CURRENT STATUS
- More than 35,000 McDonalds restaurants worldwide
- Commands nearly 50% of the U.S fast food market
- About 8% of the U.S population will eat there daily; 96% of the U.S population will eat there annually
- Opens 2,000 restaurants yearly, averaging to an opening every five hours
- Sells more than 75 hamburgers per second
- Hires around 1 million workers in the U.S annually
- World's largest toy distributor
- $24 billion in revenue makes it 90th-largest economy worldwide
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EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION
Positive:
- Products, finances, ideas, and cultures can circulate more freely
- Employs over 1.5 million people
- People can get their food quick and easy
- Contributed in giving greater access to a global marketplace of goods by its strong economic influence
- Invests and supports initiatives to adapt its products and services, increasing global economy
Negative:
- Business-driven globalization means uprooting old ways of life and threatening livelihoods and cultures
- Demand for resources will increase with so many restaurants
- Americans will spend more money on fast food than on high education, personal technology, or new cars
- Changed eating habits around the world; McDonalds food consumption have been indicated to lead to serious health risks
OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
Outside of the United States, McDonalds proved to be just as big an influence on foreign countries as it was in its home country.
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Before McDonalds existed, times were not exactly satisfying for everyone. Back then, such as in Britain, food was very expensive; a loaf of bread would cost as high as 14p. For low-cost meals, there were just a few options like the Berni Inn (a British restaurant) and other restaurants in department stores, fish and chips, or even just a pub. But when McDonalds began selling Big Macs in Britain, they cost around the same as a loaf of bread, but much cleaner and fresher.
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The Impact of McDonalds on Britain
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11223578/How-McDonalds-changed-the-way-we-eat-in-Britain.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11223578/How-McDonalds-changed-the-way-we-eat-in-Britain.html
However, while McDonalds has gained popularity worldwide in its compatibility to the taste of other countries such as a mustard-topped burger called the “Le Royal Deluxe” in France or the veggie, rice, and bean burgers in India, it has generated controversy in past years. The European nations in particular have described McDonalds American-style fast food as an insult to their own cuisine. In 1999, a French farmer named Jose Bove, along with some activists, destroyed a McDonalds restaurant that was still under construction in opposition to globalization and "bad food." The following year, a bomb (set up anonymously) was also detonated in a McDonalds branch in Brittany, France, killing a 27-year-old restaurant worker.
Aside from stirring up commotion from McDonalds protesters, fast food has been notorious for being labeled in media as food that causes health problems. And so, it should not come as an unfortunate surprise to find out McDonalds associates with health problems such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, liver disease, and asthma. For children born in 2000, nearly one in three of them would develop Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime because of how their diet is influenced by popular marketing to children from McDonalds.
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THE NEW WORLD OF FAST-FOOD
Because of Ray Kroc's leadership in the running of the fast-food restaurants, McDonalds had a very successful growth, even after his death. Overall, Kroc's legacy in the globalization of McDonalds posed both positive and negative effects. Based on the rapid spreading of McDonalds restaurants the past few years, fast-food is likely to continue booming.
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