Fast-Food Shake Up

FAST –FOOD SHAKE-UP

Introduction

Faster than you can say “cheeseburger, fries and a Coke,” the fast-food industry built itself into a fixture on the American scene. But almost from the start, the industry's phenomenal rise was accompanied by hefty servings of criticism. Nutritionists attacked the greasy, high-calorie menus, environmentalists blasted the high consumption of disposable packaging and career counselors scorned the monotonous, low-paying jobs. Now the industry is taking major steps to satisfy critics. It is offering more nutritionally balanced menus, reducing packaging waste and improving benefits to retain workers longer. The motivation goes beyond good citizenship — fast food is a fiercely competitive business driven by powerful consumer demands.

Overview

In unappetizing language and large, jarring type, ads warning about “The Poisoning of America!” appeared in newspapers across the country in the spring of 1990. Their author, Phil Sokolof, a 68-year- old Omaha, Neb., millionaire who had survived a heart attack, was sending a message to McDonald's from his National Heart Savers Association: Stop cooking french fries with high-cholesterol beef fat and reduce the fat content of your hamburgers. “High cholesterol kills!” the ads shouted. “500,000 heart attack deaths every year.”

McDonald's threatened legal action and claimed Sokolof's figures on fat content were wrong. A national poll conducted by Advertising Age, however, showed high consumer awareness of the ads and 38 percent of respondents saying the series had prompted them to avoid fast-food restaurants.

In July 1990, just three weeks after Sokolof took out a second round of ads, McDonald's and two other fast-food chains, Burger King and Wendy's, all switched from beef tallow to vegetable oil. (Another chain, Hardee's, had switched earlier.) And more changes were in store. Last April, McDonald's came out with the “McLean Deluxe,” its 91 percent fat-free hamburger, the leanest in the...