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Fast Food Nation Examines The History Of The Fast Food

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Fast Food Nation examines the history of the fast food industry as the world began to consume the idea of quick and easy cuisine. This piece of investigative journalism really gives it 's readers a look at the fast food industry and its development over time. This book is divided into two sections. The first section delves into the beginnings of the industry and how it developed into the large corporational business it is today. The second section examines the business behind the scenes. The book opens with the examination of one of the fast food 's pioneers, Carl N. Karcher. Carl N. Karcher was originally from a farmer from Ohio before moving to California. When he moved to California, he started out a Feed and Seed Store but later got a …show more content…

Eisenhower had really pushed for this bill because he saw success in Hitler’s “Reichsautobahn” (the world’s first superhighway system). (Fast Food Nation, page 22) Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway Act helped to develop many business and also helped businesses accrue a significant amount of revenue because of the easy access consumers had to many businesses. Because of the new highways, entrepreneurs were able to witness the success of McDonald’s and Carl Jr.’s, and decided to develop their own businesses. During this time period we saw the birth of many fast food restaurants, such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s.
Now, in 1954, a man named Ray Kroc joined McDonald’s and helped create it into a fast food empire by spreading the idea of the Speedee Service System nationwide. He had originally went to McDonald’s to convince the brothers who owned to by his milkshake machine, but fell in love with their Speedee Service System. He convinced the brothers to let him buy the franchise and helped developed the business nationwide. After finalizing the agreement, he wrote to his old friend, Walt Disney to ask if he (Kroc) could place a McDonald’s in his amusement park, Disneyland. Disney forwarded the idea to the executives over the park and in return the executives demanded that Kroc raise the prices on the food so that they could make a profit off of it. Kroc refused. In order to help better sales at McDonald’s, Kroc started gearing the advertisements toward

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