China and McDonald’s

It’s bad enough that 35 percent of us in the US eat a fast food restaurant at least once a week, but the Washington Post tells ust that over 40% of the Chinese eat at a fast food restaurant in the same time frame. This is particularly concerning as McDonald’s has only been present in China for a dozen years.
The opening of a Western fast-food outlet is now an everyday occurrence. McDonald’s owns and operates more than 600 stores across 105 Chinese cities, with plans to add more than 100 annually in coming years, according to the company. Kentucky Fried Chicken has more 1,200 shops in China.

Where foreign brands in China have often met with more frustration than profit, fast food amounts to a lucrative exception. Major brands have enjoyed striking and visible success, carving into what now stands as a $48 billion-a-year Chinese fast-food industry. Sales at McDonalds are growing faster in China than in the United States.

If you haven’t yet watched Super Size Me I would strongly encourage you to do so as it will help you more fully appreciate the challenges that our obcession with fast food has on our health. The major problem with eating at McDonald’s, or any other fast food outlet, is that you are decreasing your input of direct energy from the sun, or biophotons. Fast Food Nation is still a best selling book on the fast food industry and McDonald’s in particular.

Provided by ArmMed Media
Revision date: July 5, 2011
Last revised: by Amalia K. Gagarina, M.S., R.D.