Ethical Issues In Fast Food

Fast food companies have demolished competition throughout the last 30 years in the restaurant industry. The practices used to eliminate competition such as using unhealthy food to make a profit have been reported unethical by Americans, but it tends to be desired by the American society. According to the American Franchise Corporation, certified by TrustArc, fast food companies generate $570 billion annually in the United States ("Fast Food Industry Analysis"). These statistics continue to rise as more and more fast food companies become ubiquitous. As a result, fast food companies get richer, while people contract life-altering health effects. Throughout the last few decades, fast food companies have started popping out everywhere. With the

However, fast food restaurants changed this paradigm by being able to order and receive an entire meal in under 60 seconds from a vehicle. This new paradigm brought jobs to millions of people, however, it came with side effects such as increasing health hazards for the American public.

Fast food companies offer jobs to millions of citizens and with fast food restaurants becoming ubiquitous, these numbers will increase rapidly. According to Statista, the World 's leading statistic source, "In 2013, there were 3.65 million fast-food restaurant employees in the U.S. This figure was forecasted to reach almost 3.8 million by 2018" ("Employees in the U.S."). In fact, the number of employees will continue to increase as more and more companies are being introduced around the world. Fast food companies give unemployed people hope that one day they will become employed. Fast food companies get people off the streets and provide worker 's security in home life. However, according to UC Berkeley, a prestigious college in California, "many of them work in jobs that pay wages so low that their paychecks do not generate enough income to

Fast food is considered popular because it 's convenient, it 's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu. Fast food marketers marketing to children and adolescents has skyrocketed throughout the last century. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, funded by the government, "In the United States, the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than tripled since the 1970 's" ("Healthy Schools"). In fact, this statistic is predicted to increase significantly as fast food restaurants are continuously being built everywhere in the U.S. Fast food restaurants are everywhere. Anyone can walk down the street and see a fast food place almost anywhere they go. Humans have a tendency to be lazy. It 's much easier to go down the street and pick up a hamburger than to make a low-calorie meal at home. It 's less complex to the consumer. According to a Heidi Godman, executive editor of Harvard 's Health Letter "teenagers and kids consumed far more calories in fast-food and other restaurants than they did at home. The numbers were alarming: eating out was associated with taking in as many as 160 extra calories daily for younger kids and as many as 310 calories daily for teens" (Godman). In addition to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention findings, Heidi Godman shows how obesity rates have rapidly increased by eating out at fast food resturants instead of eating a low calorie home cooked