Europe vs. The United States

In this post, we study the differences between fast food in the United States of America and Europe. There are many differences like the quantity of salt, size of the burgers, price etc.

Here is a little view on the principal differences:

The first difference is that different studies have shown, that salt levels in similar food are not equal. In Europe, for example France or United Kingdom, salt levels are lower than the salt level in the USA or in Canada. A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has examined Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Burger King and Subway.

·      Example for Chicken Mc Nuggets in McDonald’s:

 Europe: 0,6g salt per 100g

 USA: 1,5g salt per 100g

Salt level is two times higher in the US than in Europe.

The second difference is the price of bills. The fast food in Europe is more expensive than in the US.

·        Example for price of a Big Mac (US dollars, July 2008):

  Europe: 5,34

  USA: 3,57

·        Other example for the price of a menu “Best Of” McDonald’s:

  France: 7,50€

  USA: 5€

Speaking about money, did you know that France is the second most valuable country for McDonald’s? Europeans like fast food just as much as Americans do. But the fast food chains have different business strategies on the different continents.

This difference is caused particularly because of the different VTA rates in the countries. So the price of the bill is approximately 20% less expensive in USA than in Europe.

The third difference and the last difference is the consumption of junk food and the frequency with which people visit a fast food restaurant.

Example of drink (soda) with this map per person with an indices:

We see here that in Europe people drink less soda than in the USA (Indices 200 in USA and 30 in Europe)

For conclusion, we can say that one point is similar in Europe or in USA. Indeed, it’s difficult to walk around in the street without seeing a Burger King or a Mc Donald’s.