tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/fast-food-reinvented-20108/articlesFast food reinvented – The Conversation2015-09-21T04:16:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/477492015-09-21T04:16:30Z2015-09-21T04:16:30ZWhen ‘hand crafted’ is really just crafty marketing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95287/original/image-20150918-15847-53vxow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unlike manufacturing, craft involves risk and unpredictability.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In their attempts to cash in on peak hipster, fast-food giants are passing off assembly-line products as small scale, bespoke creations that carry an aura of moral authority.</p>
<p>Six months ago, McDonald’s opened a café in Sydney’s inner-West, where chambray-shirted baristas serve single-origin coffee alongside quinoa salads on wooden boards. The café is called The Corner, but The Guardian soon<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/australia-food-blog/2014/dec/30/the-mcdonalds-lab-disguised-as-a-hipster-cafe"> described it</a> as: “McDonald’s disguised as a hipster café”.</p>
<p>And to customers worldwide, McDonald’s launched its “artisan grilled chicken”, its “artisan roll” and other artisan-manque products. Domino’s released “Artisan Pizza”, and PepsiCo released <a href="http://calebskola.com/">Kaleb’s Cola</a>, a “craft soda” in a glass bottle bearing the notation, “Honor in Craft”. Nowhere on the bottle is mention of the multinational behind it.</p>
<p>In Australian Coles supermarkets, the Always Fresh brand is promoting its “Artisan Collection” lines as “authentic, carefully-crafted”. Its biscuits and preserves are “hand-crafted”; its crackers are “thoughtfully baked”. In the drinks isle Cascade’s “crafted” range of fizzy drinks includes (inexplicably) a “crafted for Australians” plain soda water.</p>
<p>These descriptors are lies, because mass-producers simply can’t make “craft” or “artisanal” products. These words refer to autonomous human-scale production that’s too mindfully- and bodily-involved for the assembly-line. To a craftperson, conception and physical production are inseparable, and their relationship with their craft — be it breadmaking, songwriting or neurosurgery — is somatic.</p>
<p>Division of labour completely wipes “crafting” from the fabrication process. Craft involves risk and unpredictability; manufacturing, on the other hand, involves predictable and uniform outcomes.</p>
<p>So consider the significance of McDonald’s’ current “How Very Un-McDonald’s” and “Not So Fast Food” campaigns. These campaigns invite us to custom-select ingredients on a touch-screen and enjoy table-service by — who knew? — a person. Faced with a slump in profits, the fast-food giant is experimenting with ways to shed brand-staleness and seduce a 20s-to-30s demographic that regards McDonald’s as distinctly uncool.</p>
<p>But this seems less a gesture towards slow food values and more an admission that the brand and all it represents has become déclassé. When they trade on artisanal notions of authenticity, industrial food giants deny their own, which lies in cheap, standard products manufactured with alienated labour and dispersed supply chains. You can’t be an authentic Tim-Tam if you were “thoughtfully crafted” from seasonal local ingredients.</p>
<h2>Spot the difference</h2>
<p>Corporate craft-washing campaigns may deceive some, but their mawkish descriptors betray them as sops. McDonald’s “artisan” chicken contains “pantry seasonings” (distinct from industrial flavours) and “100% chicken” (distinct from who-knows-what). Pepsi’s craft soda has “quality ingredients”, no less, devised after “months talking and tasting” (more artisanal than “focus-grouping”).</p>
<p>Genuine craft producers aren’t inclined to spruik these ways, because their customers have the culinary literacy to discern a local sourdough from an industrial soda bread. </p>
<p>In his 2014 book, “The Language of Food”, Stanford University professor <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/%7Ejurafsky/thelanguageoffood.html">Dan Jurafsky observes</a> that good quality food labels and menus tend to be short on adjectives. Marketers of industrial food, on the other hand, oversell with such descriptors as “real”, “artisan”, “quality”, “authentic” and “passionately-crafted”.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95286/original/image-20150918-15814-xa9g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95286/original/image-20150918-15814-xa9g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95286/original/image-20150918-15814-xa9g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95286/original/image-20150918-15814-xa9g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95286/original/image-20150918-15814-xa9g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95286/original/image-20150918-15814-xa9g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95286/original/image-20150918-15814-xa9g1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">US brewing giant MillerCoors is facing a class action law suit for passing off its Blue Moon brand as craft beer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Treasure/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>But a backlash is mounting. Following recent complaints against the craft claims of Byron Bay Beer, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We judged that any reasonable consumer would think that it was brewed in Byron Bay by a small Byron Bay brewing company.” </p>
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<p>But the beer “was a actually brewed by Carlton and United Brewery out of its large Warnervale brewery.”</p>
<p>David Hollier, president of the Australian Real Craft Brewers Association, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/blueprintforliving/craft-beer/6480412">said</a> craft beer drinkers believe they are “supporting authentic small, independent… local family-owned breweries. The big two brewers have capitalised on that”.</p>
<p>But CUB was fined A$20,400, and similar cases are emerging overseas. Californian man Evan Parent recently sued brewing giant MillerCoors for claiming its Blue Moon beer is “artfully crafted”. His lawyer <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/calif-man-claims-millercoors-blue-moon-deceives-customers-article-1.2209213">Jim Treglio told reporters</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“People think they’re buying craft beer and they’re actually buying crafty marketing.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even insiders are rebelling against such marketing. Last year, the ACCC received “industry intelligence” that Saskia Beer’s “Black Pig” products contained white pig meat. Heritage black pig breeds can be more free-ranging than white pigs, as they are less susceptible to sunburn. The company was ordered to undergo compliance training and publish a corrective notice.</p>
<p>Similarly, Pirovic Enterprises was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/23/pirovic-egg-company-fined-300000-for-misleading-free-range-claims">fined A$300,000</a> for claiming its eggs were free-range. “Although there were no strict legal definitions of free-range, the court was able to base its findings on consumers’ expectations about what that particular form of farming should involve”, said Associate Professor Jeannie Paterson from the University of Melbourne’s Law School.</p>
<p>The same principle, she says, was applied when <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-10/coles-fined-millions-over-false-freshly-baked-bread-claims/6383062">Coles was fined A$2.5 million</a> over “freshly baked” bread claims, when the bread was first par-baked in Ireland.</p>
<p>Over there, the Food Safety Authority is reportedly clamping down on “artisan”, “traditional” and “farmhouse” claims, warning that these should only describe products made “in limited quantities by skilled craftspeople” at a “micro-enterprise”, and ingredients should be local where possible. Last week, the Authority <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mcdonald-s-artisan-burger-fails-to-cut-mustard-with-authority-1.2335556">ordered McDonald’s</a> to remove artisan claims. This is a regulatory trend moving across Europe and the US, and in Australia, the ACCC is also devising guidelines.</p>
<p>Artisan-posturing by industrial producers isn’t just a matter of regulatory transgressions. Industrial food giants who “craft-wash”, or use idioms of craft while trashing its essential values, are actively obscuring a set of political issues. Ethical consumers are often well-heeled, for sure, but their deep pockets attend to a deeper commitment to small enterprise, localism, fair trade, ethical supply chains, seasonal produce, farm animal welfare, workers’ freedoms and low environmental impact.</p>
<p>Australian consumer law prohibiting deceptive conduct “does not just apply to deliberate lies,” says Paterson. “It also covers conduct that creates a misleading impression by manipulating common community understandings.” So as artisanal deceptions continue to mount, so, too, do the legal precedents for a foodie-pundit backlash.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47749/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Wilson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In a bid to capitalise on the “artisanal” trend, fast food companies are craft-washing their mass produced products.Katherine Wilson, PhD Candidate, journalist, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/463402015-09-14T20:17:12Z2015-09-14T20:17:12ZAll out of fresh ideas: how supermarket giants send mixed messages about food<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94629/original/image-20150914-1237-1f4ve1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Despite the dominance of Coles and Woolworths, consumers are still choosing to buy their fresh food at local fruit and vegetable shops and farmers' markets.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/joybot/5963455201/in/photolist-a5Ygt8-7SzKck-t4dLaR-a9YjSS-4iJxde-wK5HR-4DXew2-opzzbH-9tqc19-4wrdSS-3cRvnP-8vhP9x-82Bzrj-gefxGX-bzfb1B-nveNCe-bn2MPs-7MHbTH-bkhev9-3oDbuh-7WP8sX-cXnb6o-eaxVV1-gefMBb-3dxEsG-7cPjYV-fiH6N8-ojzuzj-6Ys3qV-6TnC7A-9BjQQz-8vkRXy-567e7t-6CYNJz-auWhUi-91P5pu-oY8vf9-qbXjcc-a1UkV4-5EJqwB-aqY3BF-b7cRL4-nwseM9-7eekgw-5nLSjt-5iTPpm-afffgB-7w1UKE-4MW9ES-617jqV">Sarah Joy/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Fast food giant McDonald’s has been under a cloud in recent years as its US customers turn to alternatives. In this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/fast-food-reinvented">“Fast food reinvented”</a> series we explore what the food sector is doing to keep customers hooked and sales rising.</em></p>
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<p>Australia’s two main supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths’ representation of “fresh” and “local” food reflects heightened interest among consumers about these values. But they also contribute to concerns about food production and the supply chain. </p>
<p>Both have employed celebrity chefs with a reputation for caring about such matters. When he joined forces with Woolworths, UK chef Jamie Oliver <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/jamie-oliver-burnt-by-woolworths-partnership-20140617-3aadz.html#ixzz3kkWFmGRS">explained</a>: </p>
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<p>part of what I’m doing with Woolies is looking at standards, and ethics, of where our sort of food comes from.</p>
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<p>But when pressed on the demands Woolworths had made for farmers to surrender some of their profits to pay for his campaign, Oliver said he was just an employee. </p>
<p>The problem is that his claims and the supermarket’s promotion suggest that standards and ethics – as well as the growers asked to fund messages about themselves – are well regarded by the public. This is due, in part, to the strategies of producers and small retailers that the two supermarkets have appropriated to win the custom of consumers who care where their food comes from. </p>
<h2>Private labels</h2>
<p>Consider the case of Macro foods: the chain, rebadged as Thomas Dux, an urban store format, was a shift from the freestanding supermarkets established in the 1960s. When it was bought out by Woolworths in 2009, Macro founder Pierce Cody saw the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/woolies-buys-organic-food-chain/story-e6frg906-1225711779119">sale of the chain</a> as evidence of the work they put in:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>to take organic to a large-format, mainstream model rather than little folksy corner stores.</p>
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<p>The chain was used to test the market for Woolworths’ privately labelled gourmet goods. And Coles has its own organic label.</p>
<p>The proliferation of privately labelled goods (which are made by one company for offer under another company’s label) has diminished the product range offered by supermarkets. Coles’ product range, for instance, <a href="http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publications/food-and-water-crises/1814-market-power-in-the-australian-food-system.html">dropped by 11%</a> between 2010 and 2012. </p>
<p>Private-label items, produced in conjunction with specific suppliers, compete directly with other products in the range, dominating shelf space and usually offering a lower price. And this is only one part of the pincer movement reducing the number of suppliers. </p>
<p>Australia’s largest dairy company, Devondale Murray-Goulburn, <a href="https://theconversation.com/coles-milk-deal-gives-supermarket-suppliers-a-reason-to-be-sour-13600">may grow</a> from the exclusive deal it has struck with Coles to provide milk, for instance, but in the process it reduces the number of milk suppliers in the market. </p>
<h2>A fairer go for farmers</h2>
<p>Supermarkets use the romantic image of the small family farm to play up their close relationship with farmers and suppliers. But it’s also employed in arguments for reforming the sector, because of the commercial disadvantage small family farms have in the domestic food system. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://agwhitepaper.agriculture.gov.au/">Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper</a> released earlier this year, for instance, recommends a new commissioner dedicated to agriculture and a more “farm savvy” Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to encourage fair trading. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94630/original/image-20150914-1254-n69fzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94630/original/image-20150914-1254-n69fzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94630/original/image-20150914-1254-n69fzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94630/original/image-20150914-1254-n69fzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94630/original/image-20150914-1254-n69fzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94630/original/image-20150914-1254-n69fzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94630/original/image-20150914-1254-n69fzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Both Coles and Woolworths have employed celebrity chefs, such as Jamie Oliver, with a reputation for caring about fresh and local food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scandic-hotels/4327863806/">Scandic Hotels/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>The aim is to strengthen competition in agricultural supply chains, which will engage the ACCC more directly with supermarkets. And the first priority is to help farmers achieve a better return for their produce. But this is only one sign that Woolworths and Coles face a political environment that is increasingly hostile to their sourcing policies (as well as growing consumer scrutiny). </p>
<p>The code of conduct for grocery wholesalers and retailers (<a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/business/industry-codes/food-and-grocery-code-of-conduct">Food and Grocery Code</a>), for instance, discloses the existence of practices by grocery retailers and wholesalers in their dealings with suppliers, which motivated its development. It mentions “preventing a supplier from fulfilling obligations” by placing their products behind other competitors’ products on shelves such that consumers cannot see them, and “payment for wastage” that occurs at the retailer’s premises. </p>
<p>While the code fails to address the inequality of market power in the supply chain, it does reflect the challenging environment in which Australian farmers and suppliers now operate. </p>
<h2>Public concern</h2>
<p>Marketing by supermarket giants highlights public interest in food production, supply and retailing. When Woolworths brought back its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8uvoEsLFo0">“Fresh Food People” campaign</a> last year, the advertising featured a range of products from farm to store complete with “fresh food stories” of individual farmers. </p>
<p>But the UBS Supermarket Supplier Survey <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/woolworths-report-card--plenty-of-room-for-improvement-20150625-ghxo9q.html">tells a different story</a>; Woolworths’ rating on quality of fresh food produce lags behind Coles. </p>
<p>Besides selling the brand of Woolworths, the marketing also appropriates the ideal of farming and relationships with suppliers to sell products. The company <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/woolworths-goes-local-to-blunt-supplier-critics-20130915-2tsrq.html">considered a “local” retail brand</a> in 2013, in addition to its other labels such as Macro and Woolworths Select.</p>
<p>This suggests Woolworths still believes it can increase or maintain its market share with buzzwords despite how incongruous these sound coming from a supermarket giant. But while local might be more important to consumers than fresh, supermarkets are falling behind the innovations of <a href="http://www.futureoflocalfood.org.au">local food producers</a> to create a fairer food system. </p>
<h2>Coming out on top</h2>
<p>Supermarkets have tried to tailor their products to include organic, natural and local foods to meet consumer demand. But while Coles and Woolworths <a href="http://theconversation.com/factcheck-is-our-grocery-market-one-of-the-most-concentrated-in-the-world-16520">control 80% of the grocery market</a>, they have 45.5% of the market in fruit and vegetables and 47.2% of meat. </p>
<p>The imbalance in market power favours the duopoly. But eaters are still choosing to buy their fresh food at local fruit and vegetable shops, butchers and farmers’ markets. There, they can engage directly with the people who grow their food and not just see representations of them. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://ausfoodnews.com.au/2014/03/24/more-australians-shopping-for-fresh-vegetables-at-farmers%E2%80%99-markets-%E2%80%98local%E2%80%99-food-trend-grows.html">survey undertaken</a> last year on behalf of the Australian Farmers’ Markets Association, for instance, found that 14% of respondents typically buy their vegetables at a farmers’ market. </p>
<p>Supermarkets have stopped merely copying each other: from liquor to petrol to hardware. It’s clear from sales, from how they advertise and from consumer concern about food security and food sovereignty that what they really need to worry about is the combined agency of farmers and the power of consumers. Put together, the story isn’t so gloomy for the food sector.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46340/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adele Wessell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Coles and Woolworths’ representation of “fresh” and “local” food reflects heightened interest among consumers about these values. But they also contributes to concerns about the supply chain.Adele Wessell, Associate professor, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/472792015-09-14T01:03:06Z2015-09-14T01:03:06ZHow fast food is reinventing itself as healthy and caring<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94465/original/image-20150911-27086-tgv7xa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fast food philanthropy helps food marketers build a halo around their brand.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Public health campaigners, scholars, dietitians, journalists, politicians, filmmakers, celebrity chefs and the public frequently lambaste fast food corporations for causing and exacerbating the global obesity “crisis”. </p>
<p>It is hardly surprising then that the global food and drink industry (also described by critics as “big food”) is keen to promote itself as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/coca-cola-part-of-the-solution-to-obesity-yeah-right-11662">part of the solution</a>”. </p>
<p>In 2011, the <a href="https://ifballiance.org/">International Food & Beverage Alliance</a> (IFBA) – a formalised coalition between multinational giants Nestlé, General Mills, Ferrero, Kellogg Company, Grupo Bimbo, Mondelēz International (formerly Kraft Foods), Mars, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever (and recent addition McDonald’s) – <a href="https://www.ifballiance.org/sites/default/files/IFBA_Progress_Report_2009-2010.pdf">wrote to Dr Margaret Chan</a>, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We all recognise that non-communicable diseases and childhood obesity are major public health problems that require multi-stakeholder solutions. As a member of the private sector, we firmly believe that the food industry has a role to play as part of the solution, and have committed our time, expertise and resources to do our part.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In order for the IFBA and its member companies to be seen to be providing “solutions” to obesity, corporate philanthropy has been employed as a key strategy.</p>
<h2>From ‘big food’ to ‘big philanthropy’</h2>
<p>I use the phrase corporate philanthropy as an umbrella term to describe a range of practices (including corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, stakeholder management) whereby corporations “give” money, personnel, equipment and support to other organisations. </p>
<p>This is a form of corporate giving that <a href="https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=_JvEpEYFj_gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=samantha+king+pink+ribbons&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAGoVChMI_LLi1_btxwIVhtumCh1APgow#v=onepage&q=samantha%20king%20pink%20ribbons&f=false">Samantha King</a> and others describe as “strategic philanthropy”; a type of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-philanthrocapitalism-the-future-of-australian-charities-9265">philanthrocapitalism</a>” that is intimately tied to the business interests of the corporation. </p>
<p>Nestlé, for instance, states that its global nutrition, health and wellness program - <a href="http://www.nestle.com.sg/csv/csv_at_nestle">Creating Shared Value</a> - “is not about philanthropy. It is about leveraging core activities and partnerships for the joint benefit of people in the countries where we operate and of our shareholders.” </p>
<p>Corporate philanthropy is, therefore, not simply altruism by another name. It is part of a business strategy to look after the financial interests of shareholders, penetrate and retain markets, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/corporate-philanthropy-makes-good-business-sense-5036">improve the bottom line</a>.</p>
<h2>Fast food philanthropy ‘in action’</h2>
<p>There are numerous examples of fast food philanthropy across the globe. </p>
<p>Educational programs and resources are a key target of corporate philanthropy, particularly those that <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09581596.2013.846465#.VfI4pBc1Cag">claim to promote healthy lifestyles</a>. For instance, the <a href="http://www.nestle.com/nutrition-health-wellness/kids-best-start/children-family/healthy-kids-programme">“Nestlé Healthy Kids Global Program”</a> has been implemented in 73 countries, including the <a href="https://www.healthyactivekids.com.au/http://example.com/">“Nestlé Healthy Active Kids Program”</a> in Australia and <a href="https://www.behealthybeactive.co.nz/">“Be Healthy, Be Active”</a> in New Zealand.</p>
<p>Kellogg’s created the <a href="http://www.missionnutrition.ca/">“Mission Nutrition®”</a> program in Canada. <a href="https://ifballiance.org/schools-and-communities-the-coca-cola-company/">The Coca-Cola Company</a> provided EducAnimando con Salud Program (“Teaching and Encouraging with Health”) in Peru, A Scuola inForma (“At School In Shape”) nutrition education program in Italy, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01596306.2014.905045#.VfIXExc1Cag">and many more</a>.</p>
<p>Big food also uses philanthropic gifting to help market “active, healthy living” campaigns, such as The Coca-Cola Company’s <a href="https://ifballiance.org/schools-and-communities-the-coca-cola-company/">“National Active Lifestyle Campaign”</a> in Latvia and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeblhZnwDUk">global advertisements</a> that attempt to “teach” the public about the importance of energy balance. </p>
<p>In the US, the PepsiCo Foundation partnered with Save the Children to implement its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeblhZnwDUk">“Healthy Lifestyles”</a> program, while the <a href="https://ifballiance.org/promoting-healthy-lifestyles-general-mills/">General Mills Foundation</a> helped advertise the “Presidential Youth Fitness Program”, part of General Mills’ “community engagement mission [to] nourish our communities globally with remarkable philanthropy”.</p>
<p>Sponsorship of sporting and physical activity initiatives is another critical element. These include The Coca-Cola Company’s <a href="http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/how-has-coca-cola-inspired-more-than-3-million-people-to-get-the-ball-rolling">“Get the Ball Rolling”</a> initiative in the US, PepsiCo’s support of <a href="https://ifballiance.org/schools-and-communities-pepsico/">Caravano do Esporte</a> (Sports Caravan) in Brazil, Mars’ partnership with the <a href="http://www.mars.com/global/about-mars/mars-pia/health-and-nutrition/developing-partnerships.aspx">Al Haraka Baraka</a> (“Movement is a Blessing”) physical activity program, and the <a href="https://ifballiance.org/schools-and-communities-mcdonalds/">“Champions of Play for the Olympic Games”</a> from McDonald’s. </p>
<p>Scientific research is also influenced by corporate philanthropy. For example, a number of people have <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-sodas-tactics-to-confuse-science-and-protect-their-profits-45907">recently criticised</a> the <a href="https://gebn.org/about">Global Energy Balance Network</a> (GEBN) for receiving “an unrestricted gift from The Coca-Cola Company”. There is a shared concern that this sort of funding “taints” research and evidence.</p>
<h2>Health-washing big food</h2>
<p>Philanthropy is more than just a strategy for big food to “solve” obesity. It is a business tactic to “health-wash” food and drink corporations and their products. </p>
<p>By philanthropically funding various educational resources, physical activity initiatives, scientific research and marketing campaigns, big food attempts to divert the public’s attention from less agreeable, less healthy practices (e.g. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-marketers-condition-us-to-buy-more-junk-food-43466">junk food marketing</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-marketers-condition-us-to-buy-more-junk-food-43466">hidden sugar in processed food</a>).</p>
<p>Simultaneously, this philanthropy is a strategy that attempts to gain a “halo effect” for the corporation; an endeavour to shape consumers’ image of the corporation (and its products) as healthy, but also socially responsible, even caring.</p>
<p>This is a new brand of philanthropy, one intrinsically tied to developing big food’s self-interest: brand image and loyalty, public relations, and avoidance of stricter regulations and legislation.</p>
<p>For big food, obesity is no longer a big problem. In fact, obesity-related philanthropy is helping it profit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47279/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darren Powell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Corporate philanthropy is not simply altruism by another name - it’s being used by fast food giants to boost the bottom line.Darren Powell, Lecturer Health and Physical Education, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/463872015-09-10T20:08:49Z2015-09-10T20:08:49ZThe convenience food industry making our pets fat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93599/original/image-20150902-13401-1oc8yzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are our pets becoming captive to an industry that is harming them?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stephen Bowler/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Fast food giant McDonald’s has been under a cloud in recent years as its US customers turn to alternatives. In this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/fast-food-reinvented">“Fast food reinvented”</a> series we explore what the sector is doing to keep customers hooked and sales rising.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Commercial dry foods are the ultimate “convenience food” for pets. They are manufactured by the same companies that make such foods for humans, specifically Mars (Masterfood, Uncle Bens, Royal Canin), Nestle (Nestle-Purina, Friskies), and Proctor and Gamble (Iams and Eukamuba). The other big player (Hills) is owned by Colgate Palmolive. </p>
<p>These convenience food giants don’t just make staple diets, but also expensive treats (beef and chicken jerky and desiccated liver) that cost more per gram than fillet steak. </p>
<p>The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) has endorsed overseas policy guidelines that recommend feeding commercially prepared dry and canned food to cats and dogs. This is in stark contrast to how veterinarians and animal nutritionists feed carnivores in zoos. </p>
<p>Why the difference?</p>
<p>In zoos, big cats (lions, tigers, etc.) and wild dogs (dingoes, wolves) are <a href="http://www.2ndchance.info/rawdiet-Lindburg1988.pdf">fed predominantly fresh meat</a> on the bone, to mimic what occurs in nature. Typically, whole chicken or turkey carcasses and portions (usually limbs) of cows and sheep comprise the major portions of the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/zoo.10065/pdf">ration</a>. Fresh meat, some offal and fresh bones are all normal food constituents in nature.</p>
<p>This ration requires vigorous mastication, as is the case when a carnivore dines in nature. Eating such tucker is hard work but clearly pleasurable. When finally satiated, carnivores generally have a long nap. For ethical reasons, we cannot reproduce the thrill of “the kill” when keeping carnivores in captivity, but we can certainly reproduce the enjoyment of a “natural feed”. Tearing apart flesh and stripping it off the bone is a physiologic way to “floss”, reducing plaque and calculus which otherwise build up on teeth. The mouth and digestive system of carnivores has adapted over millennia to this type of diet.</p>
<p>Cats, like their larger relatives, are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercarnivore">hypercarnivores</a> – carnivores who have evolved through natural selection to eat the flesh and bones of prey animals exclusively. The only carbohydrate normally eaten is in the liver and intestinal tract of prey. Dogs are carnivores, although they have less stringent nutritional requirements. One might therefore think that the ideal food for cats and dogs would include regular portions of fresh meat on the bone. </p>
<p>Why then are most commercial foods for cats and dogs dry extruded rations based on plant carbohydrates, with added fat, minerals and hydrolysed protein? And why do most veterinarians recommend such diets?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93420/original/image-20150831-25759-1ae11fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93420/original/image-20150831-25759-1ae11fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93420/original/image-20150831-25759-1ae11fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93420/original/image-20150831-25759-1ae11fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93420/original/image-20150831-25759-1ae11fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93420/original/image-20150831-25759-1ae11fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93420/original/image-20150831-25759-1ae11fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Domestic cats, like their wild relatives, benefit from a diet of raw meat and bones.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Marketing machine</h2>
<p>My view is that our profession has been misdirected by the exceptionally clever marketing of multinational pet food manufacturers. In the human arena, such companies are often called <a href="http://www.ploscollections.org/article/browseIssue.action?issue=info:doi/10.1371/issue.pcol.v07.i17">“big food”</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_soda">“big soda”</a>. </p>
<p>Dry extruded diets are clean, convenient, have a long shelf-life, are easy to serve and store. They don’t need to be bought fresh every few days. They contain a lot of goodness and are balanced for vitamins, minerals and macronutrients. Indeed, as a component of a balanced diet, “premium dry food” has much to offer (more for dogs than cats and particularly for growing animals). But they tend to be consumed quickly, with little effort. If they are fed without careful portion control, you quickly end up with a fat pet. </p>
<p>The coating with tasty oils makes this food irresistible, just like salted potato crisps are to us. But it doesn’t have the physical qualities to remove calculus from teeth and many have excess carbohydrate and insufficient protein, especially for hypercarnivores. Cats fed these diets exclusively have the propensity to develop diabetes, obesity and osteoarthritis.</p>
<p>Pet food manufacturers provide most of the money for nutritional research in companion animals. They thus control the research agenda, and the “evidence base” for canine and feline nutrition. They donate money and <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/vetscience/veterinary_services/sydney/about_us/">products</a> and sponsor functions at veterinary schools, thereby subliminally influencing the feeding practices of impressionable young vets and their teachers. They fund also <a href="http://www.ava.com.au/sites/default/files/events/information_forms/Conference%20Program%20Reduced.pdf">clinical</a> <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2008/05/pet-nutrition-focus-boosted-through-sponsorship">nutrition lectureships</a> and <a href="http://www.findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/display/grant33840">residencies</a>. University management appear unconcerned by this arrangement. Pet food companies also sponsor seminars, webinars and sessions at scientific meetings. They run advertisements in leading veterinary journals and are a major sponsor of the AVA. </p>
<p>The final masterstroke of pet food companies is that they enlist veterinarians to actually sell, and thereby endorse these diets, right in the waiting rooms of their hospitals. </p>
<p>It doesn’t need to be this way. The concerted efforts of a number of forward-thinking veterinary scientists have meant that Australasian pet owners probably feed more <a href="http://www.rawmeatybones.com/">raw meaty bones</a> as part of a balanced ration than in <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19070524">many countries overseas</a>. This is commendable. But we have some way to go.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Malik does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s no coincidence that “big food” is moving in on pet food.Richard Malik, Veterinary Internist (Specialist), University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/434662015-09-09T20:14:01Z2015-09-09T20:14:01ZHow marketers condition us to buy more junk food<p><em>Fast food giant McDonald’s has been under a cloud in recent years as its US customers turn to alternatives. In this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/fast-food-reinvented">“Fast food reinvented”</a> series we explore what the sector is doing to keep customers hooked and sales rising.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>While excess weight and obesity is a growing global concern, there has been more and more advertising and promotional effort encouraging the consumption of unhealthy food. </p>
<p>In many cases this marketing is targeted at children, and takes place online. In our recent study we investigated the impact of online marketing communications on children and their intention to consume unhealthy food. We found fast food ads on social networking sites can manipulate young audiences – their purchasing likelihood, their views of fast food and their eating habits.</p>
<p>The qualitative study included a sample of 40 Australian children who use social networking sites. Half (21) of the children were male and the average age was 14 (the youngest being 12 and the oldest 16). Their parents were also present during the interview, however they agreed not to intervene during the conversation. </p>
<h2>A growing problem</h2>
<p>The prevalence of excess weight and obesity among Australians has been growing for the past 30 years. Between 2011 and 2012, around 60% of Australian adults were classified as overweight, and more than 25% of these fell into the obese category. In 2013, more than 12 million, or three in five Australian adults, were overweight or obese. On top of that, one in four Australian children were overweight or obese. Excess weight and obesity is only beaten by smoking and high blood pressure as a contributor to a burden of diseases. </p>
<p>Despite this, the food industry is succeeding in using marketing communications to change attitudes, perceptions and perceived norms associated with unhealthy food.</p>
<p>Consumers are lured by surprisingly cheap deals, which are especially attractive to teenagers and young adults with low income. But sales promotions such as discounts and coupons often offer only short-term benefits to consumers and are usually not effective among middle-age adults.</p>
<p>However, if a promotion is offered for a long period of time (i.e. more than three months), it can actually influence customer habits, encouraging repeat purchases – for example, the $1 frozen Coke. </p>
<p>Similarly, sales promotions can make other brands be perceived as less attractive by customers after a period of time. For instance, the $1 frozen Coke campaigns by McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s affect the perception of frozen Coke in terms of monetary value. Many consumers become less willing to buy a frozen Coke that is more expensive than $1. The same can be said of $2 burgers or $5 pizzas.</p>
<h2>The role of social networks</h2>
<p>More than half (16 out of 30) of the respondents admitted they tended to change their eating habits after repeatedly being exposed to advertisements on social networking sites.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Yes, many people say that it is not good to eat fast food. I used to think so but not anymore. Look at their ads, they are colourful, many options and cheap.”</p>
<p>“I just cannot resist it… I had been looking at the ads day after day and I decided that I needed to try these”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Interestingly, fast food was associated with socialisation and fun among young consumers. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The ads make me feel like this is where we belong to. This is our lifestyle…where we hang out and can be ourselves.”</p>
<p>“This is about our culture, young, active and free. We are kids but also not kids. We are different.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Peer pressure</h2>
<p>Peer pressure is heavily related to eating habits, especially during puberty when there is usually a shift from home influence to group motivation. Teenagers and young adults in particular tend to choose a particular type of food under peer pressure. </p>
<p>More than 70% of teenagers will choose a food according to the preference of their friends. This means marketing communications promoting fast food consumption can create a snowball effect within this group of customers. For example, Jack, Sara and Park go out together. If Jack and Sara order Big Burgers with extra cheese, the likelihood that Park will order another Big Burger with extra cheese is approximately 75%. In contrast, only 2.7% of people aged over 40 choose fast food because of their peers.</p>
<p>It’s clear marketing efforts by fast food chains can promote unhealthy eating habits. Also, peer influence plays an important part in forming eating habits. This means the intervention of government and health organisations should concentrate on increasing customers’ attention to health issues, self-efficacy and perceived norms, and at the same time, lessening the influence of marketing efforts aimed at motivating unhealthy eating habits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43466/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By bidding the price of unhealthy food down, fast food marketers are normalising everyday consumption.Park Thaichon, Assistant Professor of Marketing, S P Jain School of Global ManagementSara Quach, PhD Student, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/460782015-09-08T20:06:00Z2015-09-08T20:06:00ZMcDonald’s feels the pinch, but fast food is fighting fit<p><em>Fast food giant McDonald’s has been under a cloud in recent years as its US customers turn to alternatives. In this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/fast-food-reinvented">“Fast food reinvented”</a> series we explore what the sector is doing to keep customers hooked and sales rising.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>McDonald’s, the epitome of fast food, has been suffering a decline in global sales for the past few years. Globally, McDonald’s revenues in the first half of 2015 <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11797531/McDonalds-US-to-shrink-for-the-first-time-in-45-years.html">fell by 10%</a> to US$12.5 billion and net income dropped by 22% to US$2 billion.</p>
<p>In May this year, worldwide sales dropped by 0.3%, with the greatest decline of 3.2% occurring in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, most certainly resulting from the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-mcdonalds-japan-pushed-into-loss-by-food-safety-woes-2015-2?IR=T">food safety scandal</a> in 2014. </p>
<p>Given the declines being seen at McDonald’s, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that junk food and takeaway is “out” while healthy foods are “in”. Consumers in many markets now accept fast food is unhealthy, a view consistently echoed by the scientific community. There’s no shortage of evidence: fast food is rich in fats and salt, and normally accompanied by beverages high in sugar. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://reports.mintel.com/display/715790/#">recent Mintel report</a> on attitudes towards healthy eating in the UK finds that “being overweight is the most prevalent of health concerns among Britons”. So, increasingly, the healthiness of food is playing a large role in food decisions. For example, the same study found that the healthiness of food is the second-most-important consideration for food choice, with taste being number one. </p>
<h2>A blip rather than a serious decline</h2>
<p>The consumption of fast food and takeaway may be slowing down in some Western economies, but that’s not the case globally. </p>
<p>Combining data from various sources, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Economic Research Service, QSR Magazine, Economist Intelligence Unit, Mintel and company results, it’s possible to get a greater understanding of general trends.</p>
<p>In the US, spending on fast food and takeway per capita is projected to go from A$782.40 in 2015 to A$779.80 in 2018. A similar stabilising trend is forecast in the UK, with per capita spending expected to increase from $A228.40 in 2015 to $A232.40 in 2018. In Australia, spending per capita is predicted to fall from $A645.60 to $A620.40.</p>
<h2>Retail market spend per capita on fast food and takeaway</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93732/original/image-20150903-24484-1gh8i3a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93732/original/image-20150903-24484-1gh8i3a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93732/original/image-20150903-24484-1gh8i3a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93732/original/image-20150903-24484-1gh8i3a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93732/original/image-20150903-24484-1gh8i3a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93732/original/image-20150903-24484-1gh8i3a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93732/original/image-20150903-24484-1gh8i3a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://marketsizes.mintel.com">Mintel http://marketsizes.mintel.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, this pattern is perhaps compensated by growth in Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. For example, per capita spending in China is predicted to rise from A$151.86 in 2015 to A$181.67 in 2018. In Brazil, per capita spending is estimated to increase from A$135.90 in 2015 to A$149.50 in 2018. In Russia, per capita spending on fast food and takeaway is expected to go up from A$55.61 in 2015 to A$76.96 in 2018.</p>
<p>Moreover, McDonald’s competitors, such as Burger King, Dominos, KFC etc, have turned around their fortunes, and the future of the fast food and takeaway industry looks even brighter. Burger King reported a rise in sales of 7.9% in the US and Canada during the second quarter of 2015. Although KFC and Pizza Hut (both owned by Yum! Brands) suffered declining sales in China, both have seen <a href="http://lunchbusiness.co.uk/kfc-and-pizza-hut-see-uk-sales-growth-q2">sales growth in UK markets</a>. </p>
<p>In New Zealand, KFC reported a <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11433534">9.7% annual sales rise</a> in April. It also plans to open <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-17/russian-fast-food-craze-spurs-kfc-to-hasten-restaurant-expansion">150 new restaurants in Russia</a> after recording 48% growth in sales for the first quarter of 2015. <a href="http://www.yum.com/annualreport/">Pizza Hut</a> almost doubled its annual profits in 2014 and is expecting to open several new outlets in the coming years.</p>
<h2>Next stop, developing markets</h2>
<p>People are becoming more health conscious and are more informed about the benefits of healthy eating. Educational programs are being introduced in schools to teach children about the different food groups and inculcate healthy eating habits. Governments have also taken measures to limit the consumption of junk food, implementing tighter regulations targeted towards curbing advertising to children. </p>
<p>These steps are taking place in both the developed world and in countries such as India, where the growth of fast food and takeaway is projected to grow. The Delhi High Court in India has <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Junk-food-curbed-not-banned-in-schools/articleshow/46602789.cms">decreed</a> that junk food – or food high in fat, sugar and salt – must be restricted in schools and within a 50-metre radius around schools. New rules and regulations are also being put in place to restrict film stars and cricket icons (the aspirational group of the Indian middle class) from advertising junk foods.</p>
<p>All these factors will hopefully limit the consumption of unhealthy food and trim the waistlines of citizens across their nations. But the fast food and takeaway industry is also well poised to respond to these changes. For example, McDonald’s recently introduced the “Create Your Taste” campaign allowing consumers to customise their burgers. </p>
<p>Burger King is replacing sodas with fat-free milk, low-fat chocolate milk and apple juice in the beverage options on its children’s menu. And fast food companies such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell and Dunkin Donuts are also planning to trial home-delivery options, making their product more accessible to the public.</p>
<p>Ultimately, suggestions of the demise of fast food are likely to be greatly exaggerated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fast food giant McDonald’s has been feeling the impact of reduced sales, but a look at the broader sector shows unhealthy food is still going strong.Anish Nagpal, Senior Lecturer, Management and Marketing, The University of MelbourneKristijan Causovski, Research Assistant, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.