Darcey Simpson-Bint Turner
WR 122
20 November 2018
Would You Like Fries With That?
Americans consume nearly 50 billion burgers a year. That equates to roughly every
American eating 3 burgers per week. Whether a Big Mac, a Whopper, a Baconator, or a Double Double, burgers are an American staple. Though eaten around the world, burgers are a food that in many ways symbolize America. Burgers can be traced back as far as the pioneers who settled in America and, much to their disbelief, had access to limitless buffalo which provided them with mass amounts of meat available for consumption. Due to the limited quantities of meat in Europe at the time, settlers were awestruck by this change in diet. This desire for meat has remained a large part of American culture since. The history of the United States helps to explain why the American desire for meat is so rooted in our DNA. Though burgers once represented the pursuit of a new life and a plentiful food supply, today they represent the idea that Americans are people who prioritize value and convenience over quality and health. To American agri-business, the burger stands for what those in power value most: mass efficiency, minimal costs, and enormous profits.
The Big Mac, a 540 calorie meal comprised of 950 mg of sodium, 28000 mg of fat, and 80 mg of cholesterol, is the epitome of the American lack of concern for health. The United States maintains the world’s highest obesity rate, further proving that health is far from a top priority in the country. Money and convenience are the two main reasons as to why America
lacks in health driven individuals. Well known for fast service and exceedingly low price points, the fast food industry is popular among almost all Americans on a budget, short on time, or a combination of the two. For many, it is hard to resist a quick, cheap, filling meal despite the consequences, such as an extremely wide array of health issues. When competing with healthier, more expensive and time consuming foods, such as home cooked meals or a sit down restaurant, fast food often wins. Many Americans simply do not have the luxury to prioritize health over price due to low income or the location in which they live. Statistics show that over 23.5 million people lack easy access to grocery stores and over 12 million American households can not afford healthy food due to high prices. Fast food targets groups who want a quick, cheap yet large meal, which proves to be a big portion of Americans.
Though many Americans have no option but to live off of foods such as burgers and other fast food items, there are also large quantities of Americans who eat fast food by choice. The reasons for this range from a craving for high fat, high sodium foods to a longing to revisit the good old days. Many simply enjoy the satisfaction of biting into a big, juicy burger for under $5. Others long for a burger in order to bring them back to simpler times, when they were a young adult or even a child. Burgers, for a large portion of America, symbolize a simpler time including adolescence or even innocence. Whether to satisfy a craving or to revisit a childhood memory, Americans often have a special connection with burgers.
On the opposite side of the fast food phenomenon, the producers strive for capitalistic gain, as do all businesses. McDonald’s, which started as one restaurant in 1948 by two brothers, now exists as a fast food chain with 14,146 locations in the U.S. alone. As they expanded at a rapid rate, McDonalds perfected many different aspect of their business in order to minimize
costs and maximize profits and efficiency. By creating non-organic, preservative filled foods, McDonalds successfully saves money and can justify their low prices and frequent deals. Additionally, by keeping non-fresh and non-organic goods in their restaurants, the chain saves time and is able to increase their efficiency by greatly reducing their need to constantly throw out and restock their food. This does not discourage consumers nor does it prove to negatively impact companies such as McDonalds in any way. For many reasons, Americans prefer non-fresh and non-organic foods over fresh and organic, which greatly benefits fast food chains. McDonalds is just one of many fast food chains that represents the American desire to take shortcuts where appropriate, save time, and, most importantly, create mass profit.
It can be argued that something as simple as a burger can not represent something as complex as America and American society. Though the connections are not blatantly obvious, the Big Mac does, in many ways, reflect the country in which we live. Burgers became popular in America decades ago, made by people living in America, for people living in America. Popular foods, along with many other popular objects say something about the society in which we live. Though often hard to grasp, these connections are both existent and important to recognize. The Big Mac represents the American desire for low prices and minimal time on the end of the consumer. On the producer end, the Big Mac represents the American desire for high efficiency and low cost to aid in high profits.
The burger was initially representative of freedom and new life in America. It belonged to a time in which pioneers discovered a new, better way of life with the ability to thrive. Meat once symbolized a new idea of how food could be eaten as well as a new form of prosperity for those who came to the U.S. This excitement over the ability to consume large portions of a
classic American food is still very present in our society today. The burger has evolved into an object still symbolic of America, though in different ways. It now represents the consumers desire for convenience and price, as well as the producers desire for efficiency and profit. Accessible, affordable, and substantial, burgers have developed into a classic American food that allows for both the consumer and the producer to be satisfied.