McDonalds fail in Bolivia
Australia faces huge issues with increasing childhood obesity and with the latest statistics coming in from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, up to a quarter of Australians are considered obese.
Considering this statistics, we were extremely interested to find a number of articles floating around recently focussing on the recent developments to abandon fast food in the Latin-American country of Bolivia.
After 14 years of presence in Bolivia, MacDonalds was forced to shut-down their 8 restaurants in La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra closed earlier this year due to record low numbers, and failing to make a profit in over 10 years. A recent documentary made to explain the decision shows that the rejection is neither to the hamburgers nor their taste, but rather the rejection comes from the minds and mentality of Bolivians. Everything indicates that fast food is literally the opposite of a Bolivian's conception of how to prepare a meal. With the Amazon and the Andes in such close proximity, the Bolivians are exposed to a range of fresh beautiful produce literally on their doorstep, and with more than half of the country living below the poverty line, the cost of fast-food goes beyond their means.
Bolivia is now the only country in the Americas without a McDonalds.
Without being seemingly snarky about the celebrated failure of one of the world's largest corporations, perhaps if we all valued our meals as much as Bolivians, McDonald's corporate health would suffer and we as a nation would see our physical health improve, creating a healthier society that isn't constantly being upsized with a side of fries.
