Mass Communication and Popular Culture - Case Study Example

Fast Food Culture of Fried Chicken In US The Reuters have recently published that “In the 2,873 women who developed diabetes over 10 years, the researchers noted greater likelihood for the blood sugar disorder in frequent burger and fried chicken eaters, but not eaters of other fast foods, when they allowed for age, education, family history of diabetes, and lifestyle and dietary factors linked to diabetes risk” (Hendry,2010) Fast food has great place in the dietary chart of every American citizen. Despite of the age everyone enjoy the delicacies which a fast food restaurant offers. For every person in this country fried food is a first choice to satisfy their hunger. All are familiar with the fast food chains like McDonalds, Burger King, Arbys, KFC etc. Can anyone ignore the mesmerizing aroma of crispy fried chicken which sways in front your nose when you pass by the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet? But what we don’t know is the fact that how these foods eat away our health gradually. There are so much of fast food outlets around us that it becomes hard to ignore their influence. The Advertisements surrounding us is so intimidating that people go back to restaurants without knowing its ill effects. The main concern is that fast foods are very rich in fat content and are of enormous portion size. People are consuming food with very little nutritive value and loaded with sodium and cholesterol. Fast food is the main reason for obesity and it has increased the risk of cardio related health problems, diabetes and even cancer among people. Diabetes is mainly a disease caused by fast food and raising more concern recently. The disease risk is mainly due to the presence of more fried chicken in the fast food menu. The name ‘fried chicken ‘obviously can make our mouth water despite that fact that it is an unhealthy choice of cooking meat. Fried chicken is made by frying battered chicken with spices in oil and usually served with crisp fries and drinks. South America can be seen as a pioneer for introducing this style of cooking chicken which gained huge popularity in 20th century. Deep frying is an inexpensive way of cooking meat dish and was equally popular among black and white people in early days. Even though there are varieties of fried foods the popularity of fried chicken equals none. Deep frying technique was introduced to South America by Scott immigrants before it became staple food. The quality of taste and shelf life of the dish was the main reason for the popularity of dish among lower class in the early times. Now Kentucky Fried Chicken is the largest chicken restaurant chain and it captures the market all around the globe. “Fried chicken is everyone’s favorite since it is cheap and can be easily cooked. Burgers were the big hit last year, from the gourmet build-it-yourself burger bars to the $60 Rossini burger in Las Vegas. This year, its back to even more comfort food: fried chicken”(Wise,2010).Southern Fried chicken is a popular recipe among people all over the US. “Fried chicken has origins that date back to ancient Egyptian times. It eventually made its way over to America, where it became very popular in the south”(Elrod,2010). Chicken is naturally very flavorful and easily merges with other flavors to give a unique taste. It is more favored meat because it is less expensive and very light comparative to other meat products. Chicken can be bred easily and is very healthy choice of meat for cooking. Almost every cuisine in the world has adopted some variety of fried chicken recipes in their menu. Fast food chains like KFC is a desirable place for children and families to celebrate birthday parties and other get together. The standard chicken meals here are considerable cheaper and can be afforded very well by the poor and the less privileged class.Lately fried chicken have raised much controversies due to its bad effect on health and creation of obesity among children and adults. It is also very much criticized by environmentalist for the cruelty the meat industry shows to the animals. Due to the over demand for the fried chicken dishes the fast food outlets have tried to enhance the quantity of chicken by using hormones and antibiotics .And also taste enhances like mono sodium glutamate are used to increase the taste of dishes. These factors make the dish very unhealthy and a bad food choice. Despite of its ill effects on the society fried chicken is still being considered a favorite among the social groups of US. Still there are hundreds of outlets which sell fried chicken throughout the country and attract customer with their own secret recipe and quality.Since its innovation KFC the largest American fast food chain has evolved greatly. This has influenced largely the farming and breeding of chicken throughout the states. The farmers are greatly benefited from the emergence of fried chicken culture.KFC and other local restaurants sell millions of chicken annually which boosts the financial income of the localfarmers. In earlier times slaves brought to America was largely depended on fried chicken dishes in order to satisfy their nutritional requirement. Chicken was relatively a cheaper source of meat and was cooked in a very inexpensive manner. Today chicken is the most widely consumed meat in whole America . “Chicken is a great source of protein and, as an added bonus, it’s less expensive than beef”(Diver,2009).There are big business giants who monopoly the market with their product line which are all fried chicken based dishes. America is a country with very fast life and it is the most influential country of the world. Since everyone want to save every little second of time the people are less focused on traditional way of doing things .Eating food is the main activity around which the whole human community revolves. As the country became more developed the concept of home cooked meals lost its glory down the road. Since house wives getting more and more occupied with career their involvement in house hold activities and kitchen became less important. Breakfast being cereals and bread, lunch came from vending machines and other food outlets .Dinner being the main meal is mostly picked up on the way to home. This is where the fast food giants get favored and this action creates a habit in the consumer and they got used to the concept fast food. While prices of many food items are getting higher, chicken is getting cheaper .Every year millions of chicken are being turned in to nuggets, wings, drumsticks and other products. For burger joints like Mc Donald’s and Burger king Fried chicken has become their major business. Since US farmers reaping bumper soya and corn products the feeding cost of chicken has fallen. This has led to the high consumption of chicken among the low class and poor families. The chicken which fast food chains use are over grown and treated with steroids and anti biotic to yield more meat. People have turned more on chicken for the fear of high cholesterol and fatty content in red meats. Nevertheless fried chicken are laden with more fat and has unhealthy quality of meat. The amount spent by average American on this fast food has gone up dramatically since 19th century. It is seen that Americans spend money more on fast food than education, computers, music, books or cars. It is very depressing news and it affects all field all economy in a bad way. The number of American mothers with young children working outside was of a great proportion, and this increased the chances of buying fast food .At those times Mc Donald’s corporation emerged as a powerful force of food service sector. Mc Donald’s is the second largest purchaser of chicken. The company hires about one million people in US alone which are more than any private or public owned sector. Apart from this Mc Donald’s are the largest retailers and distributors of toys in US. The logo of their company is more recognized world wide than the Christmas cross. The business operating system of fast food chains has influenced other business category also. They made replicated business outlets like fast food chains and resulted in the extinction of many small scale businesses. Fried chicken business also accelerated the potato chips business and soft drink products. The fast food chains have turned out to be a huge industrial complex and control the agricultural field of US. Small families farmers are being replaced with gigantic corporate owner’s .The number of rural farmers are staggeringly lowered and US has more prison inmates than village farmers. The fast food chains great demand for uniform product quality has brought about fundamental change in the breeding of chicken and their slaughtering. The franchising of fast food outlets has lead to the increase of obesity among children and adults nationwide. America is home to most obese people in the world. This is because the lack of nutritional knowledge of the people and the importance they give to fried chicken meals in their every day life. These burgers and nuggets are filled with loads of fats and calories and far exceeding the limit of calorie intake of the public. “A consumer group has threatened to sue the huge McDonald’s Fast Food Franchise is they do not stop placing toys in the kid’s ‘Happy Meal’ in what they see as an effort to lure kids to eat fatty foods”(Mason,2010).The health care cost of treating obese people have mounted and is taxing the government expenditure a lot. The advertising has gained a lot on publicizing these products and manipulating the thoughts of consumers. It is a billion dollar industry and is creating a great spasm between the rich and poor class. The rich corporate business is getting richer and the poor class is getting even poorer. The worst part is that these fast foods reflects the state of capitalism and shows how the corporate fast food chain owners can remain a dominant group. They invest on large sum on inventing high technical equipment which requires less skilled man power which would create less demand for skilled workers. They have turned out to be big lobbies which monopolize the market on a dangerous level. The independent ranchers are now facing a financial trouble due to the operation of such fast food lobbies. Fast – food chains are not likely to accept the negative effects that they are having on the population or to change their behavior voluntarily. These corporations are performing shady practices and blind folding the public. “The Fast – food chains have become notorious for promotional tie – ins with hit movies, primarily aimed at children”(Terrill,middlebrooks,2000,pg.123). . “McDonald’s has become a mainstay for working - class people, who are attracted by its low cost, convenience and predictability”(Watson, 1997).The nutritional quality of the American population has gone down considerable with this culture of eating fried food government should encourage fast food giants to cut the amount of fat and the portion size of the food served by them. They should include more healthy food items in their menu focusing more on greens.American fast food culture has not only homogenized its own country but rather the whole world. There are thousands of American fast food outlets in developing countries and it is yet to grow. They are focusing the susceptible group of children, youngsters and minorities. People have to be well educated about the dangerous after effects of these foods and should be warned of their over consumption. Educational institutions has to be more keen on providing parents and children with guidance so has to avoid unhealthy food habits and develop more health eating pattern. They should reduce the intake of these over fattening fried foods and should engage more in eating greens, vegetables and fruits which is completely whole some for growth and sustainability of human body. Health is all wealth we have and it so much more important than the taste factor. We should be conscious that these corporate giants are making benefit on the addictive instinct of human beings. Bibiliography Driver, D. (2009). Healthiest meats. Retrieved from http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_150/184_eating_well.html Elrod, J. (2010). How to Cook true southern fried chicken. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_5083660_cook-true-southern-fried-chicken.html. Hendry, J. (2009). A Burger or fried chicken with a side of diabetes?/Reuters- Newyork Mason, A.K. (2010). Happy meal lawsuit: is mcdonald’s ‘toying around’ with kid’s health?. Retrieved from http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health1/happy-meal-lawsuit-is-mcdonalds-toying-around-with-kids-health_100385067.html Terrill, C., Middlebrooks, A.,2000. Market Leadership Strategies for Service Companies. 1st ed. Chicago: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company. Watson, J.L. (1997). Mcdonalds in east asia. California: Stanford University Press Wise, L. (2010). Food trend - fried chicken, whoopie pies & beer. Retrieved from http://cookingresources.suite101.com/article.cfm/fried-chicken-whoopie-pies-and-beer Read More