Fast food is a type of Mass production food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. Fast food is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredients and served in packaging for take-out or takeaway. Fast food was created as a commercial strategy to accommodate large numbers of busy commuters, travelers and Wage. In 2018, the fast-food industry was worth an estimated $570 billion globally.
The fastest form of "fast food" consists of pre-cooked meals which reduce waiting periods to mere seconds. Other fast-food outlets, primarily hamburger outlets such as McDonald's and Burger King, use mass-produced, pre-prepared ingredients (bagged buns and condiments, frozen beef patties, vegetables which are pre-washed, pre-sliced, or both; etc.) and cook the meat and french fries fresh, before assembling "to order".
Fast-food restaurants are traditionally distinguished by the drive-through. Outlets may be stands or , which may provide no shelter or seating,
; or fast-food restaurants (also known as quick-service restaurants). Franchising operations that are part of Chain store have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.Many fast foods tend to be high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories. Fast-food consumption has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, obesity, high cholesterol, insulin resistance conditions and Mood disorder. These correlations remain strong even when controlling for confounding lifestyle variables, suggesting a strong association between fast-food consumption and increased risk of disease and early mortality.
Thus, urbanites were encouraged to purchase pre-prepared meats or starches, such as bread or noodles, whenever possible. This also ensured that customers with strictly limited time (a commuter stopping to procure dinner to bring home to their family, for example, or an hourly laborer on a short lunch break) were not inconvenienced by waiting for their food to be cooked on-the-spot (as is expected from a traditional "sit down" restaurant). In Ancient Rome, cities had street stands—a large counter with a receptacle in the middle from which food or drink would have been served.
It was during post-WWII American economic boom that Americans began to spend more and buy more as the economy boomed and a culture of consumerism bloomed. As a result of this new desire to have it all, coupled with the strides made by women while the men were away, both members of the household began to work outside the home. Eating out, which had previously been considered a luxury, became a common occurrence, and then a necessity. Workers, and working families, needed quick service and inexpensive food for both lunch and dinner. The traditional family dinner is increasingly being replaced by the consumption of takeaway fast food. As a result, the time invested on food preparation is getting lower, with an average woman in the United States spending 47 minutes per day preparing food and the average man spending 19 minutes per day in 2013.
A blue plaque at Oldham's Tommyfield Market marks the origin of the fish and chip shop and fast food industries. As a cheap fast food served in a wrapper, fish and chips became a stock meal among the Victorian era working classes. Via the Industrial Revolution, the fish and chip business expanded rapidly in Britain during the 19th century to satisfy the needs of the growing industrial population. By 1910, there were more than 25,000 fish and chip shops across the UK, and in the 1920s there were more than 35,000 shops. Harry Ramsden's fast food restaurant chain opened its first fish and chip shop in Guiseley, West Yorkshire in 1928. On a single day in 1952, the shop served 10,000 portions of fish and chips, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records. "Harry Ramsden's famous original fish and chip shop faces closure after losses" . The Guardian. Retrieved January 6, 2018
British fast food had considerable regional variation. Sometimes the regionality of a dish became part of the culture of its respective area, such as the Cornish pasty and deep-fried Mars bar. The content of fast food pies has varied, with poultry (such as ) or Anatidae commonly being used. Since the Second World War, turkey has been used more frequently in fast food. The UK has adopted fast food from other cultures as well, such as pizza, doner kebab, and curry. More recently, healthier alternatives to conventional fast food have also emerged.
Franchising was introduced in 1921 by A&W Root Beer, which franchised its distinctive syrup. Howard Johnson's first franchised the restaurant concept in the mid-1930s, formally standardizing menus, signage and advertising.
Curb service was introduced in the late 1920s and was mobilized in the 1940s when strapped on roller skates.
The United States has the largest fast food industry in the world, and American fast food restaurants are located in over 100 countries. Approximately 5.4 million U.S. workers are employed in the areas of food preparation and food servicing, including fast food in the US as of 2018. Worries of an obesity epidemic and its related illnesses have inspired many local government officials in the United States to propose to limit or regulate fast-food restaurants. Yet, US adults are unwilling to change their fast food consumption even in the face of rising costs and unemployment characterized by the Great Recession, suggesting an inelastic demand. However, some areas are more affected than others. In Los Angeles County, for example, about 45% of the restaurants in South Central Los Angeles are fast-food chains or restaurants with minimal seating. By comparison, only 16% of those on the Westside are such restaurants.
In 2023, the median age of a fast-food worker was 22, and workers' wages make up about one third of the cost of operating a fast food restaurant.
Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten "on the go," often does not require traditional cutlery, and is eaten as a finger food. Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips, , , , fried chicken, french fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets, , pizza, , and ice cream, though many fast food restaurants offer "slower" foods like chili, mashed potatoes, and .
Multiple street vendors may specialize in specific types of food; typically, they are characteristic of a given cultural or ethnic tradition depending on the locale. In some cultures, it is typical for street vendors to call out prices, sing or chant sales-pitches, play music, or engage in other forms of "Street theatre" to engage prospective customers. In some cases, this can garner more attention than the food.
Because of commercial emphasis on quickness, uniformity and low cost, fast food products are often made with ingredients formulated to achieve a certain flavor or consistency and to preserve freshness.
Sushi has seen rapidly rising popularity recently in the Western world. A form of fast food created in Japan (where bentō is the Japanese variety of fast food), sushi is normally cold sticky rice flavored with a sweet rice vinegar and served with some topping (often fish), or, as in the most popular kind in the West, rolled in nori (dried green laver) with filling. The filling often includes fish, seafood, chicken or cucumber.
Pizza is a common fast food category in the United States, with nationwide chains including Papa John's, Domino's Pizza, Sbarro and Pizza Hut. It trails only the burger industry in supplying children's fast food calories. Menus are more limited and standardized than in traditional pizzerias, and pizza delivery is offered.
Kebab shop are a form of fast food restaurant from the Middle East, especially Turkey and Lebanon. Meat is shaven from a rotisserie, and is served on a warmed flatbread with salad and a choice of sauce and dressing. These or are distinct from served on sticks. Kebab shops are also found throughout the world, especially Europe, New Zealand and Australia but they generally are less common in the US.
Fish and chip shops are a form of fast food popular in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Fish is battered and then deep-fried, and served with deep-fried potato strips.
The Netherlands have their own types of fast food. A Dutch fast food meal often consists of a portion of french fries (called friet or patat) with a sauce and a meat product. The most common sauce to accompany french fries is fritessaus. It is a sweet, vinegary and low fat mayonnaise substitute, that the Dutch nevertheless still call "mayonnaise". When ordering it is very often abbreviated to met (literally "with"). Other popular sauces are ketchup or spiced ketchup ("curry"), Indonesian-style peanut sauce ("satésaus" or "pindasaus") or piccalilli. Sometimes the fries are served with combinations of sauces, most famously speciaal (special): mayonnaise, with (spiced) ketchup and chopped ; and oorlog (literally "war"): mayonnaise and peanut sauce (sometimes also with ketchup and chopped onions). The meat product is usually a deep-fried snack; this includes the frikandel (a deep-fried skinless Ground meat sausage), and the Croquette (deep-fried meat ragout covered in ).
In Portugal, there are some varieties of local fast-food and restaurants specialized in this type of local cuisine. Some of the most popular foods include frango assado (Piri-piri grilled chicken previously marinated), francesinha, francesinha poveira, espetada (turkey or pork meat on two sticks) and (pork cutlets in a specific sauce served as a sandwich). This type of food is also often served with french fries (called batatas fritas), some international chains started appearing specialized in some of the typical Portuguese fast food such as Nando's.
An example of a local form of fast food in Poland is pasztecik szczeciński, a deep-fried yeast dough stuffed with meat or vegetarian filling, typical fast food dish of the city of Szczecin well known in many other cities in the country. A dish is on Polish List of traditional products. The first bar serving pasztecik szczeciński, Bar "Pasztecik" founded in 1969, is located on Wojska Polskiego Avenue 46 in Szczecin.
A fixture of cities is the noodle shop. Flatbread and falafel are today ubiquitous in the Middle East. Popular Indian fast food dishes include vada pav, panipuri and dahi vada. In the French-speaking nations of West Africa, Street food in and around the larger cities continue to sell—as they have done for generations—a range of ready-to-eat, char-grilled meat sticks known locally as (not to be confused with the bread Snack food of the same name found in Europe)
In contrast to the rest of the world, American citizens spend a much smaller amount of their income on food — largely due to various government subsidies that make fast food cheap and easily accessible. Calorie for calorie, foods sold in fast food restaurants, costs less and is more energy-dense, and is made mostly of products that the government subsidizes heavily: corn, soy, and beef.
The Australian fast food market is valued at more than 2.7 billion GPB and is composed of 1.4 billion fast food meals. This includes meals serviced at 17,000 fast food outlets. The fast food market has experienced an average annual growth rate of 6.5 percent, which is the most rapidly growing sector of the retail food market.
One example of McDonald's expansion on a global scale was its introduction to the Russian market. In order for the American business to succeed it would have to be accepted and integrated into the daily lives of natives in Moscow. Thus, the restaurant was strategically implemented so that its offerings would align with the distinct and established eating habits, also known as the customs around food, eating and cooking, of Muscovites. One significant characteristic of Russian food culture is the emphasis on knowing about the locality of goods that are consumed. Essentially, in order to successfully launch this American brand in a foreign country, McDonald's interpreted the local interests of consumers in Moscow by promoting the origins of the produce used in the restaurant.Caldwell, Melissa L. "Domesticating the French Fry: McDonald’s and Consumerism in Moscow." Journal of Consumer Culture 4.1 (2004): 5–26. Web. January 30, 2017. On January 31, 1990, McDonald's opened a restaurant in Moscow and broke opening-day records for customers served.
The largest McDonald's in the world is located in Orlando, Florida, United States.
There are numerous other fast food restaurants located across the world. Burger King has more than 11,100 restaurants in more than 65 countries. KFC is located in 25 countries. Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with approximately 39,129 restaurants in 90 countries as of May 2009, the first non-US location opening in December 1984 in Bahrain. Wienerwald has spread from Germany into Asia and Africa. Pizza Hut is located in 97 countries, with 100 locations in China. Taco Bell has 278 restaurants located in 14 countries besides the United States.
The intake of fast food is increasing worldwide. A study done in the city of Jeddah has shown that current fast-food habits are related to the increase of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Saudi Arabia. In 2014, the World Health Organization published a study which claims that deregulated food markets are largely to blame for the obesity crisis, and suggested tighter regulations to reverse the trend. Study finds deregulation fuelling obesity epidemic . Reuters. February 2, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014. In the United States, local governments are restricting fast-food chains by limiting the number of restaurants found in certain geographical areas.
To combat criticism, fast-food restaurants are starting to offer more health-friendly menu items. In addition to health criticisms, there are suggestions for the fast-food industry to become more eco-friendly. The chains have responded by "reducing packaging waste".
Although trying to overcome criticism through healthy options on fast-food menus, Marion Nestle, who serves as the chair of New York University's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, suggests that fast-food industries intentionally market unhealthy foods to children through advertising options and therefore create customers for life.
Despite so much popularity, fast foods and fast-food chains have adverse impacts not only on the job and social skills, but on the health and academic performance of students. Fifty-six percent of students consume fast food on a weekly basis. The researcher who wrote Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser, highlights this fact, arguing that this is not only a financial but also a psychological bait, in that the students are lured towards this early employment opportunity knowing little that the time spent on this no-skill-learning job is wasted.Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. The Dark Side of All American Meals. Mariner Books. New York. 2012. Print. The dangerous impacts and consequences regarding the hiring and firing of teenage school-goers in the fast-food industry have also been a point of criticism of the fast-food industry.Hirschman, Charles, and Irina Voloshin. "The Structure of Teenage Employment: Social Background and the Jobs Held by High School Seniors". Research in social stratification and mobility 25.3 (2007): 189–203. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Web. November 13, 2015. Kelly Brownwell of The Atlantic has further supported this argument that Burger King and McDonald's adopted another dangerous practice for marketing to innocent children.Brownwell, Kelly. "Are Children Prey for Fast Food Companies?" The Atlantic. The Atlantic. November 8, 2008. Web. November 13, 2015.
Also, the percentage of the students having consumed fast food and showed poor grades was around 11 percent more than those who used organic foods. They are of the view that other social factors such as television-watching, video games and playing were controlled to assess the real impacts of fast foods.
There have been books and films, such as the 2004 film Super Size Me, designed to highlight the potential negative health effects from the overconsumption of fast food, such as its contribution to obesity.
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