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An opinion essay about fast food.

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Is fast food popular in your country? Do you think it causes health problems or any other kinds of problems?

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Essay on Fast Food

Students are often asked to write an essay on Fast Food in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Fast Food

Introduction.

Fast food is a type of meal that people often eat because it’s quick, convenient, and tasty. These meals are usually served at restaurants, drive-thrus, or take-outs.

Popularity of Fast Food

Fast food is popular worldwide. It’s often the go-to option when people are busy or don’t have time to cook. Fast food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC are famous globally.

Health Implications

Despite its popularity, fast food is often unhealthy. It’s typically high in fats, sugars, and salts which can lead to health problems like obesity and heart disease if consumed regularly.

While fast food is convenient and tasty, it’s important to eat it in moderation due to its potential health risks.

Also check:

• Paragraph on Fast Food
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250 Words Essay on Fast Food

Fast food, a term that has become synonymous with contemporary urban lifestyle, is a phenomenon born out of our fast-paced lives. It refers to food that is prepared and served quickly, often in a packaged form for take-out.

The Allure of Fast Food

Fast food chains, with their convenience and affordability, have become a ubiquitous part of our global landscape. The allure lies in their ability to cater to our increasingly time-pressed lives, providing quick, tasty meals at the click of a button or a short queue at the drive-thru.

However, this convenience comes with a price. Fast food is often high in calories, saturated fats, sugar, and salt, leading to an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other lifestyle-related diseases. The ease of accessibility and the addictive taste of fast food can lead to overconsumption, creating a vicious cycle of poor dietary habits and health problems.

Environmental Impact

Fast food’s environmental footprint is another concern. The industry contributes significantly to deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions due to its high demand for animal products and reliance on single-use packaging.

In conclusion, while fast food provides a convenient solution to our fast-paced lives, it is essential to be mindful of its health and environmental implications. Striking a balance between convenience and health, and making sustainable choices, is the way forward in our relationship with fast food.

500 Words Essay on Fast Food

The rise of fast food.

Fast food has become an integral part of modern society, with its influence stretching across the globe. The fast food industry originated in the United States during the early 20th century, with the advent of assembly line production methods. This revolutionized the food industry, making it possible to serve large quantities of food quickly and efficiently.

The Appeal of Fast Food

Fast food’s appeal lies in its convenience, affordability, and taste. In our fast-paced society, many people opt for fast food as it saves time that would otherwise be spent preparing meals. It also provides a low-cost option for those on a tight budget. Moreover, the taste of fast food, often high in fat, sugar, and salt, is designed to stimulate our palates and keep us coming back for more.

The Impact on Health

Despite its convenience and affordability, fast food has a profound impact on public health. It is often high in calories, unhealthy fats, sugar, and salt, contributing to a range of health issues including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. The World Health Organization has recognized the consumption of fast food as a major factor in the global obesity epidemic.

Societal Implications

Fast food also has broader societal implications. It has reshaped our eating habits, contributing to a culture of convenience that often prioritizes speed and ease over nutrition and health. This has implications for our relationship with food, our health, and even our social interactions. Fast food restaurants, for instance, have become common gathering places, influencing our social dynamics.

The Environmental Impact

Fast food’s environmental impact is another area of concern. Fast food chains are major contributors to deforestation due to their demand for beef and palm oil. They also contribute to pollution through their excessive use of packaging and energy consumption.

The Future of Fast Food

The future of fast food is uncertain. On one hand, the industry continues to grow, driven by increasing demand in developing countries. On the other hand, there is a growing awareness of the health and environmental impacts of fast food, leading to calls for change. Many fast food chains are now offering healthier options and making efforts to reduce their environmental impact.

In conclusion, fast food has undeniably shaped our society and our lifestyles. While it offers convenience and affordability, its health and environmental impacts cannot be ignored. As consumers, we have a role to play in shaping the future of this industry, through our choices and our demand for healthier, more sustainable options.

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Causes and Effects of Fast Food: Essay Example

Essay about fast food: introduction, causes of fast food: essay body paragraph, effects of fast food: essay body paragraph, fast food causes and effects: conclusion, reference list.

Food is an integral part of any culture and society around the globe. Until the last century, most people used to eat fresh, home-cooked food. Eating was a process that required specific preparations. However, now, we see that they prefer to eat fast food such as pizza, hamburgers, or fried chicken.

These fast-food restaurants have become common on our streets, and people of all ages visit them. The popularity of these restaurants has increased internationally. There are many reasons why fast food has become popular, and fast food also has some serious effects on humans and society.

The basic question is, what made fast food so popular this last century? One answer would be that the change in lifestyle compared to before is a cause for this. It pushes workers or people to eat fast food than cook food themselves.

For instance, two working parents are a good example of this. Due to their jobs, they do not have time to cook for their children or even themselves. As a consequence, they find it easier to order from these fast food restaurants rather than cook. That is why they favor fast food over their own cooked food.

Another cause of fast food usage is long working hours, which may also lead people to eat outside the home. There are many fast-food businesses in our cities. Some are McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, etc. We can make a long list with hundreds of names from these restaurants.

During the last couple of years, we saw a lot of advertisements and promotions for those restaurants. Nevertheless, there still remains a question of why they spend to promote ineffective food. What are the reasons for this? The answer is that fast food is easy to cook. It does not take long to cook, and it is readily available. The shareholders of these businesses have their own goals, that of the profits they get from these restaurants.

Above, we have seen the causes that may have led to the flourishing of the fast-food industry. However, what is more important, is its effects on society and human beings. The primary effect that fast food has on human beings is that it can get your health in danger status. First, fast food can cause vitamin deficiencies that may, in turn, help to cause diseases.

Obesity is one of the consequences of fast food on the human body. Obesity comes because fast food is the factor that enriches the body with fats. So people will become less healthy, less effective, and less productive, and this is the conclusion of obesity (Adams, 2007, pp. 155).

Another serious effect of the popularity of fast food presences is the loss of the family tradition of eating together. The family used to eat together, and thus they had the opportunity to talk with each other about daily problems.

Fast food also affects the income of the family. The conclusion is that fast food is more expensive than the food you cook for yourself.

In conclusion, it can be said that fast food has been born out of the modern way of living in our societies. Unfortunately, its effects on the human body and health are unfavorable. It also has other adverse effects on the income of a family. It would be best to avoid eating fast foods as much as possible.

Adams, C., 2007. Reframing the obesity debate: McDonald’s role may surprise you. Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics, no. 35: pp. 154-157.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Fast Food — Fast Food And Why It Should Be Banned

Fast Food Should Be Banned: Analysis of Health Effects

• Categories: Fast Food Junk Food Obesity

About this sample

Words: 1465 |

Published: Jan 28, 2021

Words: 1465 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, why should fast food be banned, works cited.

• Oliver, J. (2010, February). Teach every child about food. TED. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver?language=en
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Overweight & obesity: Adult obesity facts. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
• World Health Organization. (2021). Obesity and overweight. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
• American Heart Association. (n.d.). Fast food and your heart. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/fast-food-and-your-heart
• Stuckler, D., & Nestle, M. (2012). Big food, food systems, and global health. PLoS Medicine, 9(6), e1001242. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001242
• Ludwig, D. S., Peterson, K. E., & Gortmaker, S. L. (2001). Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: A prospective, observational analysis. The Lancet, 357(9255), 505-508. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)04041-1
• Rosenheck, R. (2008). Fast food consumption and increased caloric intake: A systematic review of a trajectory towards weight gain and obesity risk. Obesity Reviews, 9(6), 535-547. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2008.00477.x
• Nestle, M. (2013). Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (3rd ed.). University of California Press.
• Roberts, C., Troop, N., & Connors, M. (2019). Eating Behaviours and Obesity. In R. F. Bell & J. M. Lundahl (Eds.), Handbook of Obesity Treatment (pp. 55-67). Springer.
• Smith, T., Smith, B., & Kelly, P. (2018). "Just one more piece of cake." Obesogenic environments and the irresistible pull of sweet treats. In M. K. Demauro (Ed.), Sugar Consumption and Health (pp. 61-76). Nova Science Publishers.

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Fast food IELTS sample essay with vocabulary

Our band nine sample essays give you the opportunity to learn from successful essays that show off the best structure, vocabulary and grammar. This IELTS essay on fast food gives the advantages and disadvantages of this type of meal.

Band nine sample essay

Fast food is increasingly popular in large cities. compare the advantages and disadvantages of this type of food and give your own opinion. .

Despite many healthy eating campaigns, demand for junk food has skyrocketed in recent years. In this essay, I will explore the advantage that this food is affordable with the disadvantage to consumers’ health. 

To begin, fast food allows people to grab a quick bite to eat without spending too much money. As the world has been hit by inflation and stagnant wage growth over the last year, more and more consumers have been unable to find affordable meals on the go . If someone finds themselves in this situation, fast food can help them to afford to eat. Furthermore, for parents, who are deeply affected by price rises, many fast food restaurants have multi-buy meal deals which are suitable for a whole family and which can help them cope. 

However, regular fast food consumption is damaging for those who eat it. Because these foods are prepared in bulk , they rarely use fresh ingredients and often use additives, which can have a negative impact on people’s health. Furthermore, as the quality of the ingredients cannot be high while keeping prices low, these foods often rely on sugar and fats to make them taste better than they otherwise would. For example, compared to an organic homemade burger, a burger from a fast food chain is likely to be full of chemicals, use poor quality meat and bread, and use more sugar and fat than is necessary.

To conclude, fast food is beneficial as it helps people to eat without breaking the bank . However, it also can be damaging to consumer’s health. For me, given that for many, the alternative to fast food is to not be able to afford to eat, fast food has more advantages than disadvantages.

Fast Food vocabulary

There is a lot of vocabulary you need to write an essay about fast food. I have highlighted some of the important terms from the essay below, but keep an eye out for other essays as there is more to know.

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Causes and Effects of the popularity of Fast-food restaurants

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In today's world many people own a smartphone. Do you think he advantages of owning a smartphone outweigh the disadvantages?

In many countries, it is mandatory for school children to wear uniforms. do the advantages of this policy outweigh the disadvantages give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience., everybody should be allowed admission to university study programs regardless of their level of academic ability. to what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience., with increasing populations and ever growing urban centers, many countries are losing their natural beauty spots. what benefits are there to protecting places of natural beauty how can this be solved, in many countries, criminal trials in law courts are being shown on television for the general public. do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Fast-Food Restaurants’ Social Impact in the US

Fast food restaurants.

The emphasis on efficiency, predictability, and calculability in the fast-food industry is based on the creation of a structured division of labor that requires employees to accomplish a set goal by the company. In essence, fast food restaurants have compartmentalized positions resulting in a well-established division of labor which is alongside a strict hierarchical structure of authority. This creates a bureaucratic organization where people are supposed to accomplish tasks in a particular way, follow the established rules and regulations and focus on developing their technical competence based on the needs of the position they are assigned to (Croteau and Hoynes 178).

This level of bureaucratization is further emphasized through the use of performance-based metrics wherein the efficiency and effectiveness of employees at their jobs are “scored” based on a preconceived notion by the company of the level of performance that an employee should show. This creates a level of predictability and calculability in operations since businesses can set levels of required efficiency and if an employee continually fails to meet these goals, then they are terminated to make way for a more efficient worker.

One of the best examples of this at work is the food “assembly line” that you can see in every McDonald’s outlet. Each burger they have on their menu is not created by a single person. There is a particular individual who handles the toasting of the buns, another who cooks the patty, someone who assembles the food and even an employee that does the wrapping and delivers it to the counter. The reason behind this method of operation is that it allows each employee to concentrate on a particular task which maximizes their efficiency.

The result is a more efficient means of food preparation that is predictable and calculable based on the individual performance levels of each employee in their respective position within the company. However, one interesting aspect of this method of operation is that it induces people not to think beyond the confines of their job. This results in an extreme form of rational action wherein thoughts, perspectives, and their resulting actions are based on the limits of their position. As such, it maximizes their capability to do a particular task but minimizes their overall capacity to be more adaptable.

Theory of McDonaldization

Based on the given perspective on the fast-food industry shown above, George Ritzer’s theory on the McDonaldization of American society does have a certain level of relevancy. People within the U.S. have begun to be compartmentalized into their respective roles, have started to be attached to the concept of predictable actions when it comes to purchases and experiences, and there is a certain level of control in a society based on its current dependence on being subordinated to a process or a machine.

However, there are some contending arguments to this position since it can simply be stated that efficiency, calculability, and predictability, factors that have become important aspects of American society, are simply manifestations of societal evolution due to the greater inclusion of technological processes and items into everyone’s daily lives.

As society continues to evolve alongside technology, there would inevitably be some “spillover” from one process to the other. When observing social evolution over several hundred years, man and his inventions have always been intertwined. It is only recently that technology has developed to a point that it has become so integrated into society that a blurring of the lines between technological innovation and social development has started to occur.

It is based on this perspective that when examining the work of Ritzer, it is more accurate to state that his observations merely represent the growing hybridization of man and machine. This has created distinct overlaps in how society has begun to operate and has impacted people on an individual level in how they accomplish their jobs or do their tasks while working.

For example, the use of metrics to measure performance among employees is not a new concept, but it does have a considerable similarity in how people gauge the efficiency of mechanical processes. The same can see in the greater desire for efficiency and predictability in society since these are also desired outcomes when it comes to mechanical processes and outputs. The problem with the work of Ritzer is that he laments people being defined by their apparent subordination to set roles and mechanical processes. While it is true that there is a level of subordination, what Ritzer neglects to take into consideration is that man has always been, in some way, subordinated to his tools.

Humanity has depended on them for survival and through them, the building blocks of present-day society were created. As such, the “McDonaldization” that Ritzer mentions is more of a reflection of how our tool usage has become that much more integrated into our daily lives and how, in the end, it is not that surprising given the history that humanity has had with its tools and creations. All in all, George Ritzer’s theory on the McDonaldization of American society does have a certain level of relevancy, but I do not agree with it at all.

Works Cited

Croteau, David, and William Hoynes. Experience Sociology: 2nd Edition . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education Create, 2015. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2023, November 23). Fast-Food Restaurants’ Social Impact in the US. https://ivypanda.com/essays/fast-food-restaurants-social-impact-in-the-us/

"Fast-Food Restaurants’ Social Impact in the US." IvyPanda , 23 Nov. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/fast-food-restaurants-social-impact-in-the-us/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Fast-Food Restaurants’ Social Impact in the US'. 23 November.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Fast-Food Restaurants’ Social Impact in the US." November 23, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/fast-food-restaurants-social-impact-in-the-us/.

1. IvyPanda . "Fast-Food Restaurants’ Social Impact in the US." November 23, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/fast-food-restaurants-social-impact-in-the-us/.

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IvyPanda . "Fast-Food Restaurants’ Social Impact in the US." November 23, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/fast-food-restaurants-social-impact-in-the-us/.

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Regulating Online Food Delivery Platforms

Tyler hoguet.

Scholars study the impact of commission fee caps on online food delivery platforms.

Economists project that the online food delivery business, which includes apps such as GrubHub and Uber Eats, will grow into a $60 billion industry by 2025. Some policymakers argue that capping and reducing the commission fees driving this growth—some as high as 30 percent—is needed to increase revenue for small businesses and lower prices for consumers.

But two scholars disagree . In a recent research paper, Zhuoxin Li from the University of Wisconsin and Gang Wang from the University of Delaware report the results of their study on the impact of commission fee caps on online food delivery platforms. Even though policymakers intended for these regulatory fee caps to help small businesses, Li and Wang found that the caps reduced both orders and revenue for small businesses.

These results suggest that policy makers should act with caution to avoid unintended consequences when regulating online platform services, conclude Li and Wang.

Online platform services facilitate transactions between consumers and businesses in a centralized, internet-based system. For example, online travel platforms such as Booking.com and Expedia scan the internet for the best deals on travel accommodations and allow consumers to compare prices in one location.

Online platforms such as Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash connect consumers and restaurants by facilitating takeout and delivery orders in exchange for commission fees.

In response commission fees on some delivery platforms reaching as high as 30 percent, San Francisco capped commission fees for online food delivery platforms at 15 percent for independent and small businesses in April 2020. San Francisco policymakers argued that high commission fees disproportionately affected small and independent businesses. A cap on commission fees only for small businesses would improve their profitability while sustaining profitability for online delivery platforms, they claim.

New Jersey became the first state to issue a state-wide commission fee cap in June 2020, and by March 2021, 68 cities and states had instituted fee caps for services involving small businesses.

Li and Wang studied the impact of these fee caps on small businesses, chain restaurants, and online platforms. They tracked the change in revenue and takeout orders over time in each city and state that enacted fee caps between 2020 and 2021. They also compared the behavior of online platforms and consumers from 2020 to 2021 between cities that instituted fee caps and similar cities that did not institute fee caps.

Li and Wang argue that the commission fee caps did not benefit small businesses as many policymakers assumed, but rather these caps shifted consumer demand and orders to chain restaurants.

Overall takeout orders to independent restaurants decreased by an average of 2.5 percent after a locality implemented a fee cap for orders to small businesses, according to Li and Wang’s study. Independent restaurant owners saw a 3.9 percent reduction in total sales during the same period. Takeout orders and net sales for chain restaurants, on the other hand, both increased by 4.5 percent after the implementation of the fee cap in their sample.

Even though the modest reduction in demand for small businesses remained consistent throughout the study, the demand for chain restaurants grew steadily over time after the implementation of a fee cap.

Differential fee caps hurt both consumers and platforms in their sample as well. Average delivery time increased after the implementation of a fee cap and total revenue for food delivery platforms decreased , according to their study.

Li and Wang argue that the reduction in demand and revenue for small businesses resulted from an intentional response by delivery platforms to the fee caps.

After the implementation of commission fee caps for small businesses, delivery platforms pushed consumers toward unregulated restaurants, claim Li and Wang. Their study found that after the implementation of a fee cap, online delivery platforms became less likely to recommend an independent restaurant compared to a chain restaurant. Furthermore, online platforms became more likely to recommend a restaurant from a surrounding city not subject to a fee cap after the implementation of a cap in their study.

Online delivery platforms also attempted to pass off the costs of the fee caps to consumers, according to Li and Wang. After the implementation of a fee cap for small businesses, online platforms increased the average delivery fee for affected orders by roughly $.04 in their sample.

When implementing these fee caps, policymakers failed to consider how delivery platforms may respond to the regulation, according to Li and Wang. They propose instead a series of alternatives to the current fee cap regimes designed to ameliorate the impact on small businesses and improve the consumer experience.

Acknowledging that ensuring continued profitability for small businesses using delivery platforms may require fee caps, Li and Wang argue that localities should impose the same fee cap on all restaurants. Eliminating the differential treatment between chain restaurants and independent businesses would reduce the incentive for platforms to recommend chain restaurants over independent businesses, according to Li and Wang.

Furthermore, Li and Wang claim that localities can reduce the number of orders flowing to restaurants outside of their jurisdiction by coordinating with surrounding cities and implementing uniform fee regimes across jurisdictions. In addition to reducing the flow of orders to restaurants in surrounding cities, this policy would also likely reduce average delivery time, they argue.

Li and Wang also argue that all levels of government could audit delivery platforms to ensure they do not engage in anti-competitive or discriminatory behavior.

Ultimately, the impact of fee commissions on small businesses demonstrates the need for policymakers to consider the downstream and unintended effects of regulations, according to Li and Wang. They argue that policymakers should consider the potential perverse incentives of regulations and address them prior to implementation.

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