Fast-food restaurant

Afast-food restaurant, also known as aquick-service restaurant(QSR) within the industry, is a specific type ofrestaurantthat servesfast-foodcuisine and has minimaltable service.  The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically part of a "meat-sweet diet", offered from a limited menu, cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot, finished and packaged to order, and usually available fortake away, though seating may be provided. Fast-food restaurants are typically part of arestaurant chainorfranchiseoperation that provides standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary byMerriam–Websterin 1951.
While the first fast-food restaurant in the United States was aWhite Castlein 1921,fast-food restaurants had been operating elsewhere much earlier, such as the Japanese fast food companyYoshinoya, started in Tokyo in 1899.Today, American-founded fast-food chains such asMcDonald's(est.1940) andKFC(est. 1952)aremultinational corporationswith outlets across the globe.
Variations on the fast-food restaurant concept includefast-casual restaurantsandcatering trucks. Fast-casual restaurants have higher sit-in ratios, offering a hybrid between counter-service typical at fast-food restaurants and a traditional table service restaurant.  Catering trucks (also called food trucks) often park just outside worksites and are popular with factory workers.
In 1896, the first self-service restaurant  (the "Stollwerck-Automatenrestaurant") opened in Berlin'sLeipziger Straße.
Some trace the modern history of fast food in the United States to 7 July 1912, with the opening of a fast-food restaurant called theAutomatin New York. The Automat was a cafeteria with its prepared foods behind small glass windows and coin-operated slots. Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart had already opened the firstHorn & HardartAutomat in Philadelphia in 1902, but their "Automat" at Broadway and 13th Street, in New York City, created a sensation. Numerous Automat restaurants were built around the country to deal with the demand.Automatsremained extremely popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The company also popularized the notion of "take-out" food, with their slogan "Less work for Mother".
Most historians agree that the American company White Castle was the first fast-food outlet, starting inWichita, Kansasin 1916 with food stands and founding in 1921, selling hamburgers for five cents apiece from its inception and spawning numerous competitors and emulators. What is certain, however, is that White Castle made the first significant effort to standardize the food production in, look of, and operation of fast-food hamburger restaurants. William Ingram's and Walter Anderson's White Castle System created the first fast-food supply chain to provide meat, buns, paper goods, and other supplies to their restaurants, pioneered the concept of the multi-state hamburger restaurant chain, standardized the look and construction of the restaurants themselves, and even developed a construction division that manufactured and built the chain's prefabricated restaurant buildings. The McDonald's Speedee Service System and, much later,Ray Kroc's McDonald's outlets and Hamburger University all built on principles, systems and practices that White Castle had already established between 1923 and 1932.
Thehamburgerrestaurant most associated by the public with the term "fast food" was created by two brothers originally fromNashua, New Hampshire.Richard and Maurice McDonaldopened abarbecuedrive-inin 1940 in the city ofSan Bernardino, California. After discovering that most of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers closed their restaurant for three months and reopened it in 1948 as a walk-up stand offering a simple menu of hamburgers,french fries,shakes, coffee, andCoca-Cola, served in disposable paper wrapping. As a result, they could produce hamburgers and fries constantly, without waiting for customer orders, and could serve them immediately; hamburgers cost 15 cents, about half the price at a typicaldiner. Their streamlined production method, which they named the "Speedee Service System" was influenced by theproduction lineinnovations ofHenry Ford.
By 1954, The McDonald brothers' stand was restaurant equipment manufacturer Prince Castle's  biggest purchaser of milkshake blending machines. Prince Castle salesman Ray Kroc traveled to California to discover why the company had purchased almost a dozen of the units as opposed to the normal one or two found in most restaurants of the time. Enticed by the success of the McDonald's concept, Kroc signed a franchise agreement with the brothers and began opening McDonald's restaurants in Illinois.By 1961, Kroc had bought out the brothers and created what is now the modern McDonald's Corporation. One of the major parts of his business plan was to promote cleanliness of his restaurants to growing groups of Americans that had become aware of food safety issues. As part of his commitment to cleanliness, Kroc often took part in cleaning his ownDes Plaines, Illinoisoutlet by hosing down the garbage cans and scraping gum off the cement. Another concept Kroc added was great swaths of glass which enabled the customer to view the food preparation, a practice still found in chains such asKrispy Kreme. A clean atmosphere was only part of Kroc's grander plan which separated McDonald's from the rest of the competition and attributes to their great success. Kroc envisioned making his restaurants appeal to suburban families.
At roughly the same time as Kroc was conceiving what eventually became McDonald's Corporation, two Miami, Florida businessmen, James McLamore and David Edgerton, opened a franchise of the predecessor to what is now the international fast-food restaurant chainBurger King. McLamore had visited the original McDonald's hamburger stand belonging to the McDonald brothers; sensing potential in their innovativeassembly line–based production system, he decided he wanted to open a similar operation of his own.The two partners eventually decided to invest their money inJacksonville, Florida-based Insta-Burger King. Originally opened in 1953, the founders and owners of the chain, Keith G. Cramer and his wife's uncle Matthew Burns, opened their first stores around a piece of equipment known as the Insta-Broiler. The Insta-Broiler oven proved so successful at cooking burgers, they required all of their franchises to carry the device.By 1959 McLamore and Edgarton were operating several locations within theMiami-Dadearea and were growing at a fast clip. Despite the success of their operation, the partners discovered that the design of the insta-broiler made the unit's heating elements prone to degradation from the drippings of the beef patties. The pair eventually created a mechanized gas grill that avoided the problems by changing the way the meat patties were cooked in the unit. After the original company began to falter in 1959, it was purchased by McLamore and Edgerton who renamed the company Burger King.
While fast-food restaurants usually have a seating area in which customers can eat the food on the premises, orders are designed to be taken away, and traditional table service is rare. Orders are generally taken and paid for at a wide counter, with the customer waiting by the counter for a tray or container for their food. A "drive-through" service can allow customers to order and pick up food from their cars.
Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten "on the go" and often does not require traditionalcutleryand is eaten as a finger food. Common menu items at fast-food outlets includefish and chips,sandwiches,pitas,hamburgers,fried chicken,french fries,chicken nuggets,tacos,pizza, andice cream, although many fast-food restaurants offer "slower" foods likechili,mashed potatoes, andsalads.
Modern commercial fast food is highly processed and prepared on a large scale from bulk ingredients using standardized cooking and production methods and equipment. It is usually rapidly served in cartons, bags, or in a plastic wrapping, in a fashion which reduces operating costs by allowing rapid product identification and counting, promoting longer holding time, avoiding transfer of bacteria, and facilitating order fulfillment. In most fast-food operations, menu items are generally made from processed ingredients prepared at central supply facilities and then shipped to individual outlets where they are cooked (usually by grill, microwave, or deep-frying) or assembled in a short amount of time either in anticipation of upcoming orders (i.e., "to stock") or in response to actual orders (i.e., "to order"). Following standard operating procedures, pre-cooked products are monitored for freshness and disposed of if holding times become excessive.  This process ensures a consistent level of product quality, and is key to delivering the order quickly to the customer and avoiding labor and equipment costs in the individual stores.
Because of commercial emphasis on taste, speed, product safety, uniformity, and low cost, fast-food products are made with ingredients formulated to achieve an identifiable flavor, aroma, texture, and "mouth feel" and to preserve freshness and control handling costs during preparation and order fulfillment. This requires a high degree offood engineering. The use ofadditives, including salt, sugar,flavoringsandpreservatives, and processing techniques may limit the nutritional value of the final product.
Avalue mealis a group of menu items offered together at a lower price than they would cost individually. A hamburger, side of fries, and drink commonly constitute a value meal—orcombodepending on the chain. Value meals at fast-food restaurants are common as amerchandisingtactic to facilitatebundling,up-selling, andprice discrimination. Most of the time they can be upgraded to a larger side and drink for a small fee.  The perceived creation of a "discount" on individual menu items in exchange for the purchase of a "meal" is also consistent with theloyalty marketingschool of thought.
Early fast-food production relied on manual, physical methods of tracking orders, such asorder wheels.
To make quick service possible and to ensure accuracy and security, many fast-food restaurants have incorporatedhospitality point of sale systems. This makes it possible for kitchen crew people to view orders placed at the front counter or drive through in real time. Wireless systems allow orders placed at drive through speakers to be taken by cashiers and cooks. Drive through and walk through configurations will allow orders to be taken at one register and paid at another. Modern point of sale systems can operate on computer networks using a variety of software programs. Sales records can be generated and remote access to computer reports can be given to corporate offices, managers, troubleshooters, and other authorized personnel.
Food service chains partner with food equipment manufacturers to design highly specialized restaurant equipment, often incorporating heatsensors, timers, and other electronic controls into the design.Collaborativedesign techniques, such as rapid visualization andcomputer-aided designof restaurant kitchens are now being used to establish equipment specifications that are consistent with restaurant operating and merchandising requirements.
In the United States, consumers spent about $110 billion on fast food in 2000 (which increased from $6 billion in 1970).TheNational Restaurant Associationforecasts that fast-food restaurants in the US will reach $142 billion in sales in 2006, a 5% increase over 2005. In comparison, the full-service restaurant segment of thefood industryis expected to generate $173 billion in sales. Fast food has been losingmarket shareto so-called fast-casual restaurants, which offer more robust and expensive cuisines.
McDonald's, a fast-food supplier, opened its first franchised restaurant in the US in 1955 (1974 in the UK). It has become a phenomenally successful enterprise in terms of financial growth, brand-name recognition, and worldwide expansion. Ray Kroc, who bought the franchising license from the McDonald brothers, pioneered concepts which emphasized standardization. He introduced uniform products, identical in all respects at each outlet, to increase sales. Kroc also insisted on cutting food costs as much as possible, eventually using the McDonald's Corporation's size to force suppliers to conform to this ethos.
Other prominent international fast-food companies include Burger King, the number two hamburger chain in the world, known for promoting its customized menu offerings (Have it Your Way). Another international fast-food chain is KFC, which sells chicken-related products and is the number 1 fast-food company in the People's Republic of China.
A fast-food chain restaurant is generally owned either by theparent companyof the fast-food chain or afranchisee– an independent party given the right to use the company's trademark and trade name. In the latter case, a contract is made between the franchisee and the parent company, typically requiring the franchisee to pay an initial, fixed fee in addition to a continual percentage of monthly sales. Upon opening for business, the franchisee oversees the day-to-day operations of the restaurant and acts as a manager of the store. Once the contract expires, the parent company may choose to "renew the contract, sell the franchise to another franchisee, or operate the restaurant itself."In most fast-food chains, the number of franchised locations exceeds the number of company owned locations.
Fast-food chains rely on consistency and uniformity, in internal operations and brand image, across all of their restaurant locations in order to convey a sense of reliability to their customers. This sense of reliability coupled with a positive customer experience brings customers to place trust in the company. This sense of trust leads to increased customer loyalty which gives the company a source of recurring business. When a person is presented with a choice of different restaurants to eat at, it is much easier for them to stick with what they know, rather than to take a gamble and dive into the unknown.
Due to the importance of consistency, most companies set standards unifying their various restaurant locations with a set of common rules and regulations. Parent companies often rely on field representatives to ensure that the practices of franchised locations are consistent with the company's standards. However, the more locations a fast-food chain has, the harder it is for the parent company to guarantee that these standards are being followed. Moreover, it is much more expensive to discharge a franchisee for noncompliance with company standards, than it is to discharge an employee for that same reason. As a consequence, parent companies tend to deal with franchisee violations in a more relaxed manner.
Many companies also adapt to their different local areas to support the needs of the customers.Sometimes it is necessary for a franchisee to modify the way the restaurant/store runs to meet the needs of local customers.As referenced in Bodey's "Localization and Customer Retention for Franchise Service Systems" article, J. L. Bradach claims that a franchise will either use the tactical or strategic local response.Tactical applies to accounting for hiring of personnel and suppliers as well as financial decisions to adapt to the local customers.Strategic applies to the specific characteristics of the franchise that will change from the basic format followed by all to fit in the local area.
For the most part, someone visiting a McDonald's in the United States will have the same experience as someone visiting a McDonald's in Japan. The interior design, the menu, the speed of service, and the taste of the food will all be very similar. However, some differences do exist to tailor to particular cultural differences. For example, in October 2005 during a midst of plummeting sales in Japan, McDonald's added a shrimp burger to the Japanese menu.The choice to introduce a shrimp burger was no coincidence, as a 1989 study stated that world consumption of shrimp was "led by Japan."
In March 2010, Taco Bell opened their first restaurant in India. Because non-consumption of beef is a cultural norm in light of India'sDharmicbeliefs, Taco Bell had to tailor its menu to the dietary distinctions of Indian culture by replacing all of the beef with chicken. By the same token, completely meatless options were introduced to the menu due to the prevalence of vegetarianism throughout the country.
Multinational corporations typically modify their menus to cater to local tastes, and most overseas outlets are owned by native franchisees. McDonald's inIndia, for example, uses chicken andpaneerrather than beef and pork in their burgers becauseHinduismtraditionally forbids eating beef. InIsraelsome McDonald's restaurants arekosherand respect theJewishShabbat; there is also akosherMcDonald's inArgentina. InEgypt,Indonesia,Morocco,Saudi Arabia,Malaysia,Pakistan, andSingapore, all menu items arehalal.
Many fast-food operations have more local and regional roots, such as White Castle in the Midwest United States, along withHardee's(owned byCKE Restaurants, which also ownsCarl's Jr., whose locations are primarily on the United States West Coast);Krystal,Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits,Cook Out, andZaxby'srestaurants in the American Southeast;Raising Cane'sin Louisiana and other mostly Southern states;Hot 'n Nowin Michigan and Wisconsin;In-N-Out Burger(in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Texas, with a few locations in Oregon) andOriginal Tommy'schains in Southern California;Dick's Drive-Inin Seattle, Washington andArctic CircleinUtahand other western states;Halo Burgeraround Flint, Michigan andBurgervillein the Portland, Oregon area. Also,Whataburgeris a popular burger chain in the American South, andJack in the Boxis located in the West and South. Canada pizza chainsTopper's PizzaandPizza Pizzaare primarily located inOntario. Coffee chainCountry Styleoperates only in Ontario, and competes with the famous coffee and donut chainTim Hortons.Maid-Riterestaurant is one of the oldest chain fast-food restaurants in the United States. Founded in 1926, their specialty is a loose meat hamburger. Maid-Rites can be found in the midwest - mainly Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Missouri.
International brands dominant in North America include McDonald's, Burger King andWendy's, the number three burger chain in the USA;Dunkin' Donuts, aNew England–based chain; automobile orientedSonic Drive-In's fromOklahoma City;Starbucks, Seattle-born coffee-based fast-food beverage corporation; KFC andTaco Bell, which are both part of the largest restaurant conglomerate in the world,Yum! Brands; andDomino's Pizza, apizzachain known for popularizing home delivery of fast food.
Subwayis known for their sub sandwiches and are the largest restaurant chain to serve such food items.Quiznosa Denver-based sub shop is another fast-growing sub chain, yet with over 6,000 locations it is still far behind Subway's 34,000 locations. Other smaller sub shops includeBlimpie,Jersey Mike's Subs, Mr. Goodcents,Jimmy John's,Potbelly Sandwich Shop,Penn Station, andFirehouse.
A&W Restaurantswas originally a United States and Canada fast-food brand, but it is currently an International fast-food corporation in several countries.
In Canada the majority of fast-food chains are American owned or were originally American owned but have since set up a Canadian management/headquarters locations such asPanera Bread,Chipotle Mexican Grill,Five Guys, andCarl's Jr.Although the case is usually American fast-food chains expanding into Canada, Canadian chains such as Tim Hortons have expanded into 22 states in the United States, but are more prominent in border states such as New York andMichigan.  Tim Hortons has started to expand to other countries outside of North America. ThePita Pitfranchise originated in Canada and has expanded to the United States and other Countries.  The CanadianExtreme Pitafranchise sells low fat and saltpitasandwiches with stores in the larger Canadian cities. Other Canadian fast-food chains such asManchu Wokserve North American styleAsianfoods; this company is located mainly in Canada and the US, with other outlets on US military bases on other continents.Harvey'sis a Canadian-only burger restaurant chain, present in every province.
Australia's fast-food market began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the opening of several American franchises including KFC (1967),Pizza Hut(1970), and McDonald's (1971),followed byBurger King. However, the Burger King market found that this name was already a registered trademark to a takeaway food shop inAdelaide.Thus, the Burger King Australian market was forced to pick another name, selecting theHungry Jack'sbrand name. Prior to this, the Australian fast-food market consisted primarily of privately owned take-away shops.
InNew Zealand, the fast-food market began in the 1970s with KFC (opened 1971), Pizza Hut (1974), and McDonald's (1976),and all three remain popular today. Burger King and Domino's entered the market later in the 1990s. Australian pizza chainsEagle BoysandPizza Havenalso entered the market in the 1990s, but their New Zealand operations were later sold to Pizza Hut and Domino's.
A few fast-food chains have been founded in New Zealand, includingBurger Fuel(founded 1995),Georgie Pie(founded 1977, but closed 1998 after falling into financial trouble and being bought out by McDonald's) andHell Pizza(founded 1996).
The United Kingdom's signature type of fast-food restaurant is afish and chip shop, which specializes infish and chipsand also other foods such askebabsand burgers. Fish and chip shops are usually owned independently.
Burger brands likeWimpyremain,although the majority of branches became Burger King in 1989.
In theNetherlands, walk-up fast-food restaurants withautomatiek, a typical Dutch vending machine, are found throughout the country, most notably inAmsterdam. In this automatic format, a counter is available for purchasingFrench fries,beverages,krokets,frikandellen,kaassoufflésandhamburgersand other snacks can be bought from theautomats.FEBOis one of the largest of such types of fast-food restaurants with automats.
In addition to home-grown chains such asSupermac's, numerous American chains such as McDonald's and Burger King have also established a presence in Ireland. In 2015, a study developed byTreated.comwas published in theIrish Times, which namedSwordsinCounty Dublinas Ireland's 'fast-food capital'.
Bageterie Boulevardis a Czech fast food chain, headquartered in Prague, which began in 2003 with the opening of its first location in the Dejvice district. Today, the brand operates numerous restaurants in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
American chains such asDomino's Pizza,McDonald's,Pizza Hut, andKFChave a big presence in Japan, but localgyudonchains such asSukiya,MatsuyaandYoshinoyaalso blanket the country.  Japan has its own burger chains includingMOS Burger,LotteriaandFreshness Burger.
Notable Taiwanese fast-food restaurants include85C Bakery Cafe,TKK Fried Chicken, and Bafang Dumpling.
The major fast-food chains in India that serve American fast food are KFC, McDonald's, Starbucks, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Dominos. Most of these have had to make a lot of changes to their standard menus to cater to Indian food habits and taste preferences. Some emerging Indian food chains includeWow! Momo,Haldiram's,Faaso'sandCafé Coffee Day.
Food habits vary widely across states within India. While typicalidlianddosais fast food in Southern India, in Maharashtra it ismisal-pav,pav-bhaji, andpoha. Further north in Punjab and Haryana,chole-bhatureare very popular and in Bihar and Jharkhandlitti-chokhais their staple fast food.
Fast food In Pakistan varies. There are many international chains serving fast food, includingNandos, Burger King, KFC, McDonald's,Domino's Pizza,Fatburger, Dunkin' Donuts, Subway, Pizza Hut, Hardee's,Telepizza,Steak EscapeandGloria Jean's Coffees. In addition to the international chains, in local cuisine people in Pakistan like to havebiryani,bun kebabs,Nihari, kebab rolls etc. as fast food.
In the Philippines, fast-food is the same as in the US. However, the only difference is that they serve Filipino dishes and a few American products being served Filipino-style.Jollibeeis the leading fast-food chain in the country with 1,000 stores nationwide.
Most international fast-food chains like Subway, McDonald's, Burger King etc. are represented in major Russian cities. There are also local chains likeTeremokspecializing inRussian cuisineor having elements of it added into their menu.
Saudi Arabia has many international fast-food chains including KFC, Burger King, McDonald's and many others. However, the most popular fast-food restaurant of Saudi Arabia isAlbaik.Saudis regardAlbaikas better than KFC.
In Hong Kong, although McDonald's and KFC are quite popular, three major local fast-food chains provide Hong Kong-style fast food, namelyCafé de Coral,Fairwood, andMaxim MX. Café de Coral alone serves more than 300,000 customers daily.Unlike western fast-food chains, these restaurants offer four different menus at different times of the day, namely breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner.Siu meiis offered throughout the day.
Dai pai dongand traditionalHong Kong street foodmay be considered close relatives of the conventional fast-food outlet.
InIsrael, local burger chainBurger Ranchis popular as are McDonald's and Burger King. Domino's Pizza is also a popular fast-food restaurant. Chains like McDonald's offerkosherbranches. Intrinsically non-kosher foods such ascheeseburgersare rare in Israeli fast-food chains, even in non-kosher branches. There are many small local fast-food chains that servepizza,hamburgers,sushiand local foods such ashummus,falafelandshawarma.
InNigeria,Mr. Bigg's,Chicken Republic,Tantalizers, andTastee Fried Chickenare the predominant fast-food chains.KFCandDomino's Pizzahave recently entered the country.
KFC is the most popular fast-food chain in South Africa according to a 2010Sunday Timessurvey.Chicken Licken,WimpyandOcean Basketalong withNando's,SteersandHungry Lionare examples of homegrown franchises that are highly popular within the country. McDonald's, Subway and Pizza Hut have a significant presence within South Africa.
Some of the large fast-food chains are beginning to incorporate healthier alternatives in their menu, e.g., white meat, snack wraps, salads, and fresh fruit. However, some people see these moves as atokenisticand commercial measure, rather than an appropriate reaction to ethical concerns about the world ecology and people's health. McDonald's announced that in March 2006, the chain would include nutritional information on the packaging of all of its products.
In September and October 2000, during theStarlink corn recalls, up to $50 million worth of corn-based foods were recalled from restaurants as well as supermarkets. The products contained Starlinkgenetically modified cornthat was not approved for human consumption.It was the first-ever recall of agenetically modified food.The environmental groupFriends of the Earththat had first detected the contaminated shells was critical of the FDA for not doing its own job.
Fast food is commonly blamed for the obesity epidemic in the United States today.60% of Americans today are either overweight or obese.With obesity especially being seen among children, places like McDonald's and other fast-food restaurants take the majority of the blame.34% of children and adolescents consume fast food on any given day, while 80% of children claim that McDonald's is their favorite place to eat at.The number of children and adolescents as well as adults eating out every day is only seen to progress and rise.Research concludes that  children and adolescents ranging from twelve to nineteen years old consume twice as many calories from fast-food restaurants than children ranging from two to eleven years old.
The FDA found that trans fats raises the amount of cholesterol in blood, which raises the chance of developing heart disease which is known as one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.In a recent study, it was found that 11 out of 25 restaurants failed after tests on the use of antibiotics as well.Antibiotic-resistant infections affect at least 2 million Americans each year, which will leave at least 23,000 of those people to die.
Fast-food outlets have become popular with consumers for several reasons. One is that througheconomies of scalein purchasing and producing food, these companies can deliver food to consumers at a very low cost. In addition, although some people dislike fast food for its predictability, it can be reassuring to a hungry person in a hurry or far from home.At the same time, standardized service processes ensure a consistent experience across locations, which is attractive to consumers.
In the post-World War II period in the United States, fast-food chains like McDonald's rapidly gained a reputation for their cleanliness, fast service, and a child-friendly atmosphere where families on the road could grab a quick meal.Prior to the rise of the fast-food chain restaurant, people generally had a choice betweendinerswhere the quality of the food was often questionable and service lacking, or high-end restaurants that were expensive and impractical for families with children.The modern, stream-lined convenience of the fast-food restaurant provided a new alternative and appealed to Americans' instinct for ideas and products associated with progress, technology, and innovation.Fast-food restaurants rapidly became the eatery "everyone could agree on", with many featuring child-size menu combos, play areas, and whimsical branding campaigns, like the iconicRonald McDonald, designed to appeal to younger customers. Parents could have a few minutes of peace while children played or amused themselves with the toys included in theirHappy Meal.  There is a long history offast-food advertisingcampaigns, many of which are directed at children.
Fast-food marketinglargely focuses on children and teenagers. Popular methods of advertising include television, product placement in toys, games, educational materials, songs, and movies, character licensing and celebrity endorsements, and websites.Advertisements targeting children mainly focus on free toys, movie tie-ins and other giveaways.Fast-food restaurants use kid's meals with toys, kid friendly mascots, vibrant colors, and play areas to draw children toward their products. . Children's power over their parents' purchases is estimated to total $300 to $500 billion every year.Fast food has become a part of American culture as a reward for children. To deny a child "desirable things" such as the advertised fast-food restaurant can cause stigmatization of parents as the "mean parent" when it is common among other parents to comply with their child's desires.
The major focus on children by the fast-food industry has created controversy due to the rising issue of child obesity in America.As a result of this focus, in 2008 a coalition was created and run by the Council of Better Business Bureaus called Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative(CFBAI), to stop ads aimed at children or to promote only what the council dubs "better-for- you" products in ads directed towards children.However, it was not until 2011 that Congress requested guidelines be put in place by the CFBAI, FDA, Agriculture Department, and Centers for Disease Control. There are two basic requirements identified in the guidelines for foods that are advertised for children: (1) The food has to include healthful ingredients; (2) The food can't contain unhealthful amounts of sugar, Saturated fat, Trans fat, and salt. The guidelines are voluntary but companies experience heavy pressure to comply. Once a company complies they have 5–10 years to comply with the guidelines.Many fast-food industries have started to comply with the guidelines. Although many companies have ways to go. In 2012 the fast-food industry spent $4.6 billion to advertise unhealthy products to children and teens according to a report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.There are points of progress that include healthier sides and beverages in most fast-food restaurant kids' meals.The guidelines are interested in a healthier lifestyle for children and the growing problem of American obesity.
While it may not be so obvious today, fast food is on its way to healthier foods and menus.Some businesses have taken off and had success in this market with healthy foods and due to many health concerns and fast-food stereotypes, it is emerging as an expected thing.According to Jason Daley, healthful fast-food takeoff is explained by the fact that it has "ceased to be a thing-now, it's simply expected."
In other parts of the world, American and American-style fast-food outlets have been popular for their quality, customer service, and novelty, even though they are often the targets of popular anger towards American foreign policy or globalization more generally. Many consumers nonetheless see them as symbols of the wealth, progress, and well-ordered openness of Western society and they therefore become trendy attractions in many cities around the world, particularly among younger people with more varied tastes.
Over time, fast-food restaurants have been growing rapidly, especially in urban neighborhoods. According to US research, low-income and predominantly African-American neighborhoods have greater exposure to fast-food outlets than higher income and predominantly white areas.This has put into question whether urbanized neighborhoods were targeted, which causes a more unhealthy group of people compared to people from a higher socioeconomic status. It has also been shown that there is a lower chance of finding a fast-food restaurant in a suburban neighborhood. In a study of selected US locations, Morland et al. (2002) found the number of fast-food restaurants and bars was inversely proportional to the wealth of the neighborhood, and that predominantly African-American residential areas were four times less likely to have a supermarket near them than predominantly white areas.
The introduction of thehalaloption by some fast-food companies saw the expansion of fast-food chains into Muslim majority countries has resulted in a rise of restaurant options in non-western nations and has also increased revenue for some western restaurant chains.Some outlets offering Halal options include KFC, Nando's, Pizza Express, and Subway. McDonald's carried out a trial but decided that the cost of operations would be too high.There have also been court cases involving start-up businesses during attempts to alter the halal-certified method by machine killing, which is against the beliefs of some Muslims.However, the trend towards halal has been unpopular in some communities which have at times resulted in internet petitions.
The fast-food industry is a popular target for critics, from anti-globalization activists likeJosé Bovéto vegetarian activist groups such asPETAas well as the workers themselves. A number offast-food worker strikesoccurred in the United States in the 2010s.
In his best-selling 2001 bookFast Food Nation, investigative journalistEric Schlosserleveled a broad,socioeconomiccritique against the fast-food industry, documenting how fast food rose from small, family-run businesses (like the McDonald brothers' burger joint) into large, multinational corporate juggernauts whoseeconomies of scaleradically transformed agriculture, meat processing, and labor markets in the late twentieth century. Schlosser argues that while the innovations of the fast-food industry gave Americans more and cheaper dining options, it has come at the price of destroying the environment, economy, and small-town communities of rural America while shielding consumers from the real costs of their convenient meal, both in terms of health and the broader impact of large-scale food production and processing on workers, animals, and land.
The fast-food industry is popular in the United States, the source of most of its innovation, and many major international chains are based there. Seen as symbols of US dominance and perceivedcultural imperialism, American fast-food franchises have often been the target ofAnti-globalizationprotests and demonstrations against the US government. In 2005, for example, rioters inKarachi,Pakistan, who were initially angered because of the bombing of aShiitemosque, destroyed a KFC restaurant.
In August 2002, a group of overweight children in New York City filed a class-action lawsuit against McDonald's Corporation seeking compensation for obesity-related health problems, improved nutritional labeling of McDonald's products, and funding for a program to educate consumers about the dangers of fast food. This provoked an intense, mostly negative response in the media with columnists calling this case a "cartoon of a lawsuit".
This kind of litigation raises the important question of who, if anyone, ought to be held accountable for the economic and public health consequences of obesity.
In 2003, McDonald's was sued in a New York court by a family who claimed that the restaurant chain was responsible for their teenagedaughter's obesityand attendant health problems. By manipulating food's taste, sugar and fat content, and directing theiradvertising to children, the suit argued that the company purposely misleads the public about the nutritional value of its product. A judge dismissed the case, but the fast-food industry disliked the publicity of its practices, particularly the way it targets children in its advertising.Although further lawsuits have not materialized, the issue is kept alive in the media and political circles by those promoting the need fortort reform.
In response to this, the "Cheeseburger Bill"was passed by the US House of Representatives in 2004; it later stalled in the US Senate. The law was reintroduced in 2005, only to meet the same fate. This law was claimed to "[ban] frivolous lawsuits against producers and sellers of food and non-alcoholic drinks arising fromobesityclaims."
The bill arose because of an increase in lawsuits against fast-food chains by people who claimed that eating their productsmadethem obese, disassociating themselves from any of the blame.