Fast food †Hamburger Essay

The living standard of people in the modern time is improving. They are altering their life styles. With the pace speeding up, people demand more and more in efficiency. Foreign fast food has entered Chinese life since 1980s, particularly in McDonald’s and KFC, they made a big success in Chinese market. They are affecting our living habits, converting our understanding of traditional beliefs on diet. To a great extent, it has become a powerful rival to Chinese traditional food culture. At the same time, foreign fast food has endangered people’ health but it has made great contributions to Chinese marketing strategies. There are three consequences that the fast food impact Chinese food culture. Firstly, the decline of Chinese local foods industry, however, that relates to an aspect of globalization that also is the cause of many negative effects on a society. This is the growth of the western fast-food economy, especially in China. The spread of these fast-food chains is having an adverse impact on the Chinese economy and the health of the Chinese population. The number and diversity of fast-food restaurants across China has expanded at an increasingly fast rate, and if it continues then the negative trends we are seeing now will only get worse. (Pillai, 2010) Secondly, Chinese people get used to eat fast food and even somebody adores them. KFC, McDonalds, and Burger King have become well-known brands and fashionable things that Chinese people think they should follow. Carrying a big package of KFC food as a gift to visit other people in China is extremely liked. Talking with classmates of having tried the Western fast food may invite envy sometimes. Therefore, although they do realize that Western fast food is pricier compared with local Chinese food, and that it is less healthy than other Chinese food, they still prefer to pay. (Vicky D. Liu, 2010) McDonald’s and KFC have launched many local products. They aim at cultural diversity then change their monotonous diet. For instance, KFC has launched a series of soup, porridge and rice. KFC have differentiated their products from other competitors by having their own brand images, paying attention to the quality control and promotion strategies, providing high quality products and services to the customers, etc. Foods and beverage that suit the tastes of the customers are particularly designed in the China market. Although KFC uses an international standardized marketing strategic system, when facing such a huge market in China, adaptation is important to its success. That is why the fast food is so popular in China. Third, Fast food has broken the Chinese traditional healthy eating habit. The escalating western fast-food industry in China is linked to changing aspects of the Chinese society, including shifting eating habits, large impacts on the Chinese economy, as well as how Chinese engage with the globalization of the western fast-food industry shaping China into a more modernized country. Chinese people are already eating less vegetables and more meat in their diet. The China National Nutrition and Health Survey compared data between 1982 and 2002 to show that the intake of fruits and vegetables in China has decreased drastically from 276. 2g to 45g. In that same time frame, the intake of meat and dairy has more than doubled. (China National Nutrition and Health Survey, n. d). In conclusion, foreign fast food has impacted Chinese traditional food culture, whereas it is also the inevitability of globalization. With the development of times and diversification of diet, Chinese food is not the only choice for Chinese people, but we can’t abandon and ignore the thousands of years of traditional culture. That is to say, we should absorb the good methods of foreigner fast food market and get rid of the bad ones, in order to enrich our traditional food and let the culture go abroad, go to the world.