Dylana Lockwood Eng250H; Section HA; McGough Due: December 12, 2013 Fast Food on the Rise According

to Business Insider, McDonalds restaurants across the world serve sixtytwo million people every day (Lubin and Badkar). This number is more than the population of Italy (Italy Population 2013). Americans around the world are resorting to fast food restaurants to serve them breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Health critics everywhere cringe when thinking about the grams of fat from a single McDonalds or Taco Bell meal. Despite the lack of nutritional benefits, the fast food industry has sky rocketed for many reasons. In 2013, Huffington Post reported that 8 out of 10 Americans eat fast food one or more times on a monthly basis. Figure 1 exhibits statistics on frequencies of eating at a fast food restaurant among various groups of people. The most common response to why people choose a fast food restaurant over cooking for themselves is because fast food is just that: fast. It is much quicker to go through a drive-through than it is to go to the grocery store, buy food, and prepare it at home (Tepper). Preparation for a meal can take hours, depending on how many people will be eating and what kind of food they are cooking. In opposition, employees
Figure 1: Fast food eating frequencies are measured on a weekly and monthly basis among select groups
Source: Dugan, Andrew

at McDonalds are required to prioritize people waiting in the drive through. If the customers meal is not

2 Lockwood prepared within two minutes, the order screen flashes red and the employee risks getting in trouble with the manager. Service at fast food chains is naturally faster than eating at home. With over 160,000 fast food restaurants across the United States, it is more convenient and accessible to eat out (Fast Food Statistics). For a busy businessman or mom on the go, it is easier to swing through a fast food restaurant than it is to wake up and worry about what to pack for a lunch or what items they need to get at the grocery store. With copious numbers of fast food restaurants, people pass multiple fast food restaurants on their way to work or on the way to or from dropping their kids off at soccer practice. Mothers have to face obstacles when preparing dinner when they have more than one child. One child may want macaroni and cheese while the other is begging for chicken nuggets. An easy solution is to go out for fast food. With an extensive menu varying from chicken nuggets to salads and a variety of sides, fast food restaurants are the perfect place for picky children. Amongst the many options fast food services provide, mothers are not forced to pick one meal to cook for the whole family. In this generation, people are always looking for a way to save money. As seen in Figure 2, McDonalds has a dollar menu. Wendys gives their customers Right Price Right Size options. At Taco Bell, they feature a Why Pay More! section in their menu. These types of menus have cheaper selections from every category such as main entrees, sides, specialty drinks, and desserts. Even off the main menu, people would rather pay $7.99 for a double cheeseburger, fries, and a Coca-Cola than $19 for a steak dinner or a $30 grocery bill. Overall, fast food proves to be cheaper than general restaurants or
Figure 2: McDonalds features a dollar menu including fries, burgers, & drinks
Source: The Day the Dollar Menu Died

buying a whole meal from a grocery store to prepare at home. Not turned away by obvious nutritional deficiencies, people love and order fast food daily. Busy mothers, workers, and teens everywhere look to fast food restaurants as a quick, convenient, and accessible place to eat. Including a plethora of items on the menu, everyone in the family can be satisfied. Fast food restaurants prove to be cheaper than an average meal elsewhere thanks to the commonly known dollar menu. Fast food chains are a booming industry in this generation and do not seem to be going anywhere but up in the future.

4 Lockwood

Works Cited Dugan, Andrew. "Fast Food Still Major Part of U.S. Diet." Well Being. Gallup, 6 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Fast Food Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. Pew Research Center, 20 Apr. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. "Italy Population 2013." World Population Statistics. Mantra, 5 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Lubin, Gus, and Mamta Badkar. "18 Facts About McDonald's That Will Blow Your Mind." Business Insider. N.p., 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Tepper, Rachel. "8 Out Of 10 Americans Eat Fast Food At Least Once A Month, Says Gallup Poll." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. "The Day the Dollar Menu Died" N.d. Photograph. HeadHunterBrain, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.