McDonald’s Assembly Line
Fast solid food did n’t hit really arrive at its step , however , untilMcDonald’scame on the scene . The first McDonald ’s restaurant was actually a barbecue joint . Two brothers with the now - celebrated surname opened it in 1940 in San Bernardino , Calif. Inspired by the car industry , the McDonald brothers altogether revamped their business model in 1948 and streamlined their menu to just a few selection : hamburgers , cheeseburgers , Gallic youngster , milkshake and soda . They produced their food in an gathering - line physical process , which is now standard in the riotous nutrient manufacture .
Today , despite competition from rival eating house concatenation , McDonald ’s remains the most popular libertine food option for consumer , function more than 31,000 restaurants across the globe and employing closely 1.5 million citizenry . At least 58 million hoi polloi exhaust McDonald ’s intellectual nourishment every day [ germ : McDonald ’s ] .
Bigger Menus, More Choices
As competition in the degenerate nutrient industry grew in the sixties , so did the carte du jour . Fast food restaurants could no longer survive with the mere options that McDonald ’s , White Castle and others had long pop the question , so menus were lucubrate to pull a variety of customers and keep them coming back for more . By the 1980s , most fast food operation had chicken and angle on the menu as well as more expensive , premium sandwiches , such as Burger King ’s Whopper [ source : Smith ] . By tot some breakfast options , fast food chains tapped into a fresh market : commuter .
flying food remain so popular because it ’s chintzy , filling and nimble . As of 2001 , approximately 25 percentage of the U.S. population eats truehearted food every day , and the average American consumes an average of three hamburgers and four rescript of Gallic fries every week [ sources : CBS , PBS ] . The rate of consumption has only increased since then [ source : Smith ] .
Of course , most of us actualize that loyal food is n’t good for us . Loaded withcalories , trans and pure avoirdupois , high degree of sodium and sometimes nigh to no nutritionary note value at all , flying food is often pick for our skyrocketing obesity rate and the health problems associated with being overweight .
Healthy Fast Food?
However , as we ’ve become more educated about the dangers of fast intellectual nourishment , goodly option have begun to appear . Subway restaurants , for good example , have reach great success by advertize their sandwiches as goodly alternatives to the fatty burgers and french fries found in most firm food establishment . In fact , many fast food mountain range , such as McDonald ’s and Wendy ’s , have diversified their menus to include healthier options , such as yield and salad , which you may interchange for small fry .