Chew on this: Five myths about fast food
There may be no American institution more polarizing than fast food. Whether it’s wages, health, the environment or those Colonel Sanders ads, the problems associated with the all-American meal inspire lots of detractors.
But for many millions, places like McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Steak ‘n Shake generate fierce loyalty for their convenience, value, ritual, shock-and-awe menu items and community; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2018 that more than one-third of Americans eat fast food on any given day. As the summer season of road trips and Frosties enters full swing, here are five myths about fast food.
Myth No. 1: The primary customers are low-income families.
line eating fast food daily than those below it.
Myth No. 2: Fast-casual dining is healthier than fast food.
car. After a New Mexico jury awarded Liebeck $2.7 million in punitive damages, the episode became an international news sensation. In news broadcasts, for example, it was reported that Liebeck had spilled while carelessly driving down the road. She was mocked as craven, greedy and an unpatriotic abuser of the legal system.
“Now she claims she broke her nose on the sneeze guard at the Sizzler bending over looking at the chickpeas,” Jay Leno yukked on “The Tonight Show.”
But Liebeck had truly suffered — 16 percent of her body was burned, including 6 percent with third-degree burns, and her injuries required multiple skin grafts and an eightday hospital stay. Liebeck filed a claim for $20,000 to cover her medical bills and took McDonald’s to court only after the company offered her just $800. The huge award was the jury’s decision — the equivalent of two days’ worth of McDonald’s coffee sales at the time — and was later heavily reduced by a judge. Finally, both sides settled out of court, reportedly for less than half a million dollars.
Myth No. 4: Fast food causes obesity.
that fast food restaurants and obesity have both increased over time is insufficient proof of this link, as are studies that rely on differences in fast food consumption across individuals, since people who eat more fast food may be prone to other behaviors that affect obesity,” the National Bureau of Economic Research notes.
No one should be claiming that fast food is the key to long life, but obesity’s causes can’t be reduced to drive-thrus or Happy Meals. Factors like exercise, smoking rates, air quality, genetics and access to health care and affordable, healthy calories also come into play. As the dangers of obesity continue to reveal themselves in chronic illnesses and fatal diseases, focusing on just one possible cause has the potential to obscure bigger problems.
Myth No. 5: Fast-food jobs are entry-level work for teenagers.
There was a time, mostly between the 1960s and 1980s, when fast-food employees were teenagers working after school and during summers for pocket money. The cultural trope reached Hollywood in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Good Burger.” In recent years, this perception has morphed into an industry talking point. When arguing against wage increases, Andrew Moesel, then a lobbyist for the New York State Restaurant Association, suggested in 2013 that the industry’s “lowwage jobs, entry-level jobs for young people”function as launchpads “for people to go on and live the American Dream.”
Yet according to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median age of a fast-food worker is just over 26 years old. Since 2000, more teenagers have opted out of work altogether, with the workforce participation rate among 16-to-19-year-olds dropping from just over 50 percent to 34 percent. This has created an opening for more seniors and foreign-born workers to step into the breach. In fact, McDonald’s recently joined companies like Google and Macy’s in partnering with AARP to recruit retirees and older employees.