FAST FOOD

Common denominators

immediate customer service

packaging "to go“

inexpensive pricing

Origins vague

Food immigration:comforting connection with their ethnic past

tamales knockwurst

“Fare of the masses”

Simple foods to working-class customers on a "short-order" basis

“Hamburg steak"

White Castle

Kansas, 1921 Chicago, 1952

Hamburger-eating culture

Serious setback during World War II

Build one restaurant in every American town

franchise investors

enforced strict product uniformity throughout their chains

aggressively advertise

Criticism

poor sanitary conditions

unhealthy food products

related environmental problems

unfair working conditions

Increased litter

Employ inexpensive teenage workers

Hundreds of millions of hungry customers eat fast food daily

ignore health risks

inexpensive, quick, convenient, predictable, tastes good

cultural norm

Metaphor for mainstream American life

ready availability

superficiality

mass-produced standardization

lack of authenticity

poor quality

Tool of cultural imperialism

India Japan