Annie Collins
Mrs. Straub
AP Economics
10 April 2016
Fast Food Turning Healthy
As the new year has recently come and gone resolutions are quickly starting to fade. One of the most popular resolutions is to be healthier which includes eating healthier. One of the hardest times to eat healthy is when you are on the run and it is so easy just to stop and McDonalds and grab a quick burger to subside your hunger. More recently different fast food restaurants are beginning to put more healthy alternative options on the menu. Prior to this, many people who were eating healthy would have to look for a plain side salad to not eat all of the greasy fried foods there were all over the menu (“The Healthiest”). One con to eating healthy is the rise in nominal prices. It is widely known that when something has more veggies the price of the item will go up for a few reasons; one, being that it is more expensive for restaurants to use more green ingredients because they often need to import them and two, many people have different lifestyles that require only veggies or no gluten etc.
Not only are there many healthier options at fast food restaurants but they also have to display the calories count on their menus. Since this is a new FDA requirement many restaurants have decided to put together different meal types that vary in calories (“U.S.”). For example Panera Bread has an under 500 cal menu, which utilizes the pick two menu. A customer can choose from a few different types of soups, sandwiches, salads and broth bowls. A popular combination is broccoli cheddar soup with a BBQ chicken salad along with a french baguette for only 450 calories. Also on their website they have a pairing portion for the pick two and when you click “choose for you” random pairings come together that are all under 500 calories (“Our”). While making their menu cleaner and healthier Panera went through menu costs since prices on their menu increased and customers are beginning to get tired of the prices continuing to increase at Panera. Although, Panera is not the only company that is changing their menus to have healthier combinations. 
Also, many trainers post different healthy food combinations at fast food restaurants to help their clients. One of their biggest tips is to get rid of different sauces like mayo on sandwiches. As well as if you are getting a sandwich eat it open face with only one piece of bread and add extra veggies. One of the most important concepts of eating “healthier’ fast food is to get the chicken grilled, not fried or crispy. Getting crispy chicken has a lot of extra fats and oils that are not needed for the sandwich to taste good (“The Healthiest”).
Eating healthy is a very important way of living and one of the most important ideas of being healthy is eating right. With restaurants creating healthy portions of their menu, it makes it a little easier to eat healthy all the time. Also with the FDA requiring restaurants to put the calories counts on their menus it allows customers to really know how much they are eating and what percentage their meal will be of their daily calories. Eating healthy should not fade away like most New Year’s resolutions, many fast food restaurants are helping people have those options to eat healthier all the time.
Works Cited
"Our Clean Pairings Menu, All 500 Calories or Less." Clean Pairings Menu. Panera Bread. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
"The Healthiest Options at Fast-Food Restaurants." Health.com. Health Media Ventures INC. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
"U.S. Food and Drug Administration." Overview of FDA Labeling Requirements for Restaurants, Similar Retail Food Establishments and Vending Machines. June-July 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
I believe in this capitalist society eat healthy at a fast food restaurants would be really hard. For one as you said the price of food that they sell would increase. No one wants to pay more money for healthier food. They just want a cheap bite to eat. While it would be a great idea for fast food place to do this, in reality they would not or do very littler because they don't want to loss there customer who are not willing to pay more for there food.
ReplyDeleteI personally did say I was going to start being more healthy, and I have noticed that it does cost a lot more than a quick and delicious Big Mac. It's great that the FDA requires every eatery to have a calorie count available to any customer who asks. In places like Applebee's and Red Robin, they have sections that are the 'light' or 'healthy' options, and there is a calorie count next to each item on the menu. Except for non-dessert drinks I think. It's good that we are becoming more aware of what we put in our bodies.
ReplyDeleteVery Interesting. When most people think of fast food restaurants they often times think of chicken tenders, icecream, burgers, and fries. It's nice to know that now many restaurants are deciding to create healthier options. Often times people on the go have to consume fast food burgers because of the convenience. With fast food restaurants creating more healthy options and eliminating bad otpions, I believe that the obesity rate to start to decrease. This was a very interestig topic and you did a nice job writing about it. I would consider next time to include a few more examples of restuarants that are doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that I always say to myself I should eat healthier and when I'm out and about that is definitely really hard to do. On capital drive there are so many fast food places with barely any healthy options. There is the Panera but like you said that can be kind of expensive so I usually only get it to treat myself. So with the unhealthy options and high prices I usually do not go out to eat and just make something at home or I just usually get one small unhealthy thing if I'm starving. But both things are negative and driving me away from the fast food industry. I wonder if there will ever be a way for us to make healthy good food cheaper?
ReplyDelete-carson cotterell
This is an interesting topic, especially since I didn't notice the change to menus at restaurants. I agree that this will encourage society to make healthier choice and ultimately could change eating habits and lifestyles. Another thing to consider is how this affects the economy. Customers would be using more of their income to purchase the more expensive and healthier meals rather than something off the dollar menu at McDonald's. As a result restaurants will be increasing their quantity and the price will go up too. The only question is if the customer's demand for the new choices will increase or if people will shy away from eating healthy.
ReplyDeleteOverall I think restaurants creating a healthier menu is very important. One benefit to the new menu boards is that people will be able to realize how bad something actually is for you. For example subway, they claim to be healthy but some of their subs are over 1000 calories. I think it is really important to know the calories of a food at a restaurant because usually the calorie count tends to be a lot higher than we think. In addition to that I believe restaurants should start making healthier options available with fresher produce in meals.
ReplyDeleteIt is good that restaurants are trying to be more healthy, because some of the food that people buy is just ridiculous. While it won’t be a sudden change, and everybody won’t immediately start eating healthier, it is a step in the right direction, so long as the food doesn’t become more expensive, because fast and mostly cheap are what many fast food restaurants are about.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time people in America especially struggle with obesity and generally not eating healthy because of the higher price or because of laziness/time constraints. It's much easier to shove a frozen pizza in the oven after work or school than it is to take time preparing a healthful meal. You say in the article that Panera is coming up with better meal options, but they take a lot longer and are a lot more expensive than Taco Bell or McDonalds. What are some new options we can have there? I don't have a problem with people eating junk whenever they want because it's their own choice, but I know some people would like a better way to feed themselves and their families quickly without having to spend a pile of cash or having to clear their afternoons to make time.
ReplyDeleteI believe that as fast food industries grow, they need to provide more options to reach new consumers. By putting healthy options next to usual classics, fast food restaurants increase their demand, since more consumers want to buy one of their products. This could be a good thing, because many people only have fast food when all other options are unavailable, and increasing diversity in their menu leads to more people being satisfied with their meals.
ReplyDeleteI agree that eating healthy affects the pricing of foods severely. It is because the resources are not as available as resources for not so healthy foods and so the supply shifts to the left in the resource market. It is good for fast food to increase there options because then their demographic opens up and there will be more want for the foods. This goes for vegans and vegetarians. I think this is a good change!
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see healthier foods added to fast food menus. I would be curious to see what the ratio is of items sold; healthy to unhealthy? Are the profit margins close in healthy to unhealthy? I realize that the healthier foods such as salad and apples have a much shorter shelf life than say, a frozen burger or french fries. Also, how much larger can the sodas get? Pretty soon they won't fit in the cup holders of our cars.
ReplyDeleteThis is certainly an interesting debate for our country since most people try to balance convenience and health when it comes to their diets. I know that most people try to eat healthier but at the same time many people appreciate the low-cost that fast food has traditionally provided them. I have certainly noticed the trend of increasingly healthy options, I also know that there is a McDonalds in missouri that is testing out the concept of all-you-can-eat french fries, so I'm interested to see if this turns out to be a profitable option for them considering the unhealthiness of their fries in a health-focused society.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought that your post was interesting and insightful. It is amazing how after decades of unhealthy fast foods, America is finally slimming down, and trying to produce healthy foods and an amazing price. I personally know that most people try to eat healthier, yet fast food is so low coast that it is difficult. Thus, the debate between health and cost becomes more heated. But, as fast food becomes healthier and maintains its low cost, then America will become slimmer over time. I think that it is important however to point out the advantages for the fast food industry too. By providing more healthy options they are only increasing their customer base, but at what cost? It would be interesting to look at the profit margins for the chains themselves to see if they can maintain their low-cost but healthy options. Overall, however, your use of economic terminology was sound, and your post was well written.
ReplyDeleteI don't get fast food when I want to eat healthy. When I want to eat healthy, I go to the store, buy some ingredients, and cook it myself. Healthy options at fast food restaurants are way over-priced compared to the rest of the menu, and are not anywhere near high quality. If you want a big ROI for eating healthy, cook it yourself.
ReplyDeleteWith more and more people wanting to eat healthier, it makes sense for businesses to be adapting to these changes. Though, the fast food industry has still a long ways to go before every restaurant has all healthy options. From my experience, I remember one of the first businesses claiming to be healthier is Subway. Though this is better than most fast food, it still not as healthy as it could be. Restaurants that are all organic/natural is really how fast food should be. Anyways, interesting article!
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that with more people choosing to eat healthier that fast food restaurants would strive to become more healthy. If fast food changes there menu, they will notice an increase in demand for their products. Sometimes when people are trying to eat healthier they just go to the store and buy the ingredients but that is also a tedious process. I personally don't always have time to go to the store so I find it convenient when I can get healthy food quick. Overall, I really enjoyed your article and I'm glad that fast food is becoming more healthy.
ReplyDeleteAlthough eating more vegetables will raise nominal prices in the restaurant industry, the opportunity cost regarding the planet is lower when people eat healthier than if they don't because additives and chemicals, as well as red meat, because less water is required for production. This shift in American's opinion on healthy food is seen in Panera and Chipotle but there was also a recent opening of an 100% vegetarian and vegan friendly drive through in California with prices comparable to Chipotle.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the new trend of eating healthier is having an impact on the economy. In my opinion, I think it is having a positive impact. Large fast food companies are investing ways to make food healthier yet still convenient and satisfying to the consume. This expands the market and gives the consumer more options when they go to buy food. This is also an example of how competition can be a driver for businesses to produce better products. Overall I thought this post was pretty interesting and relevant to current events.
ReplyDeleteAlthough raising the prices of the products is somewhat of a hassle to the consumers, it can stimulate economic activity while still giving the consumer the healthy meal they desire; the company is spending more to get the healthier products, and then charging more so the consumer is spending more and more money is in the flow of the economy. It is also providing goods for a larger range of people and would draw in more customers. With healthier choices on menus people that are very dedicated to a healthy lifestyle can finally stop for a quick bite if they're running late while still staying true to their diet. This new trend draws in more consumers and is overall very good for the consumers that desire it, and if someone doesn't want the healthy choice the menus still have whatever greasy food they desire. This is a good way to stimulate economic activity, good article choice!
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