Introduction
You are what you eat’. This is a statement that has been used by health experts, doctors and even philosophers in different contexts. What we eat in history has been determined by where we come from and socio-economic status (Ritzer, 1993). Food is as definitive of a people as much as language or dressing is. However, geographical location might be phased out as a determining factor in what one eats.
The world is opening up with globalization and co-operations are grabbing the opportunity to expand their markets, sometimes with negative repercussions such as the erosion of indigenous cultures. McDonalds, the world’s largest foodservice retailer (McDonalds, 2009) is a fine example of what globalization really means. It is a franchise that is literally everywhere. It is more the norm than the exception to see the two golden arches in Milan, Rome, or Nairobi, Kenya or Beijing, China.
The growth and spread of McDonalds has been met with reluctance by some, as they see it as one of the ways in which the world is becoming ever more homogenized. The richness of the cultures of peoples in different parts of the world is slowly fading out as they embrace western trends9watson, 1997). A good example is China; the Chinese have had an eating culture that has been passed down through generations and that has been preserved over millennia. It can be said that one of the definitive aspects of Chinese culture is their food. However, this is slowly changing as the Chinese, who have always been resistant to change, more so that instigated by westerners, are being converted to the fast food religion (Watson, 1997).
This has implications that go further than just the cultural concerns. There are the questions of what the change in eating habits will do to the general well being of China’s people and what happens to traditional Chinese restaurants among others. it shall be examined how firm a hold McDonalds has on China with suggestions on how the corporate giant can metamorphose to make itself a more integrated part of Chinese food culture.
China’s traditional eating culture: what there was before McDonalds
The Chinese traditional eating culture is diversely different from that of the west. Starting from the way food is served, to what is served and how it is actually eaten, there are myriad differences that can be noted.
In the traditional Chinese setting for a meal, says Simoons (1991), the food is served in communal bowls set on a low round or square table and the Chinese typically eat three meals in a day. Unlike the west where the time of day determines what kind of meal one might eat, the Chinese are not as keen on this and tend to serve the same kind of meal for breakfast lunch and dinner. However, in China there are different dishes served so that each meal has got a variety of elements (Simoons, 1991).
While in the west the main element of the meal is the meat course, in China it is the grain (Fan) that is considered to be primary; so important is the grain in a meal that the meal itself is referred to as ‘Hsia fan’ which literally translates to ‘a period of grain’ (Simoons, 1991). The grains eaten are rice, wheat, millet sorghum and corn, with the first two being a reserve for the rich as they are expensive and the remainder mostly for the less well off. The meats and vegetables called ‘ts’ai’ are seen as being the accompaniments to the main ‘fan’ dish (Simoons, 1991).
Chopsticks are the standards eating utensils in a Chinese meal. The Chinese believe that knives and forks are weapons; hence it is uncivilized and barbaric to use them at the table. They also find it offensive for diners at a table to cut up their own food. Food in Chinese culture, especially the meat and vegetables is served in bits that are small enough to pick up with a chopstick. Meats, be it chicken or fish, are served whole, head, gizzard for chicken and head and tail for the fish inclusive. This is because the Chinese believe in the wholeness of things hence throwing away some body parts is discouraged (Simoons, 1991).
The napkin that accompanies a place setting in the west is substituted with a hot towel that is used to wipe the hands and mouth after the meal. The standard place setting for a traditional Chinese meal will have a bowl of ‘fan’, one pair of chopsticks, a spoon with a flat bottom that resembles the western soup spoon and a saucer. since the diners eat from communal bowls using their chopsticks to pick up pieces from the various bowls, the saucer is mainly used to put in bones from the meat and maybe to hold a piece of meat that is too big to eat all at once (Simoons, 1991).
Another major difference between western and Chinese traditional dining is that the Chinese do not normally have a desert course after the main meal. Neither do they serve food with cold drinks. This is because the Chinese traditionally believe that cold drinks are bad for the digestion of foods that have been consumed hot. Most of the meals are consumed with a pot of tea. Sweets are preserved for very special and formal occasions. A traditional Chinese meal will generally start and end with a bowl of soup.
Simmons (1991) highlights that there are things which are generally taboo at the traditional Chinese table. one of them is sticking chopsticks upright in a ‘fan’ bowl; rice offerings made at shrines for the dead usually have two incense sticks stuck upright in them and replicating this at the table is equated to wishing one of the diners dead. Another thing that is offensive is the banging of chopsticks on the edge of the bowl or against each other; it is only in restaurants where clients are not satisfied with the food that they bang their chopsticks. This is considered a grievous insult to the cook. One is expected to eat every last grain from the fan bowl and not doing so can be translated very negatively too. This is because grain is considered precious and leaving it in the bowl will be showing an insensitiveness and lack of appreciation for the food (Simoons, 1991).
McDonalds: Global homogenization at its finest
According to James L. Watson (1997), McDonald’s has become a major character in the American lifestyle. McDonald’s has gone beyond being a mere fast food retail outlet to become a central identity in popular American culture. In a country like China, it is an indication of affluence to be seen at a McDonald’s outlet (Goodman, 2004).
The McDonald website proudly states that the company as the world’s leading global foodservice retailer has over 31, 000 restaurants world wide in 118 countries and that they serve 58 million customers daily. For such impressive figures the foods they have to offer are rather limited: Fries, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder Chicken soft drinks and desserts (McDonalds, 2009).
Ritzer (2004) defines McDonalization as being the state by which societies change their eating habits from eating healthy and wholesome meals to that of eating a great amount of fast foods. To counteract this, McDonalds has made an attempt at improving the portrayal of the brand name as being health oriented. This has led to the introduction of fresh fruit drinks in addition to the soft drinks that were originally served, fruit deserts and vegetable salads aside from the standard fries and hamburgers. They also provide recreational facilities for children to portray it as being family friendly (McDonalds, 2009).
There is an indication that many businesses beyond the food industry have copied the McDonald’s formula for success not only in America but in other parts of the world as well, China included (Ritzer, 2004). This is a clear indication of how the McDonald’s businesses and success have influence how other business corporations see the world; as a potential investment where their companies and retail outlets can flourish, that is if they do not have one there already.
McDonaldization runs deep; the United Nations’ Human Development Index has one of its indicators as the Big Mac Index, which has become a standard unit of measurement of human well being for various countries. The index is based on how much a big Mac, the MacDonald hamburger, would cost to make in different countries. This index has become popular because the hamburger is made of a uniform commodity sold in more than 100 different nations.
Why has McDonalds as a franchise chain been such a success globally? Ritzer (2004) explains that the company has applied a three pronged strategy that has seen to its success. McDonaldization has the three fundamental dimensions being efficiency, calculability and predictability of its market segment.
It’s believed that McDonald’s excises one of the most efficient ways of satisfying people’s food requirement. Another strategy that McDonalds has used is by making their retail outlets easily accessible in the major cities of the world, they have maximized on the benefits of strategic location (Watson, 1997).
The McDonald’s outlets are easy to manage since they have a limited menu that has easy to prepare options. It does not take a world class chef to assemble a hamburger or a hotdog, practically anyone can (Watson, 1997). This has lead to changing of many aspects of people’s lives. The major aspect that has changed is the people’s eating habit. The reason why many people have fallen into this habit is associated with the advantages that are attached to McDonaldization. These are;
- They provide their goods and service to a larger population than it is with other business corporations.
- The availability of goods and services depends on the availability of credit which is normally provided to many McDonald restaurants.
- They offer faster and more convenient services to their customers.
- They pack their goods in correct measures that are normally standardized.
- They sell their commodities at an affordable price.
- They operate around the clock; therefore can serve people any time.
- A McDonalds is a McDonalds anywhere in the world. This familiarity makes their restaurants popular whatever place they might be in the world.
- It is easy to compare the quality of services offered by this kind of businesses since they are in large numbers.
The negative effects of Mcdonaldization in China
Mcdonaldization was paved for the way by ‘the concept of ‘Americanization which made a universal sweep from slightly over two decades ago and is still being felt to date (Watson, 1997). Americanization revolves around the idealization of everything American and then trying to emulate it. Be it in the context of dressing, motors, speech, music and food. Hence, since the Americans loved McDonalds and fast food, the rest of the world embraced it with open arms. This has been one of the negative impacts of global homogenization, where a particular culture is seen as being superior and it then supplants the native culture.
It seems that China has adopted more than the culture of fast foods, it has also adopted the health complications that come with too much fast-food. There are over six hundred McDonald outlets in 105 Chinese cities and the fast-food industry was generating revenue of over $48 billion dollars by 2004. In the same year, a states report showed that the number of overweight Chinese was in the range of 200 million with 60 million of these classified as obese. Public health officials gave their opinion that the growing interest in fast food was a large contributor to these alarming statistics (Goodsman, 2004).
Solutions to the problem of McDonaldization facing China
The Chinese government should take it upon itself to minimize the homogenization of its eating culture. Change is at times good, and it is inevitable but at the same time it is just as important to limit change if there is to be maintained the flavors that make different cultures what they are. How the Chinese government can do these is by declaring sections within towns or whole towns as national heritage areas where hegemoniuos outlets cannot be put up. This will ensure that there will be an un-spoilt spot where one can sample the best of china, not only in food but in other aspects of Chinese culture in their purest form.
The government should launch a campaign to raise awareness on the adverse effect that fast food can have on ones health. The government should ensure that the public is well informed on the connection that there is between the over consumption of fast-food and health problems such as diabetes, obesity, heart problems among others. This might douse some of the enthusiasm with which the Chinese have embraced fast food.
The government could also put stipulations for companies such as McDonalds to be more ‘Chinese’ so as to blend in with Chinese culture. For McDonalds, this would mean having more Chinese dishes on the menu, and maybe rebranding McDonalds to suit china; replacing the two golden arcs with chopsticks might be a good start!
Conclusion
It is about time that the preservation of cultural practices was taken as seriously as that of the environment is. This is important because the unique cultures in various parts of the world are what make up the patchwork quilt quality of beauty that we see all around us. if the rate of global homogenization goes on at the pace it is moving at today, incredible as it may still sound now, there may come a time when too many streets in the world resembled the typical American street, with a McDonalds, Wal-Mart and Toys are us right round the corner, and indigenous cultures such as Chinese food, chopsticks and all may become the stuff of legends
Bibliography
Goodman, Peter. S. ‘Fast Food Takes a Bite Out of Chinese Culture: Consumers Crave Convenience of Western Carryout Choices’. The Washington Post Foreign Servic. 2006.
McDonalds Web.
Ritzer, George. The McDonalization Reader CA: Pine Forge Press, 2004.
Simoons, Frederick, J. Food in China: a cultural and historical inquiry FL: CRC Press, 1991.
Watson, James L., ed. Golden Arches east: McDonald’s influence East Asia. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997.