preview

Mcdonaldization And Society

Decent Essays

Within every savory bite of a juicy cheeseburger or fried chicken sandwich lies a powerful nugget of cultural adaptation. In various ways, the food a society consumes provides a context through which an individual can examine a culture’s unique traits and beliefs. Yet, as active participants, it is often difficult to distinguish how food eaten on a daily basis characterizes society. As of today, “the United States has the highest obesity rate of any industrialized nation in the world with more than half of all American adults and about one-quarter of all American children obese or overweight” (240). Changes in the American diet did not occur overnight, but through the increased consumption of processed foods containing high fat, sugar, and …show more content…

The start, and subsequent meteoric rise of the fast food industry in the United States has begun a revolution that sociologists have dubbed “McDonaldization.” In his book The McDonaldization of Society, George Ritzer defines McDonaldization as “the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world” (Ritzer, 1). Fast food is founded on the desires to maximize production and profit margins by taking the assembly line mentality and applying it to the kitchen.
Fast food companies focus on four main tenets: efficiency, calculability, predictability and control (citation). They desire to get product to the customer as quickly and as easily as possible, crank out large quantities of cheap food, provide a uniform product to customers at all locations, and exercise control over the customer and employee. This mindset places so much emphasis on efficiency and profits that all non-necessities are seen as hindrances. Ecological concerns, employee safety, and consumer health fall by the wayside as executives try new methods to cut costs and sell more

Get Access