Chinese Food Quiz
1. Which is greater - the combined number of McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's franchises in the United States, or the number of Chinese restaurants?
2. What is the ratio of Chinese restaurants to McDonald's franchise units in the U.S.?
3. A study by the Center for Culinary Development, a food product development company, asked children between the ages of 10 and 13 about their favorite type of food. Guess what percent said they favored Chinese food compared to the percent that said they favored American food?
Answers here and here.
Bottom Line: Globalization is good.
10 Comments:
What a leap! Globalization is good because kids like Chinese food? Sweat shop factories in China get the nod because kids dig egg rolls? Kids like chocolate too, which should justify any actions taken for or against cocoa producing nations.
In fact, since kids seem to dictate a good many households' purchases, judging by the fits they throw in stores and the placation they receive through parental negotiation, let's just make our foreign policy based on child-based surveys.
right up until you realize that, in terms of calories and fat, one order of general tsao's chicken has more fat and more calories that eating 3 big macs...
but you make a good point in that the US, especially urban areas, benefits from a wide variety of ethnic foods, far more so than nearly anywhere else i've been, and i've traveled pretty extensively.
To take another example in the 1960's in the Detroit area Mexican Restaurants were at best rare. I ran into my first one when I moved to Southern California in 1972. Since then they have moved nationwide. Also interestingly the German Restaurant has come back now that the bias against all things German from 1917 has declined (due to that generation departing the scene)
I grew up eating many different types of foods so I eat local when I travel. Street carts, shops where I have to point out things other people are eating to order. And I mean the more exotic stuff like insects, chicken feet, other weird parts, weird sauces, fermented stuff, etc.
But I still will grab something like KFC or McDonald's about once a week.
Chinese food has been easily findable in every country I've traveled to, although localized to a certain extent. In the US it generally has more meat, more fatty ingredients, and thicker sauces than other places I've been. Basically higher calorie.
The only other food type that I've seen with similar reach is Italian (ignoring American). Although that's way more loacalized than Chinese is. Sometimes sickly sweet pasta sauces, sometimes no cheese, sometimes ketchup passing as pizza sauce. It's harder to find good, cheap Italian than Chinese.
Most are Mom and Pop sole proprietorships in small storefronts. Add in a few buffet Chinese restaurants that serve grease galore but some "healthy" steamed rice on the side. Compare revenues of McD's alone. Don't forget Wendy's, Burger King, Carl's Jr, Sonic, Taco Bell and Mexican style et al.
So why do kids want to eat Chinese?
The answer is the neon lights from the previous. Give us a break. Wasted time and money on a study. Could have used the money for a more useful purpose like campaign funds for Sarah Palin's run at the PREZ
Dang!
Only 41K nation wide?!?!
I could swear that there that many just in St. Louis county...
I did not know that...
So instead of blaming McDonald's, we should be blaming and suing the Chinese restaurant owners for obesity in the U.S.
Somebody has to pay for the healthcare for the obese.
Certainly it can't be the fault of restaurant goers.
Maybe a tax on all Chinese restaurants to pay for health care.
I'm certain that a 10% tax on all Chinese menu items would in no way be reflected in the prices for their food. The restaurant owners would probably be more than happy to pay the tax out of their own pocket and not raise prices - it would after all be for a good cause.
Globalization is good.
No, it is not, at least in the way that it is implemented now. I'll leave the rest of that for another topic.
Unlike a McDonalds restaurant, Chinese restaurants are not uniform in quality in the least. While McDonalds isnt particuarly good, going to one means you'll get the same experience as the rest. Chinese restaurants are hit and miss even if for the same exact items.
There is a saying ... 'The world for a frog in the well is all the well'. This prof is thinking in same lines.
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