in Mexico
Mexicans dont eat burrito with nacho sauce
etc.

Taco Bell tried to enter the Mexican market

twice, but all failed.
This proves that the food in taco bell can not
represent as tradiDonal Mexican food

Anyhow, taco bell sDll has been popular in the

U.S. due to the convenience.

NutriDon

Rich in Calories
2000 calories = average calories needed per
day
1500 calories = calories per meal at fast food
restaurant

High in Saturated and Trans Fat

Saturated fat come from animal
source of food. Saturated fat raises
total blood cholesterol levels and
LDL levels.
Trans fat are made from oils through
a food processing method called
parDal hydrogenaDon. ParDally
hydrogenated trans fats can increase
LDL cholesterol and lower HDL
cholesterol.
Fast food products are among the
most trans fat-heavy foods currently
available.

High Glycemic Index

The glycemic index classies carbohydrate-
containing foods according to their potenDal
to raise your blood sugar level.
Low GI = slow rise in blood sugar levels
High GI =fast and dramaDc spike in blood
sugar levels

High Level of Salt

Current recommendaDons = 2,300 milligrams of sodium a
day, equivalent to about a teaspoon of table salt.
1,500 mg a dayfor those with cardiovascular disease or
high blood pressure
Average American consumed 3,400 mg a day.

KFC Tender Roast Sandwich
KFC Honey BBQ Sandwich
280 calories
3.5 grams fat
1 gram saturated fat
60 mg cholesterol
780 mg sodium
3 grams ber
32 grams carbohydrate
14 grams protein

(without sauce)
300 calories
4.5 grams fat
1.5 grams saturated fat
70 mg cholesterol
1,060 mg sodium
2 grams ber
28 grams carbohydrate
37 grams protein

Fast Food NaDon

Are there any Pros to this new
food system?

Pros to Fast Food

Price
Compared to 100 Hundred years ago, Americans
spend signicantly less on food

Pros of Fast Food

Price
Lower percentage of income towards food has
improved Americans lives
Less worry about aording food
More money towards other things, such as housing,
clothing, and entertainment

Pros to Fast Food

Convenience
American culture has changed as much as our
food industry.
Higher percentage of populaDon works due to more
women entering the workforce
Less Dme to plan and prepare meals
Fast food is oken the only opDon for families who do
not have Dme to cook

Pros of Fast Food

Convenience
Before Fast Food and Supermarkets, Americans
spent signicantly more Dme growing, culDvaDng,
and cooking food.
Americans lives have improved
Spend more Dme on other pursuits

FAST FOOD MARKETING:

The Driving Force of the Fast Food
Industry!

How much money is spent on fast food markeDng annually?

How eecDve is the adverDsing?

When Yale published its ndings on the eects of fast food

markeDng on youth diets

More than one-third of youth

consumed fast food on the
previous day, including
33% of children (ages 2-11) and
41% of teens(ages 12-19).
By comparison,
36% of adults consumed fast
food on the previous day.

AdverDsing Methods!
4 major categorizaDons:
-Appealing to Targeted Age group Desires/
EmoDons
-Value and Aordibility
-Volume and Visibility
-HighlighDng Social Responsibility

TargeDng Age Groups

Using:
Ideal, desired scenarios
Music
Celebrity endorsements
Oering toys for kidslopery-type giveaways

Value and Aordability

HighlighDng the amount of food you receive for
the low price!

Volume and Visibility

Not only will you nd a fast food restaurant on
every streetyoull also nd ads EVERYWHERE.
-TV/Movies
-Radio
-Online: Childrens sites, social networks, etc
-Billboards
hpp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ4sz4tXIkw

-Making deals with schools and campuses

-Oering Apps so you can order faster
-Oering things to get you through the door
Free wi anyone?

On average, U.S. preschoolers viewed 2.8 fast

food ads on TV every day in 2012, children (6-11
years) viewed 3.2 ads per day, and teens viewed
4.8 ads per day. Six companies were responsible
for more than 70% of all TV ads viewed by
children and teens: McDonalds, Subway, Burger
King, Dominos, Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza
Hut, KFC), and Wendys.

Social Responsibility
Since Fast food restaurants are criDcized for
their nutriDon, chains have started to introduce
healthier opDons, or try to prove that their
foods are now real or natural.

Now that you know, make an

educated decision next time
youre choosing your meal!