Supersizing urban America: how inner cities got fast food with government help

Description

Introduction: combating obesity and subsidizing fast food expansion -- Solving urban challenges through fast food -- Searching for new urban markets -- Creating fast food cities with government help -- Diversifying out of necessity -- Shoring up the urban market -- Making sense of recent fast food policies -- Unpacking links between fast food and obesity -- Conclusion: proposing solutions.;"Supersizing Urban America reveals the little-known story of how the U.S. government got into the business of encouraging fast food in inner cities, with unforeseen consequences we are only beginning to understand. Chin Jou begins her story in the late 1960s, when predominantly African-American neighborhoods went from having no fast food chain restaurants to being littered with them. She uncovers the federal policies that have helped to subsidize that expansion, including loan guarantees to fast food franchisees, programs intended to promote minority entrepreneurship, and urban revitalization initiatives. During this time, fast food companies also began to relentlessly market to urban African-American consumers. In the first book about the U.S. government's problematic role in promoting fast food in inner-city America, Jou tells a riveting story of the food industry, obesity, and race relations in America that is essential to understanding health and obesity in contemporary urban America"--Provided by publisher. Introduction: combating obesity and subsidizing fast food expansion -- Solving urban challenges through fast food -- Searching for new urban markets -- Creating fast food cities with government help -- Diversifying out of necessity -- Shoring up the urban market -- Making sense of recent fast food policies -- Unpacking links between fast food and obesity -- Conclusion: proposing solutions.