“The Children Cry for Burger King”: Modernity, Development, and Fast Food Consumption in Northern Honduras

Abstract

While food prices are on the rise in Honduras (and throughout much of the world), many northern Hondurans report consuming fast food at international chain restaurants in San Pedro Sula (SPS). What follows is an analysis of fast food consumption amongst relatively impoverished residents of peri-urban towns on the outskirts of SPS. This paper—based on ethnographic investigation and analysis of newspaper advertisements—explores how foreign-based fast food establishments are perceived, used, and discussed, and the ways in which they are accepted and contested. The author argues that fast food consumption represents an important social activity and a topic around which debates about the meanings of modernity and development have arisen. While fast food consumption has been accepted as a sign of modernity and progress by some, others disparage such consumption, which they see as a dangerous turn away from more traditional Honduran values and foods. Because fast food consumption also has far-reaching political-economic effects and implications, the essay concludes with a brief discussion of such larger issues. In particular, the author highlights the global, national, and regional political-economic forces that foster unequal competition in a “free trade” context. The essay draws attention to the actors and forces which make international fast food chains in northern Honduras the only restaurants in their price range capable of offering clean, high-quality dining atmospheres complete with children's entertainment.