Culture is something that is not seen, but yet understood. Culture is the set of beliefs and the food, way of life, etc. These things differ from each geographic area, well at least they used to. Now cultures in regions all over the world are being diminished because one culture wants to stand dominate when compared to the rest. That culture is the fast food of America. According to the website, Plosin.com, In 1955, only seven years after they opened their doors, McDonald’s had seven stores in the United States. As of 2015, McDonald’s alone, has over 35,000 in 118 countries. Since the dawn of Fast Food the american culture is demolishing other cultures. With the uprising of all of these fast food chain restaurants, the culture of the people in the corresponding area are at high risk for losing their way of life that has been around for years. Not only with the introduction of these fast food restaurants are causing people to gain weight from the food, but with the added weight it’s introducing a whole new world of health problems that were not there before.  

The citizens of the United States have always centered their culture around these fast food chains, but what about the people of Mexico? Have they always had fast food chains presence? According to the website, Cnn, the average dish in Mexico was colorful, healthy, and rich in culture. Ibid, also states that “A lot of the ingredients that we use in our dishes are delicacies”. How did a culture go from producing dishes such as cabrito ( baby goat), fresh salsa, and handmade corn and flour tortillas, to adipose, fatty foods such as McDonald’s and other comparable fast food chains? How did the people go from a healthy figure to obese people? The answer is the overpowering culture of the United States in Mexico. The United States has created this shadow over the culture of Mexico and has destroyed it and ruined the health of the nation. Once the passage of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) passed, it allowed fast food and carbonated beverages to be sold. As of 2015, according to Rt.com, Mexico currently has an obesity rate of 32.8 percent. This is mainly from the introduction of fast food restaurants, but also from the amount of soda that is now being drank in Mexico. When a persons weight sky rockets, they are at risk for copious amounts of diseases or other medical issues. Not only has the obesity rate gone through the roof, the cost of the medication is also getting expensive, medicine that is needed in order to cope with the obesity. According to the website, Helpguide, a study was done by Harvard University that involved 50,000 men and more than 120,000 women. The study relieved that Obesity makes the person open to increased chance to 20 times for diabetes. It also boosted their chance of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and gallstones. In order to cope with these health issues the person is going to need medication to help them get rid of the health problem. According to Who.int, the amount total for the government on these medications for diabetes alone is 2 billion dollars. This then is passed onto the user through health insurance charges. In 2013, a person that has a good health insurance, would have to pay about 500 pesos in order to see a doctor, but what about someone that doesn’t have insurance, or insurance that isn’t comparable to other insurances, it could cost them even more to see a doctor and affect the pill price. These fast food chains are dictatorial in areas like this and destroying the local culture of Mexico and making it a worse place.

Not only has Mexico’s culture been affected by the fast food shadow created by America, Other countries such as the countries that make up Asia, are also having their culture destroyed by these chains. With the introduction of these chains, Asia has only seen the negative sides of the invasion. According to NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov, Asia,alone, has 60 percent of the worldwide total of people that are diagnosed with diabetes. Asia used to be a country that their main diet was centered around white rice and the people that lived there had such fast metabolisms they could burn off the calories quickly. With the introduction of the sugary sodas, processed foods filled with fat and carbs, their metabolism has slowed down and the weight gain increased. Asia is home to over 2,000 Mcdonalds and countless other restaurants that take away from the original culture infused food that used to be eaten there. Asia already has a weak health care system and many people go without help from the government to cope with these diseases and now more and more people are going to die young or suffer from the obesity-related diseases.

These are just two examples of what happens when fast food chains are built in other areas of the world. These two examples are prime examples as to why cultures, that are different in every location in the world, are being wiped out. Mexico and Asia are just two examples of what happens when fast food chains become too powerful and damage their culture. These fast food chains are responsible for making the people of respected land to become obese. That obesity then has caused health problems that were not one of the central problems of the land. With the increase health risks it only has made the insurance cost skyrocket through the roof and many people can not afford the medication or doctor visits in order to help cope with these problems. The fast food chains are making people suffer through the entire lives. They do not care about the destruction of culture, they’re only out their in order to create more revenue.

Works Citied

“The History of McD’s.” The History of McD’s. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.

Eatocracy Editors. “5@5 – The Truth about Mexican Food.” Http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/08/24/55-the-truth-about-mexican-food/. N.p., Aug.-Sept. 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

“How Excess Weight Affects Your Health.” http://www.helpguide.org/harvard/how-excess-weight-affects-your-health.htm. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

“Diabetes: The Cost of Diabetes.” http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs236/en/. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
Pan, An, Vasanti Malik, and Frank B. Hu. “Exporting Diabetes to Asia: The Impact of Western-Style Fast Food.” Circulation. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.