Essay Example on Exploring the Fast-Food Industry: From 1921 to Today

Introduction

The fast-food industry is one of the most famous restaurants in the United States, and it was established in the year 1921. The food industry is also known because it has various varieties of food. The food that is offered includes fried fish, fried chicken, and hamburgers. The structural appearance of the industry is drawn from its physical outlook. The industry has been constructed in a way that it consists of a counter that enables different customers to order for food of their own choice. Condiments have also been constructed at a central part of the building that is normally used by different customers who are in a hurry. The fast-food industry has several uniqueness as compared with other industries. One of the uniqueness of the fast-food industry is its ability to meet customers' satisfaction, for instance, providing its services by faster means and through the use of affordable restaurant chains. The other unique feature of the industry is its capability of offering services conveniently, thus emphasizing on time, especially on individuals who are entitled to a short break. The paper will discuss in detail the arguments for and against the fast-food industry in the United States. It will also highlight the socio-economic advantages and disadvantages of the fast-food industry.

The Argument for Fast-food Industry in the United States

The following reasons support my argument for the fast-food industry in the US;

Firstly, the fast-food industry is keen on the issue of time because the industry offers its services more quickly, thus enabling people to catch up with their time, especially those who have a short break. In terms of cost, the industry offers its products at affordable prices, which has helped to reduce the problem of a wide gap between the rich and the poor.

I also support the fast-food industry because it offers various choices of food. Through the provision of several choices of food, it gives people chances of choosing food; for instance, men prefer eating their food at lunch time, whereas women take fast food at an interval time (Sagala, Destriani, Putri, & Kumar, 2014). The existence of choice will, therefore, promote self-satisfaction. Various choices also promote the good health of the people as they will order for the food that best suits their bodies, thus encouraging faster growth.

The fast-food industry prepares delicious food that ranges from Chinese to American food, thus attracting more people across the world. Also, the fast-food industry adheres to hygienic measures by ensuring thorough cleanliness in their surroundings, therefore creating a favorable environment that enables people to take their food comfortably.

Moreover, the industry brings different families and friends together, thus promoting socialization. Parents, guardians, and friends can meet and discuss the issues affecting them. Also, critics of Fast food do argue that the food industry offers background information on nutrition. The data provided by the fast-food industry about nutrition will, therefore, give people an alert on the best food to eat.

The Argument Against Fast-food industry in the United States

Despite the numerous advantages of the fast-food industry, the following reasons, however, supports my arguments against the industry;

The fast-food industry is one of the major threats, especially on individual health, as it may expose one to health-related diseases, for example, the cardiovascular disease that is normally caused by a high intake of sodium. The industry has failed to consider this problem since most of its foods are prepared at a faster rate, as it is trying to catch up with time, thus leading to unwell cooked food. The improperly cooked food will, therefore, have some impacts on individual health by undermining the healthy growth of the body and also creating a barrier for secondary infection of other diseases, for instance, diabetes and infertility.

The fast-food industry rarely put concern on animal health. The industry has set aside less space where animals that are intended to be slaughtered stays. As a result of little space in animal cages, there is a lot of congestion, and this has contributed to the build-up of viruses that normally undermines the normal health of these animals. Animal diseases may also be transmitted to the human being through feces and if the meat is undercook. Less spacious may expose animals to environmental stress. Debeaking in poultry is one of the environmental stress that is usually caused by overcrowding.

Also, the fast-food industry rarely emphasizes the issue of employees' wages. The industry provides inadequate wages to their workers, and this has become a major problem for the employees because they are not able to gather for their basic needs adequately ( Belman, & Wolfson, 2014). The industry has also failed to reach the employer's satisfaction since there are witnessed cases of strikes and protests from the workers as they are trying to air out the challenges affecting them.

Chances of pollution in the environment is another factor that makes fast food industry inappropriate. The industry pollutes the environment by allowing overcrowding of animals waiting for slaughtering in small areas, therefore, leading to environmental pollution such as soil erosion as they are trying to fit into the available space.

Economic impact Fast-Food Industry

The fast-food industry has positively impacted the economy of the United States through income generation. The industry provides revenue to the US government through tax, thus improving the economy throughout the country. Also, income generated from the industry has been used to open up other financial businesses. The industry has also created job opportunities for the citizens of the US who are among the contributors to economic growth.

Social Impacts of the Fast-Food Industry

The fast-food industry has positively affected people in various ways. Unity is one of the ways that has resulted after the emergency of the fast-food industry because the industry has enabled families and close friends from different parts of the world to meet together thereby enabling them to exchange their ideas. (Brown & Brewster, 2015). Also, the socialization of people has been brought about by the existence of music in the restaurant. Music that is found in the restaurant has played a key role by attracting more customers because it serves as entertainment to some people.

Other disadvantages of the fast-food industry

The fast-food industry has several demerits ranking from its obsession to addition. The issue of obsession comes in because the food is cheap and has good taste hence making people need more and more of it until they become obsessed with it. The obsessive nature of the people towards food has resulted in the issue of addiction. The intake of fast food has also led to health-related diseases, for instance, obesity (Shori, Albaik, & Bokhari, 2017). Obesity results from overeating of certain food, and it has negatively impacted the growth of the people due to the sudden increase in body weight. Also, obesity has created a barrier for other health diseases, for example, diabetes that if not treated, a person may end up losing his/her life. The fast-food industry is also disadvantageous to the Americans because it provides manual work, and it pays their workers fewer wages that cannot sustain their daily livings.

Conclusion

In summary, the fast-food industry is as much important as any other industry in the United States because of the benefits it brings to both the individuals and the economy. However, it is faced with some challenges, as discussed in the paper. The argument for the fast-food industry is that it is cheap to afford by the majority of the people. The convenience of their services has enabled people to reach it. The opponent of fast food also agrees that the provision of food at a low price has helped to eliminate a wide gap between the rich and the poor. The fast-food industry also provides its services more quickly, thus emphasizing on time. Proponents view fast food as better meals for the people since it offers various choices, thus allowing individuals to get access to the food of their choices. The fast-food industry is also keen on the issue of hygiene since the entire staff ensures there is a though cleanliness in the restaurant as a way of attracting more customers. The opponent of the fast-food industry complains that most of their food are the contributors to most of the health diseases, for instance, obesity, diabetes, and infertility. The opponents of the fast-food industry also argue that fast food has an addictive nature. Obsession is another issue that has been raised by those who criticize fast food because most people will tend to become obsessed with the intake of food due to its good taste.

References

Belman, D., & Wolfson, P. J. (2014). The new minimum wage research. Employment Research Newsletter, 21(2), 2.

Brown, D. R., & Brewster, L. G. (2015). The food environment is a complex social network. Social Science & Medicine, 133, 202-204.

Sagala, C., Destriani, M., Putri, U. K., & Kumar, S. (2014). Influence of promotional mix and price on customer buying decision toward fast food sector: a survey on university students in jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi) Indonesia. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(1), 1-7.

Shori, A. B., Albaik, M., & Bokhari, F. M. (2017). Fast-food consumption and increased body mass index as risk factors for weight gain and obesity in Saudi Arabia. Obesity Medicine, 8, 1-5.