America is known as the land of fast food.

When and why did fast food come to America?

What health issues came with fast food?

The history of fast food begins with changes in transportation. People began eating more meals away from home as planes, trains, and automobiles allowed them to travel faster and farther. Jobs in offices and factories required workers to eat lunch close to the workplace rather than at home.  Eating habits are also influenced by lifestyles and how much time people have to buy, prepare, and eat food. 

In developing countries such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America, many people still produce their own food, and the supply of food continues to be a major concern.  In many places on Earth millions of people continue to suffer from hunger and die of starvation because of crop failures, natural disasters, wars, overpopulation, and other causes.

In the United States, however, an overwhelming majority of people depend on the food industry for our food.  The food industry is made up of farmers, food-processing companies, researchers, shipping companies, and food stores. 

Fast-food restaurants are mostly for taking out food, and they often have “drive-thru” service which allows customers to order and pick up food from their cars; but most also have a seating area in which customers can eat the food right there. Nearly from its beginning, fast food was been designed to be eaten “on the go” and often does not need cutlery and is eaten as finger food. Common menu items at fast food outlets include hamburgers, fried chicken, French fries, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza, sandwiches, pitas and ice cream. Many fast-food restaurants also offer “slower foods like chili, mashed potatoes, and salads.

The modern history of fast food in America began on July 7, 1912 with the opening of a fast food restaurant called the Horn & Hardat Automat in New York. The Automat was a cafeteria with foods behind small glass windows and coin-operated slots. Many Automat restaurants were quickly built around the country to deal with the demand. Automats remained very popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s. By 1939 there were 40 Automats in New York City. The company also came up with the idea of “take-out” food, with their slogan “Less work for Mother." The last Automat closed in April 1991. We interviewed some of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Here is one of the interviews.

White Castle is given credit for opening the second fast food outlet in Topeka, Kansas in 1921, selling hamburgers for five cents apiece. Among its changes, the company allowed customers to see the food being prepared. White Castle customers really loved this. White Castle later added five holes to each beef patty to increase its surface area and speed cooking times. White Castle was successful right from the beginning. Because of its success, many competitors also went into the fast-food business.

McDonald’s, the largest fast-food chain in the world and the brand most associated with the term “fast food,” was founded as a barbecue drive-in in 1940 by Dick and Mac McDonald. After discovering that most of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers closed their restaurant for three months and reopened it in 1948 as a walk-up stand offering a simple menu of hamburgers, french fries, shakes, coffee, and Coca-Cola, served in disposable paper wrapping. As a result, they were able to produce hamburgers and fries constantly, without waiting for customer orders, and could serve them immediately; hamburgers cost 15 cents, about half the price at a typical diner.

Their streamlined production method, which they named the “Speedee Service System” was based on the assembly line of Henry Ford. The McDonalds’ stand was a milkshake machine company’s biggest customer, and a milkshake salesman named Ray Kroc traveled to California to discover the secret of the success of the burger-and-shake operation. Kroc thought he could increase their business, and he eventually bought McDonalds in 1961.

Wendy’s opened in Columbus, Ohio in 1969 by Dave Thomas, a protégé of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harlan Sanders, and is credited with creating the “drive-thru” window in 1972 to allow consumers to purchase fast food without having to park or get out of their cars. It was copied by McDonald’s in 1975.

Some of the large fast-food chains are beginning to offer healthier choices in their menu, for example salads and fresh fruit. However, some people say this is only an effort to make more money, insted of really being concerned about world ecology and people’s health.

Boston Market, was founded in December 1985, in Newton, Massachusetts. Boston Market grew quickly in the early and mid-1990s, and then went out-of-buisness in the late-1990s. It was purchased by McDonald’s Corporation in May 2000. Boston Market specializes in rotisserie chicken and turkey, meatloaf, roasted sirloin, sandwiches, and a variety of side dishes. Boston Market restaurants try to combine fast food with some aspects of home cooking.

Mexican-style food like tacos and burritos, as well as pizza and fried chicken, have also become more and more a part of America's fast-food culture.

America has been called a ‘fast food nation.’ One out of four Americans eats fast food everyday. Most do it for the convenience - lack of time leads many people to the drive thru, and money plays a part as well. Fast food restaurants are often the cheapest choice, if you are eating out. Mainly, fast food meals are higher in calories, sodium, fat, and sugar, and often lack important vitamins and minerals. Until recently, french fries were the only vegetable at many fast food restaurants! Can french fries really be considered a vegetable in the true sense of the word? Vegetables are supposed to be good for you.

Although fast food definitely filled a need in our quick paced and mobile culture, many health issues, unfortunately, can be directly connected to them. For example, fast food restaurants coined the term "supersize." This word has been selected as one of 100 words to be officially added in 2006 to the English Dictionary by the American Dialect Society. This means that more and more food is being consumed by the average American thereby contributing to obesity in Americans, as well as many other health-relatated problems.