WALMARTING THE FOOD CHAIN - Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America - page 39

colon cancer. Inversely, there is a large body of evidence that conclusively shows that eating low on the
food chain—a plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and grains—maintains health and longevity.
Americans eat half of their meals and snacks away from home, increasingly at fast-food restaurants. In
70 percent of homes with children, all adults work full time. And because Americans work longer hours
than the citizens of any other developed country, the heavy advertising of convenience food has found a
ready market. A recent survey by Yale University found that 84 percent of parents say that their children
have eaten fast food in the previous week.
During the current recession, McDonald's has lured customers with its Dollar Menu. As the largest fast-
food chain in the world with 32,000 locations, McDonald's enjoyed rising profits during the past three
years. In 2012, the chain plans to invest almost $3 billion in new outlets, and by 2013 it plans to open 2,000
more establishments in China.
McDonald's controls 15 percent of the enormous fast-food market. Ten chains earn 47 percent of all
sales in the sector, with Yum Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut)—the second-largest chain—comprising
more than 8 percent. Wendy's, Subway, Burger King, and Starbucks follow in size, respectively.
Source: QSR Magazine Top 50, USDA ERS, company reports
Since it is composed of some of the largest purchasers of processed food, the fast-food industry greatly
influences food manufacturers. The largest chains have played a significant role in the rise of industrial-
ized agriculture and food processing. According to researchers at Duke University, the two industries have
co-evolved and can dictate how food is “cultivated, manufactured, packaged, distributed and displayed.”
McDonald's impact on french fries is a prime example of this codependency. 12
McDonald's is the largest purchaser of potatoes in the United States, and so it has facilitated consolid-
ation of the french fry supply chain by its need for a tremendous amount of fries with very specific char-
acteristics. Three large companies, ConAgra, McCain Foods, and J.R. Simplot, manufacture the enormous
number of fries sold by McDonald's. These companies use the required russet potatoes produced by the gi-
ant United Fresh Potato Growers of Idaho. Bayer CropScience and Monsanto provide the specified seeds,
herbicides, and pesticides for the contract farmers who produce the potatoes, which then become the uni-
form size and shape fries consumed at McDonald's and other chains. 13