HW # 3

Overall I see fast food as a part of the growth of society. While the way of life for people today becomes faster paced, food must follow up as well. While working 12 hours a day we don't have time to go hunt down animals for dinner or lunch, and this is where fast food comes in. Life moves fast these days, especially for people living in an urban environment and in order to maintain a flowing society we need other things to accelerate as well. Fast food chains such as McDonalds first started off as an ordinary drive in restaurant (http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history.html McDonald’s timeline) and gradually morphed into what we have today. Its success only started after 1948 when it became a self-service drive in restaurant, the first step into fast food.

What makes fast food so successful is the convenience of food being brought right away as well as the drive thru option that many fast food chains’s offer. Like technology, fast food is an improvement in the life of people who enjoy the least time consuming options which is the majority of people in the world. Another factor that enabled the fast food business to bloom was the location in which it was made most popular, the United States. The society in America is generally controlled my materialistic views that are created by the media. We enjoy new stuff, things that make life easier, things that don't require us to excessively use up all of our stamina.

The difference that separates organic places like the greenmarket in Union Sq. and fast food is taste and availability. Fast food is everywhere especially in major cities like New York. Every corner you turn you see a McDonalds or a KFC, if not at least an advertisement that displays their new Double Quarter Pounder burger which you can't resist to take your eye's off. I personally love food that is served at the market, especially the chocolate milk that they have or at least used to have; it also makes me feel healthy when knowing that they use organic ingredients. The only downside is that I don't always have time to get food at the market nor is it always there and prepared, but McDonalds is always there and I never have to worry about what they have left. In conclusion fast food chains have money allowing them to market in ways that the greenmarket will never be able to do as well as the health benefits that are often not prioritized over taste, and food cooked in fat makes it more attractive.