Fast Food Nation
Summary: All Americans effect the huge growth of fast food but adolescents play even more of a vital role in than the average consumer. Not only do teenagers consume fast food, but they work for it and steal from it because they are attracted to it the most. The fast food industry provides the easiest way for young people to get started and continue to succeed in our "Fast Food Nation."
Our country loves fast food, there is speedy service with cheap tasty food in over one million restaurants world wide. Though we all love it, we do not like the stories behind it. In 2004, Americans spent over 110 billion dollars on fast food, that's more than higher education, computers, computer software and new cars combined (Scholosser, 3). Teenagers provide a huge role in the fast food industry. Teenagers work at these restaurants, eat at these restaurants, are objects of advertisements by these restaurants and steal from these restaurants more than any other age group. Ever since the age of three more than 75 percent of American children can recognize the face of Ronald McDonald. Since our nation is currently being raised around fast food it is only inevitable that as children grow, they only become more of a part of it everyday.
The average American child begins to work around the age of 16 doing low wage low labor jobs. At anytime a teenager can walk into any fast food restaurant and apply for a job. Fast food restaurants prefer to employ teenagers because they are easily trained, less expensive to tend to than adults and are easier to control. Also since most teenagers still live at home they can afford to work for wages too low to even support an adult. "No other industry in the United States had a workforce so dominated by adolescents. About two-thirds of the nations fast food workers are under the age of twenty" (Scholosser, 68). Working in McDonalds is not difficult, but just tedious and long. Since most fast food restaurants are run my machines, it is up to these 17
Our country loves fast food, there is speedy service with cheap tasty food in over one million restaurants world wide. Though we all love it, we do not like the stories behind it. In 2004, Americans spent over 110 billion dollars on fast food, that's more than higher education, computers, computer software and new cars combined (Scholosser, 3). Teenagers provide a huge role in the fast food industry. Teenagers work at these restaurants, eat at these restaurants, are objects of advertisements by these restaurants and steal from these restaurants more than any other age group. Ever since the age of three more than 75 percent of American children can recognize the face of Ronald McDonald. Since our nation is currently being raised around fast food it is only inevitable that as children grow, they only become more of a part of it everyday.
The average American child begins to work around the age of 16 doing low wage low labor jobs. At anytime a teenager can walk into any fast food restaurant and apply for a job. Fast food restaurants prefer to employ teenagers because they are easily trained, less expensive to tend to than adults and are easier to control. Also since most teenagers still live at home they can afford to work for wages too low to even support an adult. "No other industry in the United States had a workforce so dominated by adolescents. About two-thirds of the nations fast food workers are under the age of twenty" (Scholosser, 68). Working in McDonalds is not difficult, but just tedious and long. Since most fast food restaurants are run my machines, it is up to these 17