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It is true that the US fast food industry is taking steps to address these concerns. For example, many of the chains are increasingly introducing healthier meal options, which have lower contents of fat and other harmful ingredients. Similarly, a greater level of healthier food options such as salads is also being added to many of their menus. However, the unhealthy image still remains.

One of the adverse effects of these issues and concerns is that it does, in the view of the author and others adds substance to the negative image of the American restaurant industry. This negative image is further fuelled by the fact that the US fast food sector is by far the largest promoter of American restaurants. In 2001 McDonald's spent over $1.4 billion on one campaign. With the franchise format providing enormous promotional budgets in every country where these brands are developed, it is not surprising that the image of American culinary delights in the global community is limited to the somewhat questionable quality and content of the Fast Food brands.

There is no doubt that the US restaurant industry contains a significant number of restaurants of a much superior quality that the fast food chains. For example, in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas there are 111 restaurants that have been awarded the coveted Michelin star and this is just a small portion of America's quality and a la carte restaurant brands. The difficulty is that, without sufficient promotion and indeed the capital to be able to undertake marketing on a global scale, relatively few people outside of the USA get to know about the finer culinary delights on offer in this uniquely diverse country.

Learn more about this author, Paul Lines.
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