Stacy Irvine, age 17, has been eating McDonald's chicken nuggets everyday for the past fifteen years. Her diet does not vary except for "...the occasional slice of toast for breakfast." She also has never eaten a piece of fruit or a vegetable. Her chicken nugget addiction has landed her in the hospital for extremely low vitamins and anemia. Irvine's only source of nutrition is McDonald's and its slowly starting to kill her. So my question is how can a fast food restaurant mass sell such an unhealthy and life-threatening product?
I believe that
McDonald's' marketing tactics are superb. They are able to portray their
dangerous food in a way that appeals to the majority of society. By pushing
their "Happy Meals" and offering a toy with each meal, they
are subconsciously training children to want to go to McDonalds
because with every burger and chicken nugget they eat, they receive a
"reward." In addition, McDonald's' "Dollar Menu" is very
appealing to families and adults who are on a budget. Getting a whole meal for
under $5 is hard to pass up, especially in these rough economic times. I once
read an article where a person would spend 3 times more money buying vegetables
and meat for a home cooked meal than going to McDonald's for dinner.
The convenience
of McDonald's may also be a factor in its popularity. In America, there is a
McDonald's on almost every major street. You can drive your car right to the
side of the building and within minutes your food will be handed to you,
without ever having to step out of the comfort of your car. In our high-paced society, this time-saver can be appealing to many people.
To sum up, maybe
the "cheapness" and the "convenience" of fast food
restaurants are what makes them addicting to us. The food is dangerous; being
high in fat and sodium but, it seems that Americans are willing to sacrifice
their health in order to save money and time.
