Fast Food

The restaurant industry is a competitive industry. From low cost meals to specialty food items, restaurants have become save. “y’ in their efforts to attract customers. Pander Bread has developed a strategy to attract customers that are looking for a change from fast food. Consumers are looking for new ideas for meals. They are looking for quality foods over cheap fast food. Pander has been able to attract and draw customers away from the fast food market with their unique food ideas by drawing upon the many strengths of the company.

The company has been hindered y the weaknesses in its strategy and now needs to develop ideas to turn those weaknesses into opportunities to increase customers and revenue. A SOOT analysis of the company will highlight areas where the company is performing well and areas that need improved. Strengths Quality ingredients – Pander offers the highest quality of products to its customers. From fresh vegetables to gluten free items. The company offers a menu to suit a variety of customers. Niche Market – Pancreas menu items have evolved to meet the taste and demands of customers.

Brand – The company has a strong and distinctive rand Reward card – This allows Pander to build a relationship with customers. Customers are rewarded with free food items for being loyal customers. Weakness Pricing – While Pander offers higher quality foods, many people are turned off by the high cost of the food. Pancreas food is priced considerable higher than that of their competitors. Many of the fast-food chains offer and entire meal for less than the cost of a sandwich at Pander Brand name – The Company is not as well-known as some of its competitors and often gets overlooked.

Menu Selection – Pancreas menu is limited o soups, salad, sandwiches and bread. Customers wanting more variety will look for other food ideas. Market share – The company is a national brand sold exclusively in the United States Opportunities Expansion – The Company can expand business to the international market. This opens the company up to a new market with similar taste. This allows the company to increase market share and revenue. Catering – Pander offers catering services which is a feature that many fast food companies do not offer.

Catering services allows the company to increase revenue and introduces menu items to a new range of customers. Trends – Consumer taste can change and evolve over time. This gives Pander the opportunity to adjust and adapt its menu to meet those needs. Threats Chipolata – Chipolata has a similar strategy to that of Pander. It offers fresh ingredients and healthier food items that consumers are seeking. Chipolata stores have cropped up across the country and offer consumers quality meal over standard fast food items. Struck – Struck has been a leader in the coffee business for years.

They have a larger beverage menu than that offered by Chipolata. Coffee drinkers prefer the various options offered by Struck to the limited drink menu of Pander. McDonald’s – McDonald’s competes with Pander on a different level. They offer customers cheap and quick food selections. They have introduced healthier food items to their menu to meet the needs of more health conscious individuals. Pander has distinctive competencies that set is apart from competitors. Its artisan breads are made fresh daily and gives customers a variety of options to choose from. Customers frequent the restaurant exclusively to purchase the breads.

For Pander to continue to grow, the company needs to look at making an entrance into the global markets. Pander has achieved a great deal of success domestically, but has not managed to penetrate international markets. Pander needs to conduct research on trends in foreign countries and develop products to fit the needs of those consumers. Once research has been completed, market testing needs to occur to see how consumers respond to the menu items. Next, the company needs to stay abreast of current trends in the market and make adjustments to its menu items.

Consumer taste changes often and companies that onto adapt to change will not be successful. Additionally, the company needs to look at ways to drive up traffic during evening hours. Pander has been very success with the lunch crowd, but traffic drops off after that. Pander needs on incorporate menu items that will attract people out for dinner or that will be appeasing to families with children. Pander has enjoyed great success over the years. Customers are pleased with the variety of items offered by the restaurant. Pander has been very successful with the fast-casual market, quality dishes and the esthetics look of the stores.

Pancreas strength lies in attracting and retaining customers and evidenced by the company’s increased revenue. Pander is a leader in the market and set the standard for which many companies are imitating.

odBradd DentFast Food Nation Questions Introduction America’s fast food industry was founded by self made man who took risk, worked hard, some not even going to collage. Today the industry relies on a low-paid and unskilled workforce, where a handful are able to rise up the corporate ladder, while the vast majority lack fulltime employment, receive no benefits, and end up quitting after a few months.

The fast food industry prospered over the last 30 years because minimum wage was lowered, marking was directed at children, federal agencies meant to protect workers and consumers ended up working for the companies, and corporations worked with congress to oppose laws that didn’t help them. The “American world view” is embodied in fast food because it takes advantage of those who don’t know any better. Chapter 1 The element of car based restaurants like the ones started in Southern California encouraged the spread of fast food because they had good food, became successful, and were very popular among young people.

Chapter 2 Disney and Kroc were similar because they both used science to sell their products, made up famous mascots to sell products and both focused selling to kids. They were different because Disney founded his company, and Kroc bought his, they sold different products, and Kroc wasn’t involved in politics, while Disney was. Their companies cooperated when McDonald’s agreed to sell Disney toys and Disney agreed to allow McDonald’s in Disneyland. The fast food industry started with billboard ads to attract kids and evolved to adverting every where, from TV, to the internet, to school hallways.

They also make the restaurants themselves fun for kids with play places and selling toys so they want to go more, and even as adults bring their own kids. Personally, I don’t think it is ethical to advertise in schools because it fast food is unhealthy and kids should be learning that, not that the burgers at McDonald’s get and A in taste. Chapter 3 Most employees of fast food restaurants ate teenagers because most are willing to work long hours with little pay.

Fast food corporations relentlessly stop their workers from unionizing by doing things like integrating workers with information about a possible union with lie detectors, or closing locations with unions and opening new locations near by. Working conditions at fast food restaurants are unsafe. Typical dangers the employees face ate slips, fall, cuts, burns, and robberies. Problems are dealt with by increasing security with cameras or more parking lot lights. If I worked at a fast food restaurant and I injured my self, I might not tell my manager because I could loose my job because they could blame me for the injury.

Chapter 4 The advantages of starting your own business is if it is successful, you could get a lot of money, not to mention you are your own boss so no one besides the government tells you how to run your business. The disadvantages are the business could be unsuccessful and you could loose a lot of money. The advantages of working for someone else are you do not have to make too many tough decisions. The disadvantages are you will not make as much money as your boss, and you may not like your boss for whatever reason.

Some legal issues that fast food franchises have been involved in are the Coble’s Bill which makes franchises obey the principles other companies follow. The Subway fast food franchise was involved in the SBA which helps restaurants by giving them government funds. Subway got involved and made it so they would get extra money. Chapter 5 Family farms are disappearing because industry farms take all the business and close family farms because they have no one to sell to. there are only a few small potato farms left because industries take up all the land and business.

The take-over of agricultural farms effects communities because local farms go out of business and communities become dependent on the corporate farm. Chapter 6 Development and fast food farms take land and effects cattle pastures because there is less land for the cattle to graze. Since most cowboys and ranchers have gone out of business, they have become irreverent in today’s culture. The government set up the Sherman Antitrust Act and a congressional investigation in the meet packing industry to help ranchers. Later, the Reagan administration allowed the top four meat packing firms to merge and they took over the cattle markets.

Corporate domination affected family farms by forcing them to work for them or go out of business. Self-reliance is still a viable goal for Americans, but has become very difficult because of big corporations. The fast food industry makes chicken farmers work for them or they would get no business. In farm culture, the land is a tangible connection to the past, meant to be handed down and not sold. To native Americans, the land meant life and prosperity. In traditional Irish culture, the land is a link to past generations and to loose the land meant to fail your relatives.

Their concept of land is similar to the American concept. Chapter 7 The demands of the fast food industry changed towns by making is so almost everyone ends up eating fast food because the industries are aloud to put their restaurants wherever they want and advertise as much as they want until the town’s economy runs on the fast food restaurants. Chapter 8 Meatpacking is dangerous because of the machines and rarely cleaned cutting tools. Since a meatpacking manager’s bonus is based in part on injury rate, many injuries go unreported and the worker is either given an easer job to takes time off to recover.

Chapter 9 The meat packing and meat processing industry has been a spreader of disease because the animals are not screened well enough or sick workers spreading disease on the animals. After reading about the pathogens in hamburger meat, I am concerned about food poisoning in fast food. E. coli is not common in restaurant food, but is likely to be in hamburger meat. Chapter 10 Many Americans are obese because of lack of information and improper food laws. Fast food probably plays a big part in obesity because it provides unhealthy food to almost every where.

Americans are probably more obese than other countries because fast food started here. Fast food companies increase the size of their meals to effect the calorie count look better for the per serving part. This effects American health because it is misguiding and you eat more than you thought you were going to. People in other countries do not want fast food because they have seen its effect on America. Epilogue The free market Schosser talks about leaves workers unprotected with little interference from the government. In the quote, Schosser is referring to the free market.

I agree to what Schlosser says on 216. I believe the government needs to work harder to protect both the workers and consumers of fast food. At the end of the Epilogue, the author remedies his criticisms with the fact that it is a persons choice to eat want. Afterword Mad Cow disease is a disease that slowly destroys the brain and can be spread through hamburger meat. It can be controlled by feeding cows grass instead of corn and hormones, and inspecting the meat better. Cattle get infected by it because they stand in the dung of an effected cattle. It is a very serous threat to humans.

Introduction

KFC bought large corporations operating in the fast food industry. At present, hundreds of branches are scattered all over Europe and Asia. As a fast food stores, consumers who want to have meals in an instant at lower prices, in order to attract a wider scope of market, KFC offers a diversified menu selection. However, since the fast food industry is very competitive KFC should improve its current business strategy. The objective of this study is to: provide a brief description of the fast food industry, analyze the business strategy of KFC using Porter’s Generic Strategies, analyze the internal and external environment using SWOT analysis and finally, evaluate the effectiveness of KFC current strategy.

Characteristic of the Food Industry

Market Size and Growth Rates

The food industry is earning a trillion-dollar per year. In the United States, it is sharing 10% of the gross domestic product. In Canada, it is contributing about 13% of the GDP, while 13% in Mexico, 11% in the European Union, 12% in Latin America and 14% in Asia (Allen, 2006). The trend in the market size and growth rates in the fast food industry over the past year slowed down in the yearly rate of the quarterly growth between 1998 and 2003 followed by subsequent acceleration (KFC Corporation, 2004). With interest rates increasing in 2004, the rate of growth over 2004 and 2005 is slow. On this basis, the longer-run trend in annual growth since 1998 appears downward. The consumer expenditure is still anticipated to grow in the near future, but its rate of growth will be slower than that seen between 1998 and 2004.

Scope of Rivalry

The scope of rivalry in the fast food industry is from local to international depending on whether if the competitor or regional, national or international chain. The two competing fast food giants are KFC and McDonald’s has dominated the fast food industry, however smaller companies like Subway, Wendy’s and Hardee are beginning to make a large dent in fast food sales (Courch, 2004).

Stage in Industry Life Cycle

The domestic market is in a mature stage, while the international market is in the rapid-growth stage. The fast food industry’s curve is flatter, showing slow in growth and can be considered to be in the stage of expansion (Datamonitor, 2004). The fast food industry’s sales is expanding and continuously gaining profit from their cash cow products. In this life cycle of the fast food industry, there are some late entrants and are trying to put all efforts to have a share in the market. The leading company in the industry like KFC and McDonald’s are separating their product from other lower-cost offering in order to increase volume of sales and gain profits.

The Number and Size of Competitors

The number and size of the competitors in the fast food industry is heavily fragmented, Markets with large numbers of firms (KFC and McDonald’s) competitive than markets with small numbers of firms (Wendy’s and Hardee). These small companies behave more competitively than those large firms in the industry (Fifield, 1998). In the fast food industry, the size of firms differs on the other hand inclines to be smaller than other industries (KFC, 2005). Even with a heavy distribution of size in the fast food industry, competitors still have the tendency to have smaller forms than other industries.

Product Differentiation

The companies in the fast food industry have cooperated with the call of the present environment by its efforts to differentiate themselves from competitors, and at the same time creating an attraction to existing and new customers (Hume, 1991). To give a good example, KFC have distinguished itself by introducing new variety of products in the market. They centered their attention to their store quality and the new “finger licking good” slogan. KFC also exerted efforts to the health of their consumers through their adult customers (Lim, 1997). This meal includes salad bottled water, a pedometer and some medical tips encouraging them to walk and exercise more. KFC does also have their low-fat dressing, more salads and more nutritional information about their products so that the customers can choose what to eat depending on their dietary needs (Hume, 1991). This differentiation helps KFC to be superior to their competitors. While McDonalsd’s introduced 30 new products, McDonald’s Big Mac is recognizable compare to KFC Original Recipe Chicken (Moore, 1993).

Economies of Scale

Economies of scale are important because they allow competitors to preserve margins in the presence of intense price competition. In the fast food industry gives economies of scale for the supplier (Lipset, 1991). All the major fast food chain end of the market, suppliers are weaker in bargaining position, especially with KFC because they have the ability to collaborate with the major wholesalers and food manufacturers.

Entry Barriers

The entry barriers in the fast food industry are high (Roye and Towers, 1980). Therefore, the fast food industry can be considered as oligopolistic because of some small rivals inside the industry that are interdependent among organizations with substantial economies of scale significant to the barriers of entry when products may be identical or differentiated. KFC is considered to be oligopolistic.

Industry Profitability

Food industry companies profits approximately $18 billion in pre-tax earnings from marketing U.S. farm foods in 1997, a 4.2-percent decrease from 1996. About 3.5 cents of every food dollar went to pre-tax corporate profits in 1997. By 2003, retail foodstore increased 6.5%, even though there is some marginal sales increase, despite marginal sales increases, by attracting customers to cheaper generic brands and nonfood services such as in-store pharmacies, greeting cards, health and beauty care, and video rentals (Thompson et al, 2005).

Porter’s Five Forces Model

Competitive Rivalry: Very Strong

Rivalry is considered to be the strongest and most important force in Porter’s model (Porter 1980). It represents the presence and number of firms competing for each other’s economic profits. The level of rivalry within the fast food industry can be described as high. This is mainly due to the presence of several competing companies of similar sizes. Moreover, rivalry level increases because of product and service differentiation inadequacy. As fast food stores offer similar products (e.g. burgers, fries, tacos, pizza, pasta, sandwiches), the level of competition is naturally increased. The companies operating within the industry are also very aggressive in making fresh moves so as to increase sales and market share because of the following factors:

• Domestic demand is growing slowly
• Competitors often rely on price cuts to boost volume
• Low switching costs for consumers.

Threat of Entry: Relatively Weak

The threat on entrants is highly dependent on the presence of factors known as barriers of entry (Bejou and Palmer, 1998). Basically, barriers to entry could increase or decrease the chances of new businesses offering products that could rival those produced by existing companies. Naturally, the threat on entrants will be low due to risks of decreased market share potential. There are several examples of barriers to entry. For the fast food industry, the entrant factor can be considered as low due to a number of reasons.

• Economies of scale allow preservation of margins during price cuts
• Relatively unattractive market with slowing growth
• Competitors are working to build brand loyalty through new menus, increased efficiency, and improved service
• Existing competitors have accumulated expertise in marketing and efficiency

Competition from Substitutes: Very Strong

As mentioned, the fast food industry is very competitive; fast food restaurants are operating in a business environment where several major companies are producing and offering similar products or services (Gifford, 1991). In addition, the target markets of these companies are similar as well. The consumers then have several product options to choose from, making the level of substitutes high for this industry:

• Alternatives to fast food are readily available
• Alternatives are attractively priced
• Buyers view the substitutes as satisfactory in terms of quality
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Weak

Similar to buyer power, the power of the suppliers with the company is high as well (Gross, 1996). This is because supplier concentration for menu ingredients is low. HP can deal with other suppliers for its production. If the fast food establishment is a multinational type, other suppliers will be very willing to supply goods to such company (Hitt et al, 2003). However, major fast food stores should also note that healthy relation with suppliers is as important as those with its customers. So as not to affect the quality of its products, it is imperative that the company refrain from changing one supplier to the next (Howard, 1999):

• No evidence of supplier-seller collaboration in the fast-food industry
• Fast food supplies are mostly commodities
• Industry leaders are major customers to suppliers
• Bargaining Power of Buyers: Moderate to strong

According to the September report, the bargaining power of customers establishes how much customers can compel demands on margins and volumes (Horowitz, 2004). Customers normally have comparatively moderate to strong bargaining power in the fast food market. This stems from some important characteristics of the market: in particular:

• The fast food industry comprises a large number of small operators
• The industry operates with high fixed costs,
• The fast food product (within defined market segments) is largely undifferentiated and can be replaced by substitutes
• Switching to an alternative product type of fast food or an alternative outlet is relatively simple and is not related to high costs,
• Consumer tend to be price-sensitive,
• Consumer can produce the product themselves if they wanted
• Fast food is not of strategic importance for the customer,
• Buyer’s switching costs are relatively low
• Customers purchase in small volumes
• Consumers are well-informed about sellers’ products, prices, and costs

Conclusion

KFC have pioneered and excelled itself in a whole range of modern management methods, particularly in areas of strategic marketing, consumer research, product innovation and development, personnel management, staff training and management development, quality assurance and testing and lastly technology-oriented purchasing although it was successful it had to sell off most of its overseas operations so that it can maintain its food chains. In management of a firm strategy is needed, to make sure that everything goes well in the company, through the use of strategic management everything done in the company is well organized and no detail is being left out.

Strategic decisions are made whenever companies experience problems, Strategic decisions are made when a company’s current strategy is not working or is being questioned. Capital structure represents the major privilege and due to a corporation’s assets and resources. It includes publicly issued securities, private placements, bank debt, trade debt, leasing contracts, tax liabilities, pension liabilities, deferred compensation to management and employees, performance guarantees, product warrantees, and other contingent liabilities.

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These days, most people prefer fast food rather than home-made food. People are alike in needing food in order to survive, but they differ in choosing the kind of food they’re having. Fast food and home-made food have considerable dissimilarities in preparation time, convenience, and quality. Despite the health risks that come with fast food consumption, people continue to eat it because many people have no time to select and prepare food at home. However, fast food need not be as unhealthy as its reputation. One advantage of home-made meals over fast food is its cheaper cost.

However, because you also spend on seasoning, condiments and gas and electricity whenever you cook at home, the cost difference is quite possibly not as large as many believe. In addition, home-made meals generally take more time to prepare and require you to have cooking skills. On the other hand, the taste of home-made meals is generally better, because you are able to select fresh ingredients. You are also able to ensure the ingredients that go into your food are clean and free of contaminants. Nowadays, fast food attracts people more than home-made food does. It’s known as the food that you don’t have to prepare.

Fast food is more common because people are always busy, and in a hurry, so they head towards fast food restaurants to save their time. For example, if a worker works for a long time and doesn’t have enough time to cook a meal, (he/she) will definitely consume a fast food meal. Fast food is also common because it’s convenient and people can find fast food restaurants in all places. In conclusion, both fast food and home-made food have significant divergence in preparation time, convenience and quality. Fast food might be better in saving time and being more convenient, while home-made food might be better in quality.

Fast Food culture In the worldwide Fast food, as you can understand Is the term referring to food that Is prepared and can be delivered In a fast time. It Is traditionally American style meal that always included French fries, burgers and soft drinks. Restaurants store precooked ingredients, once the customer gives an order, take-away can be ready In a while. To be called as “Fast food”, these foods must meet a few standards: good time management, quality stability and fixed price. It is a very popular meal style in some well-developed cities, since the people have a totally busy life.

The first recorded fast food restaurant A;W is founded in 1919 at the united States of America, and the second one is the famous company White Castle in 1921. In this century, fast food restaurants develop and most of them become chains suppliers. US people spent billions on buying fast food every year. The fast food globalization had now become a huge social issue. Nowadays there are over 500,000 fast food restaurants and thousands brands in the whole world. And today we are going to focus on the two head quarters in Hong Kong- McDonald’s and KFC. Introduction of McDonald’s McDonald’s Is definitely the biggest fast food chain In the world.

It founded In 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Nowadays, over 33,000 McDonald’s restaurants were established in the worldwide. The products of McDonald’s are In various types, mainly hamburgers, French fries, chickens and soft drinks. Sometimes, they will provide seasonal meal to attract customers such as ‘Shake Shake French fries’. Following differences of choices, McDonald’s would also offer vegetarian food too. In order to fit the culture, they may change the meal a little bit for example not providing beef in India. You can always find one on the street, because there are in total 200 stores in Hong Kong.

McDonald’s became popular all the time due to busy life schedule of Hong Kong people. Introduction of KFC On the other hand, the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is the largest fried chicken shop in the world, and the second largest fast food chain after the McDonald’s. Harland Sanders founded KFC in 1930 at Kentucky in the United States of America. KFC practically sells fried chicken pieces, coleslaw and drinks. The popularity of KFC’s chicken comes trom its original secret recipe which mixed with 11 herbs and spices. Not Ilke the McDonald’s, KFC has a smaller scale with only 63 stores In Hong Kong.

However, the numbers didn’t affect the KFC’s second largest place of fast food chain In Hong Kong. Advantages and disadvantages of Fast Food always in busy life schedule. Facing the hard workload, they may only have half an hour to have a meal and rush beck to their work. Thus, these quick service restaurants help to solve to lack of time problem. Meals can be prepared within ten minutes. No matter how delicious other food are, Hong Kong people have not enough time to buy ingredients, cook or enjoy. Second is the stability of food within one chain of fast food restaurant.

Tastes are ainly the same in any store. You will never taste bad with the same meal. And the prices are predictable and affordable too. One fast food meal is always cheaper than you cook alone at home. However, fast food as called as Junk food, affecting people’s health. Restaurant usually uses a lot of additives such as salt, flavorings and preservatives. The large amount of calories and additives are harmful to human body. Since the fast food is all pre-cooked, the nutrients of the ingredients are lost. Therefore, some people may say that fast food is only for surviving.

Eating fast food in a long term may cause arious diseases such as diabetes and heart attack. Comparison of McDonald’s and KFC In Hong Kong, McDonald’s is obviously in a larger scale than KFC. Except the differences on the food kinds, the way they run the company are a bit different too. Apart from fast food restaurant, McDonald’s have McCaf©s to provide desserts and coffee like Starbucks. Besides, McDonald’s have works in different area of society such as charity, children health affair. But the KFC is Just only a restaurant in Hong Kong. Therefore, people would called McDonald’s as a better company than KFC in Hong Kong.

Today everyone is working, so you probably won’t find a hot meal in the kitchen everyday. Most families eat out because there tired and it’s quick for them to do. This essay will tell you about the similarities and differences between fast food restaurants and home-cooked meals. makes a comparison between meals that are prepared at home and meals that are purchased from fast food restaurants. Home cooked meals can be made from fresh ingredients such as vegetables and fruits.

When it comes to feeding your mind and body, nothing is better than preparing your food from stratch, with qualilty ingredients you can serve with love. They also do not have as much sodium and fat as fast food meals. They also do not have as much sodium and fat as fast food meals. Home cooked meals can be made from fresh ingredients such as vegetables and fruits. They are more nutritional and don’t have as many calories and saturated fat than fast food meals.

In the time it takes to use your gas, drive to the restaurant, place your order, wait for your order, return home and serve the meal, you can make a three course meal from stratch with time to sit back and relax. Preparing meals at home also allow you to control the amount of salts and oils you use in your recipes. This reduce weight gain. Home cooked meals can also offer variety as well as time spent with your family in a closed setting for example The whole family sits down to eat and it’s more healthier for your family to eat.

Children benefit greatly from the ritual of eating meals together. Family meals provide opportunities for sharing the day’s events and create a relaxing transition from busy daytime activities to slower-paced evening ones. Home prepared meals are so much safer as the ingredients and tools used for preparation are your own clean devices, such as new cooking tools, fresh cooking oil, and etc. Home cooked meals are very cost effective if proper planning is used to keep meals intersting and palatable. It is often times cheaper depending on what type of meal is prepared.

Home cooking cost will also be resonable as long as the ingredient prices are carefully considered. Cooking your own meals affords you the peace of mind that goes along with having complete control over the type and quality of ingredients in your meals and the degree of cleanliness that goes into their preparation. + Fast food is Served fast right in front of you, and it’s sometimes super cheap to buy. It’s Fast to cook, but Made with different satuarated fats and less nutrition. Fast food always taste the same so there are really no suprises unless it’s something new on the menu.

Fast food is usually good for when your on the road or on the go and just need to get a quick bite to snack on. Fast food is also prepared behind walls so you don’t know whats really going on with your food. People being served might wonder might wonder if those kitchens are clean and sanitary or not, or if healthy clean oil is used because restaraunts are known to use the oil many time for less expense. Eating fast food should not become a habit. Fast food can also cause slow death also know as obesity or overweight. It’s also Not health and greasy.

Fast food is more immediately and well faster to prepare and consume than home cooked meals. Despite the health risks that come with fast food consumption, people continue to eat it because many people have no time to select and prepare meals at home. Fast food are usually very cheap as it is intentionally made to be available for all levels of income. Restaurant and other commercially prepared foods are notoriously high in fat, salt and sugar. These foods are fine as an occasional indulgence or for a special occasion, but not healthy as a regular diet.

There are many important similarities between fast food restaurants and home-cooked meals. You can eat both fast food and home-cooked meals with your family whether your together or not. For example you can make food and home and have a picnic or you can buy food from a restaurant and have a picnic with your family in your backyard or a community park. Another similarity are that both of them is delicious, so you can enjoy eat anywhere and anytime. You can also order them both by choice. Although there are some similarities between fast food restaurants and home-cooked meals, there are also many differences between them.

The first important difference is that the food is more cleaner in your home than the fast food in restaurants. You also have to pay for your food in a restaurant but at home it’s free. Also in a restaurant your meal is prepared very quickly, for example, when you choose something and you tell the seller about it the food will finishing in the blink of an eye, but in your home the food isn’t done as fast. Eating fast food every once in a while won’t hurt you, but eating it too much can cause serious health problems.

Taking the time out to balance your meals save time and money. When eating balanced meals your body feels satisfied. Most fast foods contain too much salt, calories, and satuarated fat. When you cook at home you save gas and your time. Whether or not you choose to eat at home or have fast food, it is important to select healthy food at all times. Avoid trans fats and processed food, because it isn’t good for your health, Home cooked meals aren’t fast and ready exactly when you want to eat them, but they are healthier and will help you in the long run!

“What did you have for dinner? ” is a question asked thousands of times every day. Admittedly, people are facing a difficult problem of choosing what to eat, given the variety of options such as Chinese cuisine, American cuisine, and Japanese cuisine, not to mention many variants within each style. Throughout the years, the food industry has incorporated traditional methods as well as adaptations to a changing society. Fast food, for example, has grown exponentially over the past half century. By contrast, traditional foods such as rice remain a crucial part of food culture.

Two essays that highlight this contrast are Seanon Wong’s “Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns” and Julie Dash’s “Rice Culture. ” Wong’s essay illustrates the significance of fast food, whereas Dash’s essay discusses traditional cooking methods. While both authors talk about food and cultural traditions, Dash uses an informal voice to discuss preserving her traditions, whereas Wong uses an academic voice to describe the evolution of food traditions in Chinese culture. The main topic for both articles is food.

Wong reports on the flourishing of fast food in Hong Kong, showing how Chinese fast food companies have made inroads into the Hong Kong market. For example, as Wong points out, “Hong Kong’s fast food industry… is dominated by Chinese companies such as Cafe de Coral, Fairwood and Maxim. ” (123) By contrast, Dash’s “Rice Culture” clearly narrates her own rice tradition. Dash begins by telling us “I come from a family of rice eaters” (138). Apparently, food is the main idea of both Wong’s and Dash’s passages, and therefore, they use food as a reason to develop their stories.

Additionally, both authors discuss food in a manner that acts as a springboard to analyzing food’s cross-cultural dimensions. Rice is, admittedly, a basic food in the Eastern world. However, “Rice Culture” tell us how Dash and Aunt Gertie cook rice American style. “Before cooking, Aunt Gertie would wash her rice, really scrub it in a bowl of water until all the water was clear” (Dash 140). She also asserts that “in the years that followed, the South Carolinian African captives played a major role in establishing a powerful rice culture in the antebellum South” (139).

American and African cultures were blended, Dash argues, through the South Carolinian method of introducing a African influence into the American form of rice cooking. Just as traditional cooking benefitted from cross-cultural pollination, so too did fast food, which, Wong argues, created a mixture of American and Chinese food culture. In “Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns”, he finds that “As American fast food chains have boomed in Hong Kong over the last three decades, the demand for fast food — American or otherwise — has grown even faster” (123).

The cross-cultural issues are ostensibly merged. Moreover, both Wong and Dash illustrate the ways in which food terminology and language are altered cross-culturally. Dash’s “Rice Culture” looks at foreign terms used to describe German foods. She compares “German spritzal to… elbow macaroni and cheese” (138). In this case, “spritzal” is explained as a kind of German noodle dish. Similarly, Wong uses “foreign” or non-native vocabularies as a way of introducing Chinese food.

His article states “In 1996, Daniang Dumplings was merely a community restaurant in Changzhou in Jiangsu province with only six employees selling arguably the most prototypical of northern Chinese food — Shuijiao”. (126) “Shuijiao” is a foreign term that describes Chinese boiled dumplings. Both Wong and Dash explore the ways in which native foods are influenced by vocabulary and foreign influence, and this is a similarity in comparing the two articles. Although both Dash and Wong focus on food writing and the intersections between Western and Eastern cultures, there are noticeable differences in tone and voice between the two articles.

One huge distinction lies in their respective formality of language. In Dash’s “Rice Culture”, she narrates the story in first person. She says, “Today as I stand over a bowl of cold water and rice, scrubbing, I feel Aunt Gertie watching me. ” (Dash 140) “I” dominates the article; her goal in the passage is not to make larger statements, but rather to share her personal experience of cooking rice. The first person tone is intimate. By contrast, Wong’s tone is formal and quantitative, a technique he employs to establish credibility and grab the reader’s attention.

He relies on facts, evidence, and statistics, in contrast with Dash’s more qualitative narration. In “Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns”, Wong cites statistics such as, “over 60 percent of the city’s denizens eat at take-away restaurants at least once a week, compared to only 41 percent and 35 percent in mainland China and the United States respectively” (123). For most readers, these numbers help to establish Wong’s credibility and are more persuasive as arguments rather than simply stating an opinion.

The tone of voice contrast between Wong and Dash can subtly lend credibility to their assertions. By analyzing our two main contemporary food models—modern and traditional—Seanon Wong and Julie Dash give us contrasting and complementary ways of looking at food culture. Dash brings up a method of how her aunt cooks rice, “Before cooking, Aunt Gertie would wash her rice, really scrub it in a bowl of water until all water was clear,” (140) Dash illustrates “Sometimes she would change the scrubbing water up to ten times! (140) this is an unorthodox and rarely used method, at least in the modern world. Thus, it can be regarded as a traditional way of cooking food, one that served the Aunt Gertie of the world well, but a way that even Dash finds hard to emulate. By contrast, Wong summarizes the fast food industry in Hong Kong. In his article, fast food represents a new, modern model for people who eat outside, or for people whose time constraints don’t allow for more traditional ways of cooking. In “Noodles vs.

Sesame Seed Buns”, Wong says “Considering the omnipresence of McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut, American fast food has been a revolutionary force in China’s everyday culture. ” Undoubtedly, in Wong’s account, this is a kind of cultural invasion, in which he thinks that Western modern fast food has been detrimental to the values and traditions, not to mention health, of Eastern societies. The pervasiveness and variety of food culture and the importance of cultural distinctions are increasingly obvious in the contemporary world. This awareness is especially important where cultures intersect.

In these two essays, both authors come to terms with their own food culture, and address cross-cultural issues which are increasingly common. Dash uses a narrative voice to tell her traditional way of cooking rice, while Wong quantifies the modern fast food trend in Hong Kong. The traditional approach seems to emphasize quality, while the modern approach (with fast food signifying modern) emphasizes convenience. Most likely, the food industry of tomorrow will be more mixed, finding a way to integrate quality and offer convenience.

When that happens, we will have the best of both worlds; Dash’s traditional approach melded with Wong’s modern sensibilities. Word Count: 1260 words Bibliography Dash, Julie. “Rice Culture. ” Mirror on America: Essays and Images from Popular Culture. Ed. Joan T. Mims and Elizabeth M. Nollen. 5th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 138-41. Print. Wong, Seanon. “Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns. ” Mirror on America: Essays and Images from Popular Culture. Ed. Joan T. Mims and Elizabeth M. Nollen. 5th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 124-27. Print.