AHC: Kill the Fast Food Industry

[Chapman]

As I sit here munching on a cheap, but somehow still-not-quite-worth-it cheeseburger from Burger King, I begin to think; gee, I’ve spent a lot of money on fast food in my life. In one week alone I could easily spend at least $50 on junk even as my home sits (relatively) full of groceries waiting to be cooked and eaten. But I know I’m certainly not alone.

In the US, four of the most popular fast food chains are McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell and KFC. Each of these are essentially considered classic American food - for some, the US’s addiction to fast food is a joke, while for others it’s very much a reality. These four fast food chains are highly profitable and easily recognizable across the entire US and many individual regions have their own iconic fast food joints; Church’s Fried Chicken in much of the south, In-N-Out in the west, and I’m sure countless more that I haven’t been exposed to but that are nonetheless staples for the locals in different areas. All told, the US fast food industry makes something like $280 billion a year. The industry has been criticized for contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic as much as for falling standard, especially in the past few years, but it no less charges on quite efficiently.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it; save me and the millions of Americans like me a good chunk of change by killing the fast food industry. The POD must be sometime before 1990 but no earlier than 1950. Can it be done in this window?

 

[Sekhmet_D]

Ray Kroc dies in a car wreck on his way to rendezvous with the McDonald brothers for the first time.

 

[farmerted555]

So, would fast food still exist after the POD?

 

[Chapman]

So, would fast food still exist after the POD?

It could still exist on a small scale but the goal is definitely to prevent it from becoming what it is today.

 

[farmerted555]

It could still exist on a small scale but the goal is definitely to prevent it from becoming what it is today.

I suppose one possible historical alteration would be Pete Harman dying before meeting with Colonel Sanders in 1952.

 

[Analytical Engine]

The POD must be sometime before 1990 but no earlier than 1950. Can it be done in this window?

You can keep it from being dominated by a few multinational companies, or by different companies, but, no, I don't think you can kill it outright

Depending on your definition, some version of fast food restaurants have existed since the late 19th century. White Castle, for instance, was founded in 1916

Fast-food restaurant - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Automat - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Clorox23]

Simple: Economic recession.

Without the period of economic stability the 1950s had, the fast food boom gets stunted.

 

[AndrewSt]

Simple. The War of Independence is lost and the US remains British. The only fast food is fish and chips and until the start of the 20th century it will be hard to get fresh fish far from the coast. No immigration from Europe means no burgers or pizza.

 

[Alex1guy]

Simple. The War of Independence is lost and the US remains British. The only fast food is fish and chips and until the start of the 20th century it will be hard to get fresh fish far from the coast. No immigration from Europe means no burgers or pizza.

Oh no I think I hate this timeline! D:

 

[Sekhmet_D]

Simple. The War of Independence is lost and the US remains British. The only fast food is fish and chips and until the start of the 20th century it will be hard to get fresh fish far from the coast. No immigration from Europe means no burgers or pizza.

Easy way out lmao. "POD no earlier than 1950", it says.

 

[Analytical Engine]

Simple. The War of Independence is lost and the US remains British. The only fast food is fish and chips and until the start of the 20th century it will be hard to get fresh fish far from the coast. No immigration from Europe means no burgers or pizza.

Little Chef. Little Chef everywhere

Also, there was still German immigration long before independence. That's not likely to change

 

[jacob ningen]

As I sit here munching on a cheap, but somehow still-not-quite-worth-it cheeseburger from Burger King, I begin to think; gee, I’ve spent a lot of money on fast food in my life. In one week alone I could easily spend at least $50 on junk even as my home sits (relatively) full of groceries waiting to be cooked and eaten. But I know I’m certainly not alone.

In the US, four of the most popular fast food chains are McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell and KFC. Each of these are essentially considered classic American food - for some, the US’s addiction to fast food is a joke, while for others it’s very much a reality. These four fast food chains are highly profitable and easily recognizable across the entire US and many individual regions have their own iconic fast food joints; Church’s Fried Chicken in much of the south, In-N-Out in the west, and I’m sure countless more that I haven’t been exposed to but that are nonetheless staples for the locals in different areas. All told, the US fast food industry makes something like $280 billion a year. The industry has been criticized for contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic as much as for falling standard, especially in the past few years, but it no less charges on quite efficiently.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it; save me and the millions of Americans like me a good chunk of change by killing the fast food industry. The POD must be sometime before 1990 but no earlier than 1950. Can it be done in this window?

will you accept restricting it to small chains by stronger sherman otherwise we remove the interstates would do a lot to weaken it. Furthermore many chains started in LA so judge doom or his real equivalent doesnt buy out LA public transit.

 

[Mad Bad Rabbit]

Yom Kippur War or Able Archer goes hot. That'd definitely kill the fast food industry (along with their customer base).

 

[Sekhmet_D]

Little Chef. Little Chef everywhere

Also, there was still German immigration long before independence. That's not likely to change

If anything the British in charge doesn't necessarily nix immigration from Europe. Hessian soldiers in British service might settle in the New World once the war is over.

 

[Jürgen]

The modern French onion soup started as fast food item in the mid 19th century, we Have archaeological evidence of fast food pretty much as long as there have been cities.

So I think a better question is how to limit fast food, and what will more limited fast food looks like.

 

[Otakuninja2006]

This is a TL I wouldn't want to live in, but perhaps......food because easier and more convinent, thus reducing the need for fast food?

 

[Jürgen]

Fast food has historically been relative rare in my homeland, that was because instead of wasting food on fast food, people drank alcohol instead.

 

[OldNavy1988]

You can't completely stomp out fast food.

It's inevitable that people will want something easy and convenient if they don't have the energy to cook after work.

Sorry guys.

 

[THE KINGFISH]

This is a TL I wouldn't want to live in, but perhaps......food because easier and more convinent, thus reducing the need for fast food?

You can't completely stomp out fast food.

It's inevitable that people will want something easy and convenient if they don't have the energy to cook after work.

Sorry guys.

I was gonna suggest something like "car culture never exists and American urban/suburban development is far more transit oriented", but then I saw the POD limits and I realized that it's pretty much ASB.

You can however, taper its effects like the obesity epidemic it unleashed. More stringent food portion and sugar/corn syrup regulations and the like.

EDIT: You would also need a different family structure in American culture, since both parents being forced into the workforce have meant that the wife is no longer completely subservient to the husband, and thus can no longer cook and prepare for the family as much as under post-WWII (1945-1973) conditions.

 

[CaptainCalvert]

You could maybe limit franchises by ruling it's a breach of antitrust laws to operate in too many states, so there's as many outlets but more variety. More than likely loopholes will be built in by lobbyists, or found by lawyers, but it would provide a chance for more state-specific prefrrences and quirks - The Poutine Post ?