america's addiction: examining the consequences of fast food's popularity in america
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ADDICT ON
EXAMINING THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAST FOOD’S POPULARITY IN AMERICA
http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/articulo/156568
The process of fast food
The fi rst step in researching fast food popularity should be understanding fast food in general, and how it makes it’s way to your plate, this process will
follow the typical McDonald’s hamburger. Your burger begins where you might expect, with a cow, only this cow isn’t on a “farm” in the traditional sense
of the word, it comes from an industrial feed lot where it is fed a diet of grains as well as antibiotics and hormones to stop the spread of infections and
promote rapid weight gain, respectively. After the cow has reached a specifi c weight it’s sent off to a processing plant, McDonald’s has 6 in total-the
largest being in Tulsa, OK, where it is turned into a meat patty. From there it travels to a distribution center where all the supplies for any number of Mc-
Donald’s in an area are kept before it fi nally reaches your neighborhood location and ultimately your stomach, the entire process usually takes around 3
weeks. And if we look back to the origin of the bun that your burger sits between, a large majority of the ingredients in the bun (and many of McDonald’s
other products) are rendered from corn. This corn is grown on massive plots of land in Iowa from genetically modifi ed seeds which ensure the highest
yield from each crop but leave us with literally tons of genetically identical corn and nutrient-depleted soil.
Which means by the time this burger gets to you in Knoxville, it has travelled nearly 800 miles
after the initial trip from either the feed lot or
corn fi eld.
And it’s at least 21 days old,
It is, on average, made up of about 12 diff erent cows (or as
many as 100).
And it’s so full of preservatives that people have reported buy-
ing McDonald’s hamburgers that show little sign of decay after
months of sitting out at room temperature. The Happy Meal pic-
tured to the right was 137 days old when the picture was taken.
792.4 miles
http://www.geekosystem.com/mcdonalds-happy-meal-preservatives-before-after/
Why do you think you eat fast food?
To understand why fast food is so popular in America we must
fi rst understand what it is that makes America diff erent. We’ll
begin by understanding why American’s say they eat fast food.
The graph to the right shows the results of a 2006 study by the
American Dietetic Association where fast food patrons were
asked to indicate how much they agreed with each statement
about why they ate fast food. A few of the top answers are
shown.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/sep/28/rebuilt-mcdonalds-on-strip-ushers-in-corridor/
Quick
Easy to get
Tastey
Inexpensive
Too busy
Nutritious
92.3%
80.1%
69.2%
63.6%
53.2%
20.6%
-American Dietetic Association
Fast food companies purposely place their restau-
rants at busy intersections and directly off highway
exits to target time-crunched customers and, more
importantly, the typical middle class American.
By targeting children with mascots and toys, fast food
companies are able to establish a stronger customer
base that will last a lifetime.
“Low prices, convenience and free toys target the middle
class-especially budget-conscious, hurried parents-
very well.”-J. Paul Leigh, professor of public
health sciences at UC Davis
What makes you eat fast food
http://www.masterfi le.com
http://www.dumbblondediaries.com/2012/08/my-happy-meal.html
25% of Americans admit to eating fast food daily, with
McDonald’s feeding 46 million people daily worldwide.
That’s more than the population of Texas and New York
combined.
It is also the same number as the current, record-high,
of people in the U.S. currently on food stamps.
http://www.nydailynews.com
Fun Facts: America Edition
South Korea
Greece
Poland
Israel
Turkey
United States
Mexico
Hungary
Spain
Japan
Itay
Canada
Britain
Germany
France
Sweden
Norway
Netherlands
10 20 30 40 50
Statistically, the U.S. is in the top 25% in number of hours worked per week among the hardest working nations
Add to that, 3 out 4 men and 2 out of 3 women work in the U.S., on par with the highest rates worldwide.
Today’s Americans are working more today than they have in previous decades, additionally, the proportion of Americans in the
workforce is higher now than ever before. Recalling the earlier study where over half of fast food patrons said one of the reasons
they eat fast food is because they feel they are too busy to cook, it’s not hard to imagine how fast food has become a staple of many
Americans’ diets.
DAIL
Y CA
LORI
C IN
TAKE
USA
Europe
Asia
South America
Sub-Saharan Africa
American’s also have the highest caloric con-
sumption of any other nation on Earth, with
the average American taking in nearly twice
the recommended amount of daily calories.
This graph represents the average daily con-
sumption versus the recommended 2000 kcal.
3600 kcal
3400 kcal
2800 kcal2650 kcal
2200 kcal
Worth noting, the worldwide average for McDonald’s is 5 restaurants per one million people.This number varies by country:
UK: 21/mpFrance: 18/mpGermany: 15/mpPoland: 5/mpMexico: 3/mpChina: .5/mpAfrica: 150 total
Fun Facts: America Edition
=1 million people
In the U.S., there are 47 McDonald’s per one million people.
Food Culture: The Missing Link
While many countries pride themselves on their food culture and the unique regionality of it, American food culture is marked more by regional fast
food chains or things like Southern comfort food such as fried chicken. The lack of a food culture is a cornerstone in fast food’s popularity. It feeds from
this gap in our culture and fi lls the void with fast, relatively cheap, food by-products and fi nishes it off with a small toy in a box.
The typical image of the family dinner where everyone eats the same, nutritious dish prepared by your mother has been replaced
by frozen dinners eaten in silence on the couch, or each member of the family shuffl ing in and out of the kitchen at diff erent times
preparing diff erent meals, or running out to the nearest fast food chain and picking up a family meal deal. The loss of the family meal
can be connected to the markedly high popularity of fast food in America, and it all stems from a lack luster food culture.
Freedom From Want
credit: Norman Rockwell
Education and access: A tale of two failures
Another potential contributing factor to fast food’s popular-
ity is the fact that many people do not fully understand how
unhealthy fast food is, how addicting it can be, how expensive
it is (both to the customer and society), or they simply do not
have access to more nutritious options, living in what is often
referred to as a “food desert.”
http://gawker.com/happy-meals/
Double Cheeseburger Combo
Price: $3.15 (before tax)
1 double cheeseburger
1 order of medium french fries
1 medium Coke
Calories
Fat
Sodium
Sugar
Cholesterol
1030 kcal (52%)
42g (65%)
1335mg (56%)
65g (201%)
80mg (27%)
After only one typical meal at McDonald’s you have already consumed half your daily calo-
ries, 2/3 of your daily fat intake, and twice the amount of recommended sugar. All of this
depending upon you not getting a larger size, refi lling your drink, or adding any other top-
pings or side items.
Keeping in mind that the average American consumes
3600 calories daily (almost twice the recommended
amount) pictured to the right is a typical combo from
McDonald’s with it’s nutritional information.
http://www.ranker.com/list/mcdonald_s-secret-menu-items/secret-menu-items
Education and access: A tale of two failures
According to the USDA, even on a “Liberal plan,” the average family of 4
can sustain a nutritious diet from a traditional grocery store for less than
what the average family of 4 would spend eating at McDonald’s 3 times
a day, 7 days a week.
While looking through a short term lens, eating fast food is
relatively cheap. The combo meal mentioned earlier only cost
$3.15 before tax. Not bad for a full meal that packs more than
its fair share of calories, fat, and sugar. But how does it com-
pare to traditional grocery shopping?
With this information we now know that a dollar spent at a
traditional grocery store can be worth literally 250% more
than a dollar spent at McDonald’s.
Value of $1 USD at
traditional grocery storeValue of $1 USD at
McDonald’s
Total full-time workers in the U.S. : 109,459,000
Total who are obese/over-
weight/chronic condition :
93,040,150 (85%)
42%
hig
her h
ealth
car
e co
sts
$153
,000
,000
,000
loss
ann
ually
Although fast food isn’t a sole cause of obesity in America it is a contributing factor that is
undeniably tied to the current obesity epidemic. Of the 109,459,000 Americans classifi ed
as “full-time” workers, 93,040,150 of them are considered overweight/obese, or suff er
from a chronic condition related to the two (high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke),
which equates to roughly 85%. Researchers have also found that companies spend 42%
more on these workers in health costs, and that collectively these workers miss 450 mil-
lion more days of work a year than their healthy coworkers. This equates out to a $153
billion loss for companies annually. (Huffi ngton Post, Gallup Poll)
SOCI
ETAL
COS
T OF
OBE
SITY
The USDA defi nes a “food desert” as a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has
low access to a supermarket or large grocery store:
-To qualify as a “low-income community,” a census tract must have either: 1) a poverty rate of 20 percent or higher, OR
2) a median family income at or below 80 percent of the area’s median family income;
-To qualify as a “low-access community,” at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract’s population
must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more
than 10 miles).`
Education and access: A tale of two failures
USDA map depicting areas classifi ed as “food deserts” around Knoxville. Statistically, 1 out of 3 people in Knoxville live in a food
desert. The dark area on the map is the UT campus.
www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-desert-locator.aspx
←
NOTES: 1. UT dining halls are not shown because not all students can access dining halls unless a meal plan has been purchased.
2. Some locations, like the University Center and Presidential Court, are marked by a single dot although they off er anywhere from
3-10 diff erent fast food options. 3. The blue arrow represents a drive to Walmart, approximately a 15 minute drive on I-40 from
campus. 4. Times shown are referenced from Morrill Hall on campus.
The map to the right shows the options a typi-
cal UT student has for where to eat on any given
day around campus. Red dots represent fast food
chains or convenience stores where food items
can be purchased, and blue dots show full size
super markets.
In total there are over 45 locations2 within walk-
ing distance that serve either fast food or pre-
packaged/processed foods. Other contributing
factors to fast food’s popularity on UT’s campus:
• many students don’t own cars
• students feel they don’t have time to go gro-
cery shopping
• a majority of student’s living on campus do
not have the storage space to hold the neces-
sary amount of food for one person.
g
-
o
-
15 minutes
40 minutes via Rt. 11
1 hour
2 hours 45 minutes
10 minutes
22 minutes via Rt. 11
25 minutes
1 hour 15 minutes
Education and access: A tale of two failures
Pilot
Sunspot
Cookout
Tiger Mart
Jason’s Deli
Penn Station
Wing Zone
Oscar’s Tacos
Domino’s
Zaxby’s
Mellow Mushroom
Starbucks
Rocky Top Market
Panera
Whiskey Dix
Roaming Gnome
Nori Sushi
Taco Bell
Tin Roof
House of Dragon
Jimmy John’s
Oscar’s
Papa John’s
Cool Beans
Goal Post Tavern
Half Barrel
Hibachi Factory
Wendy’s
Moe’s
Copper Cellar
Walgreen’s
Ooga Mooga’s
McDonald’s
Firehouse
Noodles & Company
Chipotle
Gus’s Good Times Deli
Quizno’s
Presidential Court
Smoothie King
Einstein’s (A+A)
Hess Grocery
Hodges Library
Einstein’s (Haslam)
University Center
Food City
Kroger
Walmart3
5 minutes
20 minutes via Rt. 11 to Rt. 13
15 minutes
30 minutes
References:
Berman, Jillian. “Obesity Costs U.S. Companies Billions In Lost Productivity: Gallup.” The Huffi ngton Post. TheHuffi ngtonPost.com, 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 05
Feb. 2013.
De Vogli, Roberto, Anne Kouvonen, and David Gimeno. “‘Globesization’: Ecological Evidence on the Relationship between Fast Food Outlets and Obesity
among 26 Advanced Economies.” Critical Public Health 21.4 (2011): 395-402. Print.
Dray, Sarah. “What Is Average Caloric Intake of People?” LIVESTRONG.COM. Livestrong, 24 July 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
Hitti, Miranda. “Top 11 Reasons For Fast Food’s Popularity.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 3 Dec. 2008. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.
“Home :: McDonalds.com.” Home :: McDonalds.com. McDonald’s Inc, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2013.
Marlar, Jenny. “U.S. Payroll to Population Rate at 45.7% in October.” Gallup.com. Gallup, 2 Nov. 2012. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.
“Meat Your Protein Partner! OSI Group Execs Talk R&D, Culinary TrendsFind out in Food for Thought. A Product Developer’s Perspective on Trends, Tech-
nologies, and More. .” Fast Food’s Popularity Among Lower- and Middle-income Families. Prepared Foods Network, 2 Nov. 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
“Putting in the Hours.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 16 Apr. 2008. Web. 25 Jan. 2013.
USDA. “Offi cial USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels.” Http://www.cnpp.usda.gov. USDA, 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
USDA. “USDA Food Desert Locator.” USDA Economic Research Service. v, 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
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