RESEARCH STARTER

Fast food

Fast food refers to inexpensive, high-calorie meals typically served by chain restaurants, known for their quick service at main counters or drive-thru windows. This industry has grown significantly, generating over $978.4 billion globally in 2023, with nearly a third of those revenues coming from the United States. The fast food model emerged prominently in the U.S. during the rise of automobile culture, which necessitated convenient eating options for travelers, leading to a focus on limited menus and rapid meal preparation. Notable pioneers include White Castle, recognized for introducing assembly line methods to food production, and McDonald's, which transformed into a global powerhouse starting from a small burger stand in 1948. The increase in fast food consumption has been linked to rising obesity rates and related health issues, prompting ongoing discussions about its nutritional value. Furthermore, societal changes, such as more women entering the workforce and the rise of single-parent households, have shifted meal preparation habits, making fast food a preferred option for many. Today, fast food outlets are ubiquitous, found in a variety of locations including schools and shopping centers, and account for a significant portion of consumer spending in the U.S.

Full Article

Fast food is inexpensive food, mostly high in calories and low in nutritional value, usually served by chain restaurants. Customers order at a main counter or at a drive-thru window, receive their food quickly, and can eat their meal on the premises or take it to go. According to industry statistics, fast food outlets worldwide generated total revenues of more than $750 billion in the mid-2020s, with sales in the United States alone accounting for roughly a third of that amount. Researchers have noted a correlation between increased consumption of fast food and significant increases in obesity and obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Overview

Fast food in some form has existed since the days of coaching inns and taverns, but it was the transformation of the United States into an automobile nation that gave the industry the push it needed to become a major market sector. As eating establishments opened to serve Americans on the road, competition encouraged owners to keep prices low. The most efficient way to do this was to limit the menu to foods that could be served easily and cheaply. This simplicity also meant less time devoted to employee training and an increase in speed of delivering meals to the consumer. Faster service meant more rapid turnover of customers, which in turn meant eating areas could be smaller. All of these changes were good for the profit margin, and fast food restaurants proliferated.

White Castle, a chain founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921, which has the distinction of introducing assembly line production to the food industry and changing public perception of the hamburger, is generally recognized as the first fast food chain. But the market leader is McDonald’s, which began in 1948 in San Bernardino, California, as a burger stand owned by Dick and Mac McDonald. It was Ray Kroc, a milkshake-mixer salesman, who envisioned opening McDonald’s restaurants all over the country. He founded the McDonald’s Corporation in 1955. Three years later, McDonald’s sold its 100 millionth hamburger, and by the end of the 1960s, there were more than one thousand McDonald’s franchises in the United States. By the twenty-first century, McDonald’s had expanded into more than one hundred countries on six continents. Other leading fast food chains in the United States were founded between 1950 and 1969: Subway, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut, Sonic, and Arby’s. Starbucks was founded in 1971.

Fast food industry revenue reached an estimated $417.5 billion in the United States in 2025. The extraordinary growth of the industry since the 1950s has been fueled by changes in the American family. In 1960, 70 percent of US households included a stay-at-home mother. By comparison, in 2023, 74 percent of women with children under eighteen were in the workforce, and the number of households headed by a single woman with dependent children had tripled since 1960. Meals that used to be prepared at home are now purchased at restaurants, largely at fast food establishments. Fast food is now available at schools, stadiums, airports, shopping malls, movie theaters, and retail stores. Moreover, fast food takes a bigger chunk out of Americans’ wallets than computers, cars, movies, music, and reading materials combined.

Furthermore, the rise of food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats caused further growth of the fast food industry in the 2020s. Such services, which soared in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, have become integral to fast food operations in the US.

Despite growth in the overall industry, a slowdown was seen among some fast food restaurants in the mid-2020s, especially those deemed "fast casual," such as Sweetgreen and Chipotle, which are more expensive than budget chains like McDonald's. Amidst rising inflation and slowing job growth, many American consumers began to cut back on dining out, leading to declining sales at many establishments. Fast food chains responded by increasing loyalty programs and value offerings, such as McDonald's $5 Meal Deal.



Bibliography

Employment Characteristics of Families—2023. Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, 24 Apr. 2024, www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

“Fast Food Industry Profile: Global.” Fast Food Industry Profile: Global, 2012, pp. 1–35. Business Source Premier. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

“Fast Food Restaurants in the US.” IBIS World, May 2025, www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/fast-food-restaurants-industry/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

Freedman, David H. “How Junk Food Can End Obesity.” The Atlantic, 19 June 2013, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-junk-food-can-end-obesity/309396/. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Jakle, John A., and Keith A. Sculle. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. Johns Hopkins UP, 1999.

Leidner, Robin. Fast Food, Fast Talk: Service Work and the Routinization of Everyday Life. U of California P, 1993.

"Market Size of the Quick Service Restaurant Industry Worldwide in 2022 and 2023." Statista, Aug. 2024, www.statista.com/statistics/1186194/fast-food-restaurant-industry-market-size-global/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

Mesa, Jesus. "What the Fast Food Industry Is Telling Us About the Economy." Newsweek, 17 Aug. 2025, www.newsweek.com/fast-food-bowls-mcdonalds-cava-chipotle-2113752. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

Moss, Michael. “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food.” The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Moss, Michael. Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Random, 2013.

“Neighborhood Fast Food Restaurants and Fast Food Consumption: A National Study.” BMC Public Health, vol. 11, no. 1, 2011, pp. 543–50. Academic Search Premier. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Houghton, 2001.

Spurlock, Morgan. Don’t Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Super Sizing of America. Putnam, 2005.

Stein, Joel. “The Fast-Food Ethicist.” Time, vol. 180, no. 4, 2012, pp. 40–44. Academic Search Premier. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Talwar, Jennifer Parker. Fast Food, Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, and the American Dream. Westview P, 2002.

Williams, Sally A., et al. “Nutrition Information and Children’s Fast Food Menu Choices.” Journal of Consumer Affairs, vol. 45, no. 1, 2011, pp. 52–86. Academic Search Premier. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.


Full Article

Fast food is inexpensive food, mostly high in calories and low in nutritional value, usually served by chain restaurants. Customers order at a main counter or at a drive-thru window, receive their food quickly, and can eat their meal on the premises or take it to go. According to industry statistics, fast food outlets worldwide generated total revenues of more than $750 billion in the mid-2020s, with sales in the United States alone accounting for roughly a third of that amount. Researchers have noted a correlation between increased consumption of fast food and significant increases in obesity and obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Overview

Fast food in some form has existed since the days of coaching inns and taverns, but it was the transformation of the United States into an automobile nation that gave the industry the push it needed to become a major market sector. As eating establishments opened to serve Americans on the road, competition encouraged owners to keep prices low. The most efficient way to do this was to limit the menu to foods that could be served easily and cheaply. This simplicity also meant less time devoted to employee training and an increase in speed of delivering meals to the consumer. Faster service meant more rapid turnover of customers, which in turn meant eating areas could be smaller. All of these changes were good for the profit margin, and fast food restaurants proliferated.

White Castle, a chain founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921, which has the distinction of introducing assembly line production to the food industry and changing public perception of the hamburger, is generally recognized as the first fast food chain. But the market leader is McDonald’s, which began in 1948 in San Bernardino, California, as a burger stand owned by Dick and Mac McDonald. It was Ray Kroc, a milkshake-mixer salesman, who envisioned opening McDonald’s restaurants all over the country. He founded the McDonald’s Corporation in 1955. Three years later, McDonald’s sold its 100 millionth hamburger, and by the end of the 1960s, there were more than one thousand McDonald’s franchises in the United States. By the twenty-first century, McDonald’s had expanded into more than one hundred countries on six continents. Other leading fast food chains in the United States were founded between 1950 and 1969: Subway, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut, Sonic, and Arby’s. Starbucks was founded in 1971.

Fast food industry revenue reached an estimated $417.5 billion in the United States in 2025. The extraordinary growth of the industry since the 1950s has been fueled by changes in the American family. In 1960, 70 percent of US households included a stay-at-home mother. By comparison, in 2023, 74 percent of women with children under eighteen were in the workforce, and the number of households headed by a single woman with dependent children had tripled since 1960. Meals that used to be prepared at home are now purchased at restaurants, largely at fast food establishments. Fast food is now available at schools, stadiums, airports, shopping malls, movie theaters, and retail stores. Moreover, fast food takes a bigger chunk out of Americans’ wallets than computers, cars, movies, music, and reading materials combined.

Furthermore, the rise of food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats caused further growth of the fast food industry in the 2020s. Such services, which soared in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, have become integral to fast food operations in the US.

Despite growth in the overall industry, a slowdown was seen among some fast food restaurants in the mid-2020s, especially those deemed "fast casual," such as Sweetgreen and Chipotle, which are more expensive than budget chains like McDonald's. Amidst rising inflation and slowing job growth, many American consumers began to cut back on dining out, leading to declining sales at many establishments. Fast food chains responded by increasing loyalty programs and value offerings, such as McDonald's $5 Meal Deal.



Bibliography

Employment Characteristics of Families—2023. Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, 24 Apr. 2024, www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

“Fast Food Industry Profile: Global.” Fast Food Industry Profile: Global, 2012, pp. 1–35. Business Source Premier. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

“Fast Food Restaurants in the US.” IBIS World, May 2025, www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/fast-food-restaurants-industry/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

Freedman, David H. “How Junk Food Can End Obesity.” The Atlantic, 19 June 2013, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-junk-food-can-end-obesity/309396/. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Jakle, John A., and Keith A. Sculle. Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. Johns Hopkins UP, 1999.

Leidner, Robin. Fast Food, Fast Talk: Service Work and the Routinization of Everyday Life. U of California P, 1993.

"Market Size of the Quick Service Restaurant Industry Worldwide in 2022 and 2023." Statista, Aug. 2024, www.statista.com/statistics/1186194/fast-food-restaurant-industry-market-size-global/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

Mesa, Jesus. "What the Fast Food Industry Is Telling Us About the Economy." Newsweek, 17 Aug. 2025, www.newsweek.com/fast-food-bowls-mcdonalds-cava-chipotle-2113752. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

Moss, Michael. “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food.” The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Moss, Michael. Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Random, 2013.

“Neighborhood Fast Food Restaurants and Fast Food Consumption: A National Study.” BMC Public Health, vol. 11, no. 1, 2011, pp. 543–50. Academic Search Premier. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Houghton, 2001.

Spurlock, Morgan. Don’t Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Super Sizing of America. Putnam, 2005.

Stein, Joel. “The Fast-Food Ethicist.” Time, vol. 180, no. 4, 2012, pp. 40–44. Academic Search Premier. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Talwar, Jennifer Parker. Fast Food, Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, and the American Dream. Westview P, 2002.

Williams, Sally A., et al. “Nutrition Information and Children’s Fast Food Menu Choices.” Journal of Consumer Affairs, vol. 45, no. 1, 2011, pp. 52–86. Academic Search Premier. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.


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