This essay is about the success of fast food in American lifestyle

Essay by blondystarr17High School, 12th gradeA-, December 2003

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The Success of Fast Food Restaurants

The "Golden Arches" are an internationally known fast food icon. As one satisfies his hunger at the corner of a major intersection, he knows exactly what to expect: the cheap, yet flavored hamburger; seasoned fries, and an enormous soft drink. The market for fast food is an enormous commodity; today is a perfect example of the demand for consistently inexpensive and desirable meals. Fast-food restaurants have succeeded because they provide inexpensive fast food catered to the American lifestyle despite negative health aspects.

Fast Food is easy and cheap, especially when compared to the more prestigious and, as a consequence, much more expensive cuisine. Perhaps the best example of the inexpensiveness of fast food is the McDonald's dollar menu, which is filled with unbelievably low prices, appealing to the average American. Imagine feeding a whole family for fewer than ten dollars. This is possible because of the "McJob," a new word that categorizes any low paying job with little chance of advancements or upward mobility.

Minimum wage jobs allow franchise owners to have a low overhead, which in return causes low costing and poor quality food.

America, as opposed to most of Europe, is always rushed. The average working week is forty hours, with maybe forty-fi ve minutes as a lunch break. This is not enough time for a lavish lunch, leaving fast food as the menu of the day. Americans, who live to work, will often bring home fast food as an alternative to the time consuming process of preparing dinner. Fast food is targeted to cater to the speed of an on-the-go American. The popular quote "In, out, and on your way" describes exactly how convenient fast food truly is. Now one doesn't need to go the lengths of in and...