Mcdonald's Influence On American Culture

McDonald's constructs new restaurants all over the world. They provide a taste of American culture in places where people may not know much at all about America or Americans. They provide new industry and jobs to places that may be war torn or simply lack a good job market. This is a positive implication for the town in which the McDonald's is built but in the long run many of the negative aspects of McDonald's seem to surface. The instant gratification provided by McDonald's is the form of a cheap meal and an easy, zero training job comes at the expense of many other things. The reason that the McDonald's corporation is so profitable is because they do everything at minimal cost. The food they sell is produced and prepared as efficiently
as possible without regard to their effects on those who consume them. Due to the decreased cost of commodities, they have increased the size of their portions rather than create healthier food to promote a better diet for their consumers. Obesity in America has been growing since the 1970's because a generation has developed a taste for fat in childhood that is difficult to lose even in adulthood; essentially McDonald's food has become an addiction for many people. McDonald's and similar establishments are only partially responsible for making America so fat. Their food is unhealthy but it is the lifestyle that most Americans today are living that deserves even more of the blame. People in the United States have become increasingly sedentary. They are driving instead of walking, seldom performing manual labor, and replacing exercise with things like television, computers, and video games. McDonald's food is high in fat, sugar, animal products, and salt. A diet consisting of those things is linked to bowel cancer, heart disease, and among others obesity. McDonald's, in a way similar to the tobacco industry, targets advertising to children. In many of their commercials is Ronald McDonald; a clown. In China, children refer to him as "Uncle McDonald" and like him because he is "funny, gentle, kind and… he understands children's hearts." (Schlosser, 530) In Australia, half of the nation's nine- and ten-year-olds thought that Ronald McDonald knew what kids should eat. In almost every McDonald's there is a "Play Place" where children can go and play in a ball pit or in whatever other jungle-gym type equipment. They give out toys with each Happy Meal. Granted it is not a crime nor is it even seen as immoral to make an establishment that caters to children and their interests, but it is wrong that they market the entire restaurant to children when the food is so tremendously unhealthy. They also depend on the fact that children will whine and complain to their parents so that they can eat there. Here is another situation in which McDonald's does not deserve all of the blame. Some aspects such as the decline of the nuclear family and other factors such as a generally lower level of parental responsibility have lead people to blame McDonald's for their children being fat. Our society is always looking for the easy way out. It starts with McDonald's who provides parents with an easy meal for their children and doesn't even require the parent to leave their car, let alone plan dinner and then cook it. Then when their children are fat they blame McDonald's because their food is unhealthy. This is true but the laziness and overall lack of responsibility on the parent's behalf is left out of the equation. The building of a McDonald's also contributes to a change in the culture around it.
Christa Maerker wrote in an essay on Germany's infatuation with the United States, "For a child growing up in [postwar] Berlin… the Americans were angels. Anything from them was bigger and more wonderful than anything that preceded it."(Schlosser, 531) People sought refuge in American movies, music, food, and culture in general. In Plauen, Germany MTV is a popular television station and all the songs on the radio are in English. A McDonald's was opened up in Plauen, Germany. The town had been industrious before World War I but bombing during World War II, thriving extremism, and the Cold War caused the town to become a dismal place with about a 20% unemployment rate. A McDonald's was constructed there just several months after the end of the Cold War. It brought hope for a new future. It represented Americana and hopes that they too would be as industrious as the United States. It was also the first building to be constructed in Plauen since the end of the war. A clean and new building amidst the old, ramshackle, graffiti-covered ones gave the people a sense of optimism. A downside to the rise of American culture in other countries is the decline of the local culture. It is very difficult for the traditional German restaurants to compete with McDonald's due to their efficient operation. Traditional restaurants require higher labor costs; anyone can make a Big Mac because the McDonald's
preparation equipment is designed specifically for their food and everything is already pre-prepared and only needs to be heated and assembled. However, traditional German food is not and those who can make it require higher pay.
McDonald's tends to bring with them entire industrial systems in an overseas operation. Before they opened up in India, they taught farmers there to grow iceberg lettuce with specially made seeds for the regional climate. To provide them with French fries, Simplot began to grow potatoes in China and soon after started China first ever french fry factory. Simplot later moved part of the operation into Australia buying eleven processing plants and 3 million acres to raise cattle and grow vegetables and potatoes. This does not necessarily have all negative effects. This provides more jobs to a region with a high unemployment rate. However, because McDonald's cares only about money rather than people, people are not guaranteed to keep their jobs and if McDonald's were to remove themselves from an economy that has grown dependent on their farming projects then the region would be left with even more people out of work and exhausted soil. Not to mention the point that it would be one more industry that only provides a job for a few local people and puts very little back into the local economy.
One organization called London Greenpeace targeted McDonald's saying that the company "epitomizes everything we despise: a junk culture, the deadly banality of capitalism." (Schlosser, 542) They distributed a leaflet called "What's wrong with McDonald's?
Everything they don't want you to know." Some of the claims were libelous or blown out of proportion; such as a claim that McDonald's tortures animals and uses lethal poisons to destroy the Amazon rain forest, but many of the claims were more realistic and tactful. Some people view McDonald's as a powerful multinational corporation that will in the long run hurt the people. A new business is usually a good thing for a particular location because it provides goods, services, and jobs. McDonald's, however, shifts the capital to another country so that the local people see none of the benefits and has no fidelity to any nation, workers, farmers, or consumers. McDonald's opposes labor unions and doesn't provide great pay or room for advancement. They do however provide immediate jobs for those with no experience. They also give the public a meal quicker and cheaper than most any traditional restaurant. This leaves no business for the average Joe trying to make a living for himself and perhaps a family. The average restaurant owner cannot afford to sell food for the same or better price than McDonald's because he buys in relatively small quantities as opposed to the McDonald's corporation who buys in such bulk and is so efficient
that they can sell items for very little money and still make a decent profit.
While McDonald's provides jobs for those in under developed societies where a job is hard to find and a quick, cheap, and easy meal for those on the go but at what cost? The food they sell is extremely unhealthy and can become a sort of addiction for some. They exploit children though targeted advertising and instill in them and sense of trust that the food they are eating is what they should be eating. However, this is only a small portion of the problem with McDonald's. These problems could be resolved by personal responsibility, parental responsibility, and more health-conscious decision making. The real problem with McDonald's lies in these next topics. They take advantage of the people in under developed corners of the world who desperately need jobs by not allowing labor unions, paying low wages, and offering little opportunity for advancement. They dominate the local restaurant market because traditional restaurants cannot afford to compete with them. In turn, the local culture is disappearing. Also, the money they make isn't put back into the local economy but rather transferred to the United States. This doesn't help the further development of a region. McDonald's looks at a person and all they see is a dollar sign. No names, no faces, just potential profit. McDonald's is the epitome of American efficiency in industrialization. They make money for themselves at the expense of others.