Slog
News & ArtsFriday, September 21, 2012
War KFC in the Arab World
Posted by Charles Mudede on Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 8:43 AM
CNN:
Yum! Brands is shuttering all of its KFC franchises in Pakistan in the wake of anti-American protests there, after one of its KFC restaurants was attacked in Lebanon last week, the company said Friday.My old friend Eben Eldridge, a musician and poet who used to live in Seattle but now resides in LA, where he has made something of a name for himself as a voice artist for corporate advertisements:
"Our KFC restaurants in Pakistan are closing as a precautionary measure," said Yum! Brands (YUM, Fortune 500) spokesman Christopher Fuller. "They will continually monitor the situation to decide when to re-open."
(No shame in this game; you got to do what you got to do.) Eldridge has a poem that says something along these lines: During prison riots or revolts, the first, and almost always the only, things a prisoner burns are in his own cell. One can transport the significance of this insight right to the situation in the Arab countries. The destruction of those fast food businesses will have no material (and a very small symbolic) impact on Americans, but will have a huge negative impact on poor and struggling Muslim families. The protestors are caught in the sad trap of burning their own cells.
3
U.S. prisons and jails, yes. Probably the mattress is the only flammable object.
Other countries, however... history has many tragic cases where rioting prisoners set their prisons on fire, inadvertently killing hundreds.
Other countries, however... history has many tragic cases where rioting prisoners set their prisons on fire, inadvertently killing hundreds.
4
"The destruction of those fast food businesses will have no material (and a very small symbolic) impact on Americans, but will have a huge negative impact on poor and struggling Muslim families."
I could be misunderstanding you, I hope once again. Are you actually saying that the loss of a fast food restaurant hurts the poor? Because, I happen to think fast food restaurants PREY on the poor, feeding them the filth that the rich wont eat at prices that are too good to refuse. I am sad that we are exporting our waste products called food to other countries.
I could be misunderstanding you, I hope once again. Are you actually saying that the loss of a fast food restaurant hurts the poor? Because, I happen to think fast food restaurants PREY on the poor, feeding them the filth that the rich wont eat at prices that are too good to refuse. I am sad that we are exporting our waste products called food to other countries.
5
I'm not entirely sure this is pertinent. Based on personal experience, KFC is not always considered poor people's food. So, I'm not sold on the idea that the worst off families will necessarily suffer.
Certainly, I saw firsthand that in China, India and Indonesia, these are young people's date restaurants or slightly nice family restaurants (think Olive Garden).
Some quick internet research reveals a similar price point for a Middle Eastern country (*a sample of one is obviously not statistically significant but I got tired after UAE and stopped):
Average low income salary in Dubai (looking at gardener, nanny and taxi driver on dubaifaqs.com) was 733.33 - 2166.67 AED
Prices for KFC meals were from some guy who said he lived in Dubai and gave an answer on yahoo.answers:
Extreme combo meal: 21 AED
9 pc family meal: 55 AED
Our lowest low wage earner could have 35 combo meals per month (barring all other expense), spending 2.8% of his pre-tax income on each meal. The highest low wage earner could have 103 combo meals in a month, spending .96% of his income.
Our lowest wage earner could afford 13 family meals (7.5% of income) and our highest could have nearly 40 (2.5% of income) - again, barring all other expenses.
To compare with an American low-wage earner (I'm using the federal poverty line of $23,050 per year - or $1920.83 per month - which is for a family of four). I'm also assuming what a meal at KFC costs because I fucking hate that place and their online menu doesn't have pricing.
Let's say: $7 for a combo meal and $20 for a family meal.
Our American wage earner could have: 274 combo meals (.36% of pre-tax income) or 96 family meals (1.04% of pre-tax income). The real cost of dining out in the UAE is much higher than for Americans, consistent with what I observed in other pricing abroad.
More...
Certainly, I saw firsthand that in China, India and Indonesia, these are young people's date restaurants or slightly nice family restaurants (think Olive Garden).
Some quick internet research reveals a similar price point for a Middle Eastern country (*a sample of one is obviously not statistically significant but I got tired after UAE and stopped):
Average low income salary in Dubai (looking at gardener, nanny and taxi driver on dubaifaqs.com) was 733.33 - 2166.67 AED
Prices for KFC meals were from some guy who said he lived in Dubai and gave an answer on yahoo.answers:
Extreme combo meal: 21 AED
9 pc family meal: 55 AED
Our lowest low wage earner could have 35 combo meals per month (barring all other expense), spending 2.8% of his pre-tax income on each meal. The highest low wage earner could have 103 combo meals in a month, spending .96% of his income.
Our lowest wage earner could afford 13 family meals (7.5% of income) and our highest could have nearly 40 (2.5% of income) - again, barring all other expenses.
To compare with an American low-wage earner (I'm using the federal poverty line of $23,050 per year - or $1920.83 per month - which is for a family of four). I'm also assuming what a meal at KFC costs because I fucking hate that place and their online menu doesn't have pricing.
Let's say: $7 for a combo meal and $20 for a family meal.
Our American wage earner could have: 274 combo meals (.36% of pre-tax income) or 96 family meals (1.04% of pre-tax income). The real cost of dining out in the UAE is much higher than for Americans, consistent with what I observed in other pricing abroad.
6
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You’ll receive your gift card via email.
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