从麦当劳看美国快餐文化

The culture of Americans fast food

Seeing the Americans fast food culture from MacDonald

Abstrac t

In different cultural backgrounds, each nation has its unique different diet. With the accelerating pace of life, there is a new dietary pattern has soon dominated the forefront of the life fashion----fast food, which entered thousands of households, by its convenience and fast advantages.

This paper mainly studies McDonald. The first and second parts analyzed the popularity and history of MacDonald. The third part discusses the social influence. The fourth part tell people the why MacDonald is so popular; The fifth part analyses the Cultural infiltration. The sixth part is conclusion, which points out that how to look on the fast food and the fast food culture correctly, in the hope of helping the readers to understand the fast food and fast food culture in a better way and to absorb the benefit elements for the better development of human body and mind. Popularity

If there is one thing that Americans can agree on, it is a love for fast food. Burgers, sandwiches, fried chicken and even salads are served up by the millions at a variety of fast food locations around the country, and there is no clear indicator that Americans intend to slow down. When it refers to the popularity of American fast food, MacDonald’s success is typical. What started in 1955 as a single store with a modest menu of burgers, fries and shakes became the leading global foodservice retailer, with more than 31,000 local restaurants serving 58 million people in more than 118 countries each day [source: McDonald's].

History of McDonald's

The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 furthered the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant that the White Castle hamburger chain had already put into practice more than two decades earlier. The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was "Speedee." Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald by 1967 when the company first filed a U.S. trademark on a clown shaped man having puffed out costume legs.

McDonald's first filed for a U.S. trademark on the name McDonald's on May 4, 1961, with the description "Drive-In Restaurant Services," which continues to be

renewed through the end of December 2009. In the same year, on September 13, 1961, the company filed a logo trademark on an overlapping, double arched "M" symbol. The overlapping double arched "M" symbol logo was temporarily disfavored by September 6, 1962, when a trademark was filed for a single arch, shaped over many of the early McDonald's restaurants in the early years. The famous double arched "M" symbol in use today did not appear until November 18, 1968, when the company filed a U.S. trademark.

The first McDonald's restaurants opened in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, France, El Salvador and Sweden, in order of openings.

The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955,the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion, and the company became listed on the public stock markets in 1965.Kroc was also noted for aggressive business practices, compelling the McDonald brothers to leave the fast food industry. The McDonald brothers and Kroc feuded over control of the business, as documented in both Kroc's autobiography and in the McDonald brothers' autobiography. The site of the McDonald brothers' original restaurant is now a monument.

With the expansion of McDonald's into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way of life. Its prominence has also made it a frequent topic of public debates about obesity, corporate ethics and consumer responsibility.

Social influence

America's recently published "Fast Food Nation," a book of Eric Shiluosier, said: "Today, fast food had a huge impact not only on our eating habits, but also on our economy, culture and traditional valuesand . "currently, In United States ,about 1/4 of the adults eat a snack every day, typical American weekly eat three burgers and fried foods. According to statistics, 30 years ago, American spent $ 6 billion on fast food each year , and by 2000, this consumption has reaching a hight of $ 110 billion, far higher than those that Americans spent on education, home computer or new cars .

Today, in the United States ,the employees in the fast food industry are highly mobile, fast-food company was able to created many opportunities for poor people to get jobs . Most of the fast food industry regard the market at the children, according to the latest survey , in United States , 90% of the 3-9 year-old children eat McDonald's at least once a month to. They do not know who is the current president, but no one do not know McDonald's founder Richard McDonald. in the United States like McDonald's "Happy Meals" will be able to sell 1 million units per week.

"McDonald's" as the representatives of the American fast-food culture has swept the world, but it also bring negative impact to society in the United States. Those manufacturers in the fast food industry in order to reduce labor costs, enjoy employing low-skilled workers who, without adequate training,.As the result ,the