After 14 years of trying to sell their fast food wares in Bolivia, McDonald’s closed the last of its franchises in the country last month. While frighteningly effective in the United States, McDonald’s marketing campaign of cheap, quickly-prepared processed meals simply did not sit well with Bolivians.
The food philosophy of many Bolivians, 60 percent of whom are indigenous to the country, is based on taking the time to prepare meals properly. It is also centered around respecting their bodies and the ingredients that they put into their bodies.
Instead of fast foods that pose known health risks, Bolivians, in general, opt for local meals that are prepared properly and are willing to wait the extra time for a quality meal to be cooked.
Over the last 14 years, there have been eight McDonald’s restaurants set up in the cities of Cochabamba, La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Each location was reportedly losing money every year for over a decade, and one by one, the locations closed down. Despite McDonald’s struggle to win over Bolivian consumers, their efforts were to no avail.
One indigenous Bolivian resident, Esther Choque, often waited for her bus at a bus stop outside of a McDonald’s restaurant. In an interview, she said, “the closest I ever came was one day when a rain shower fell and I climbed the steps to keep dry by the door. Then they came out and shooed me away. They said I was dirtying the place. Why would I care if McDonald’s leaves?”
The United States, and other countries that consume fast food on a regular, ferocious basis, could learn a lot from Bolivia. McDonald’s has no respect for their ingredients, or for the well being of their patrons.
They are an entirely profit-driven corporation, which contributes significantly to the epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes in the United States and many other nations worldwide.
If Americans placed the same weight on the quality of their meals and natural cooking methods, we would be a significantly healthier nation. We may not have to spend billions of dollars every year treating diseases that our diets helped to instigate and worsen. If we all dedicated ourselves to the mindset of eating to live well, instead of eating to satisfy a craving, many could live happier, healthier and longer lives.
Kudos to Bolivia for expelling McDonald’s, and their misguided culinary tactics, from its borders.
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.undergroundhealth.com/mcdonalds-closing-all-restaurants-in-bolivia-as-nation-rejects-fast-food/