Fast food is term that denotes any food item that can be prepared and eaten in a jiffy. Fast foods are often sold in easy to eat wrappers or such other take away food containers. They are fundamentally foods that can be grabbed and consumed on the go.
The whole genre of ‘fast food’ came into existence around the 19th century with the invention of the meat grinder. Ground Meat gave rise to meat patty which in turn gave rise to hamburgers. But back then, hamburgers were considered to be unhygienic and food for the poor mostly. Coca cola, which came into being in 1892 for the first time, initially contained about 9 milligrams of cocaine.
The first fast food chain was opened by A&W Root beer around 1919. A&W also introduced the concept of franchising in a couple of years. In 1921, White Castle opened the first chain of hamburger outlets. Around 1930’s, Howard Johnson first franchised the concept of a restaurant with a stable menu, and advertised for it. At its inception, first food outlets were made to look flashier to catch the attention of its customers.
In 1949, Mcdonald Brothers opened their first outlet, when in the same year, Arby’s was also established. Carl Jr. was started in 1956 when Carl Karcher, a restaurant owner, wanted to open a smaller version of his full size eating place. Subway started its first outlet in 1965.
Around 1967, first food outlet owners started adding high fructose corn syrup in the food that makes people eat more and stops the fat from burning down. Around the 1970’s, Americans were already spending around $6 billion on fast food. By 2006, this amount increased to $142 billion.