We have to let go of our infantile attachments to food if we are to take back control of our health. Not that we are acting like whiny kids who only get their way whenever they want. Instead, I’m saying that we’ve grown dependent on children’s food.
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Although hamburgers were initially popularized in the United States in the early 20th century, White Castle, the nation’s first fast-food restaurant chain, debuted in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, offering hamburgers for one nickel in addition to side orders of fries and cokes. White Castle prospered, but our country didn’t start its transition to become a fast-food nation until the end of World War II.
The goal of the McDonald brothers’ fast-food hamburger restaurant design was to lower manufacturing costs and expedite the food preparation process. Their restaurant, which was designed like an octagon and debuted in 1945 in San Bernardino, California, further reduced operational expenses by doing away with the necessity for waiters. McDonald’s made $275,000 in 1951, which at the time was an unprecedented sum of money for a tiny business.
McDonald’s gained notoriety through their choice to franchise their concept and their iconic Golden Arches building. There were 100 franchisees in operation nationwide by 1960. However, Ray Kroc, an equipment salesman who provided service to McDonald’s, acquired the company and expanded it to unprecedented heights of prosperity.
By 1990, fast food had taken over the American landscape, with 11,800 McDonald’s, 6,298 Burger Kings, and 3,721 Wendy’s, among many more latecomers to the fast-food industry. more pioneers in the industry were Wendy’s and Burger King.
More than 50 million Americans are fed daily by more than 160,000 fast-food restaurants, which bring in more than $110 billion in revenue yearly.
What do we make of all these data, numbers, and statistics? The correlation between the increase in fast food consumption and the deterioration of our health is not coincidental. More Americans than ever are bingeing on calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods, drinks, and sweets in place of home-cooked meals and opting for fast food and snacks. We now consume more calories from pizza, burgers, fries, and desserts than from home-cooked meals over the course of the previous 25 years.
Surveys conducted by the US government in 1977–1978; 1989–1991; and 1994–1996 show a concerning trend: with each poll, the proportion of Americans eating fast food and snack items as part of their daily diet increased. The studies also revealed that Americans now favor quick, simple, high-calorie goodies like pizza, potato chips, and cookies over actual food, as well as snacking over sit-down meals. Since the 1970s, the consumption of fast food and restaurants has more than quadrupled among those aged 19 to 39. “Foods that are high in energy but low in nutrients now make up more than 30% of the energy (calorie) intake of American children,” according to a study conducted by Dr. Ashima Kant of City University of New York.
More than 25% of Americans eat at fast-food restaurants at some point in the day. In a comparatively short amount of time, this sector has changed not just the way we eat but also our economic and cultural milieu.
Americans are spending more money on fast food than they are on computers, new vehicles, and higher education put together because there are fast food businesses in every public space, including hospital lobbies and airports! A generation ago, ingredients for home cooking accounted for more than three-quarters of food expenditures. Nowadays, food consumed outside the home accounts for more than half of food expenditures.
McDonald’s employs more people than any other company, public or private, and adds new locations at a rate of 2,000 each year. It is the world’s biggest buyer of potatoes, pigs, and beef and the biggest owner of retail real estate. According to Eric Schlosser, the author of “Fast Food Nation,” the company has become the most well-known brand in the world through massive advertising efforts that target every demographic imaginable, with the Golden Arches being more recognizable than the Christian cross.
The nation’s top employer of minimum-wage workers is the fast-food sector; the only other business with lower pay is migrant agricultural laborers. Fast-food chains sit atop massive industrial complexes that have supplanted family farms with industrial farms with distant corporate owners. The food is produced in massive central kitchens, and the tastes originate from chemical companies along the New Jersey Turnpike.
It took time for the obesity pandemic of today to develop. The National Bureau of Economic Research states that shortly after World War II, Americans’ weight started to rise in a typically steady manner. Less than 10% of Americans were overweight or obese in the 1950s. The numbers increased as processed meals and fast-food outlets began to dominate our diets. America’s obesity rate reached 15% by 1975, about the time McDonald’s launched the drive-through window. The number of overweight people has increased dramatically since then, with obesity rates already at 32%.