Fast food is now established as an integral part of modern life. Busy modern people juggling jobs and professional commitments with family life, often have no time to cook or even sit down and wait for service in a regular restaurant. And fast food available at a wide range of outlets offers a tempting alternative. What began as a uniquely American phenomenon has now spread worldwide.
Modern fast food restaurants have their origins in drive-in restaurants in southern California in the early 1940s. Later in that decade, McDonald's introduced the 'assembly line' food preparation system. However, some people consider White Castle to be the first fast-food chain. Founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, White Castle is the world's oldest hamburger restaurant.
In the years after the McDonald brothers opened their revolutionary restaurant in 1948, many of today's fast-food chains started up. These include Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell.
Meanwhile in the UK, people contentedly stuck to the national dish of fish and chips. Still popular, fish and chips has seen serious competition from both American fast food chains and Chinese and Indian curry takeaways.
While fast food outlets have received criticism for everything from causing obesity to destroying local culture, they're still going strong. Convenience clearly counts for a lot.