Fast food arose out of a change in the transportation systems of American cities and the attitude of their inhabitants – in southern California in particular. In the early part of the twentieth century, Los Angeles experienced immense growth (its population nearly tripled between 1920 and 1940) as people were drawn in by real estate advertisements promising warmth, sunshine, and opportunities for the “good life”.[1] Unlike cities in the East that expanded during the age of the railway, cities in the distant Southwest grew in the age of the automobile.[2] Roads replaced rails and travelers gained a higher sense of independence and control; they were freed from following train schedules and could go wherever their car would take them. More and more middle-class families migrated from the mid-west to California and Los Angeles sprawled in waves of suburbia. “About 80 percent of the population had been born elsewhere,” says Schlosser, and “restlessness, impermanence, and speed were embedded in the culture . . . along with an openness to anything new.”[3]
With this new car culture, arose a new form of eating. “People with cars are so lazy they don’t want to get out of them to eat!” said Jesse G. Kirby, founder of one of the first drive-in restaurant chains.[4] Although drive-in restaurants were open all over America during summer months, they thrived in California where they were able to stay open permanently thanks to the summer-like weather year-round. Their brightly coloured circular buildings and flashy neon signs beckoned motorists passing by, and their friendly, attractive female “carhops” kept many of them coming back for more. Drive-in restaurants fit in especially well with the idealism of the youth –the young males in particular: not only were they something new and different, but they provided a place to see girls, cars and get late-night food.[5]
Richard and Maurice McDonald, who had moved to southern California from New Hampshire during the Depression, opened their first drive-in restaurant in Pasadena in 1937 with hopes of cashing in on the new food fad.[6] They employed only three carhops and sold mainly hotdogs. A few years later, they moved to a new location near a highschool in San Bernardino. The McDonald Brothers Burger Bar Drive-In employed twenty carhops and became extremely successful. In 1948, however, the brothers, who had become increasingly frustrated with the growing shortage of short-order cooks, the high turn-over rate of carhops, and replacing stolen dishes and cutlery, decided to close the restaurant.[7] A change was in order.
The restaurant re-opened three months later with larger grills, fewer staff, and a revolutionary new Speedee Service System “designed to increase the speed, lower the prices, and raise the volume of sales.”[8] They reduced the items on their menu to foods that could be eaten without utensils and used only paper cups, paper bags and paper plates. Foods were made assembly-line style to both increase efficiency in preparation and reduce the need for skilled, higher-paid cooks. [9] The same condiments – ketchup, mustard, onions and two pickles – were put on every burger and cheeseburger and no alterations were allowed. In the McDonald brothers’ new restaurant, customers, for the first time, had to wait for their food in line at a counter. As spelled out by one of their later ads for franchisees, they boasted “No carhops – No Waitresses – No Dishwashers – No Bus Boys – The McDonald’s System is Self-Service!”[10]
The brothers, however, changed more than just how fast food was prepared: they changed who it was prepared for. They hired only male staff to discourage the large groups of young men that typically invaded such restaurants and scared off other potential clientele. So, with a less youth-oriented image, low prices, and the growing reputation for serving good hamburgers, eating at their restaurant became appealing to a larger portion of the population. The most significant change brought on by the McDonalds, as explained by company historian John F. Love, was that “working-class families could finally afford to feed their kids restaurant food.”[11]
Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonald’s Corporation, later refined the company’s advertising strategy to focus even more on kids than on their parents. This shift towards marketing to children coincided with the baby boom after World War II and was perhaps the most brilliant business move (and most socially-destructive move) ever made by a company in the fast food industry. After examining the example set by the Walt Disney Company, Kroc realized two fundamental benefits to such a shift in strategy. First of all, brand-loyalty can be developed at an extremely early age, and as kids grow into teenagers and adults with children of their own, they are more likely to return to the source of many fond childhood memories. Secondly, as Kroc explained, “a child who loves our TV commercials, and brings her grandparents to a McDonald’s gives us two more customers.”[12] It is therefore no surprise that the MacDonald’s franchises have grown and multiplied so rapidly; their target customers have been doing the same.
The explosive increase in demand for fast foods in the last 50 years has necessitated increased efficiency in the way they are prepared. The never-ending quest to decrease labour costs and increase customer turn-over, and the competition between companies to offer more food for less money, has turned the food industry into something resembling the manufacturing of cars. Restaurants have become mere assembly plants making marketable products out of shipped-in, pre-fabricated parts.
French fries factories like the one owned by J.R. Simplot in Aberdeen, Idaho – a relatively small one by industry standards – processes about a million pounds of potatoes per day. Simplot, “America’s great potatoe baron,” was also a pioneer in food processing.[13] Recognizing the potential for new products, he had invested heavily in frozen food technology when, after World War II, the sales of refrigerators, freezers and other kitchen appliances sky-rocketed.[14] French fries in particular, were being eaten more than ever before. Originally popularized by WWI veterans who had eaten them in Europe, and made indispensable by the drive-in restaurants of the 30s and 40s – and Simplot’s flash-freezing method meant that they could be cut and pre-cooked and would take less time to prepare. Though to Ray Kroc, the ritual of making McDonald’s French fries had been “almost sacrosanct,” (all fries were hand-cut at each restaurant until 1966), he was won over by the opportunity to ensure uniform texture and flavour while reducing the cost and required skill of his labour force. Simplot made him a deal and french fries are now the most popular fast food item sold in America. The average person eats more than thirty pounds of them every year.[15]
The 1950’s, which has been called “the Golden Age of Food Processing” also gave birth to many other alimentary innovations intended to simplify the lives of American housewives. [16] Grocery stores were suddenly flooded with everything from frozen juice concentrate, canned soup and TV dinners, to Cheese Whiz, Miracle Whip and Jell-O salad.[17] Pre-packaged, processed foods became stylish and were marketed as better than their fresh equivalents. Fifty years later, the trend hasn’t changed much; few have truly realized how disillusioned society has become.
[1] Schlosser, 15
[2] Schlosser, 15
[3] Schlosser, 16
[4] Schlosser, 17
[5] Schlosser, 17
[6] Schlosser, 19
[7] Schlosser, 19
[8] Schlosser, 19
[9] Schlosser, 20
[10] Schlosser, 20
[11] Schlosser, 20
[12] Schlosser, 41
[13] Schlosser, 111
[14] Schlosser, 113
[15] Schlosser, 115
[16] Schlosser, 113
[17] Schlosser, 113
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