Daniel Hancock
Mrs. Jeffery
Essay 1 Writ 122
9/10/14
McDonald’s, Blessing or a Curse.
A study found on ProQuest.com states that “Seven percent of Americans ate at a McDonald’s yesterday” (Kaufman). The majority of working class American citizens eat McDonald’s at least once a week. I personally fall into this category even though it is common knowledge that McDonald’s food is not very healthy. Many people argue that a giant corporation such as McDonald’s cannot possibly be looking out for its customers best interests and power hungry billionaires that are only looking to make more money run it. Although this maybe true, a corporation that is as dependent on its public image as McDonalds, that it can, has, and will help more than it will hurt society. McDonalds wasn’t always the corporate super power it is today. The best way to understand any topic is to start from the beginning. According to The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia “The empire began as one restaurant in San Bernardino, California, owned by two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald. It sold hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, soft drinks, and milk shakes at low prices” (Abington: Helicon). Like any other business, McDonalds started for humble beginnings as a simple sit down family owned restaurant. Many critics say that McDonalds being such a big corporation take a lot of business away from local coinsures looking to start a business of their own, but Rac Krock had different plans for this newly forming super corporation. “Rac Krock (1902-1984) encountered the restaurant in 1954 when he was working as a food-mixer salesman, and proposed and managed a plan to open franchised restaurants around the USA. The original owners sold the company to him in 1961 for $2.7 million. (The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia)”. This was the start of a transformation from a small town dinner to the massive corporation we all know today. The same article also tells that “By 1963 over 1 billion hamburgers had been sold. That same year, the 500th McDonald’s restaurant opened and its clown mascot Ronald McDonald made his debut (The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopdeia)”. Thus by 1963, McDonald’s had fully formed into its skin, brining fast and cheap burgers to all while simultaneously creating a family friendly atmosphere with clowns and happy meal toys. As a child growing up with McDonalds already fully infused into American culture, I remember begging my mom to take me to McDonalds. Between the multiple story indoor playgrounds, chicken nuggets, and the latest series of happy meal toys. McDonalds was a place where children could go to have fun, not just to have a meal. Some speculate that the many kid friendly options at McDonalds serve to addict people when they are young and keep their customer base growing. Not to mention their red and yellow logo being the first colors children’s eyes can detect. It does seem that McDonalds is targeting children, but does that necessarily make it a bad thing? McDonalds is obviously looking to make money like any other corporation on the planet, not to mention they are not the only company targeting children as one of their audiences for advertisement. It is up to the parental figure to make sure their children know that McDonalds is not good to eat all the time, but it also isn’t bad to eat some times. After all, it only makes sense that McDonalds is looking to serve its customers wants and needs, and ultimately, it is up to the customer to decide their own wants and needs. Many people seem to want to make McDonalds out to be the villain, although its obvious that it is just a product of its environment, just like everyone is. Films such as Super Size Me blatantly show that if McDonalds food is eaten three times a day for thirty days, that there will be health isses. Honestly, I could have made that assumption before Super Size Me even came out that if you eat almost anything exclusively for thirty days, you will have negative health effects.
