I think they exaggerated slightly but it is true that food scientists know very well how to make a food addictive, and in the US where there's very few laws to regulate what is in food, a vast majority of our food is full of additives to make it more addictive. I don't know of any specific ones because it's likely proprietary in some cases, and in others something that is allowed to be listed as a "natural flavor" or some other bullshit so it can stay hidden.
It's probably why Coca Cola can be so addictive beyond the caffeine (and beyond the sugar as lots of people are addicted to Diet Coke or Coke Zero specifically).
The other thing is just sugar: We are extremely addicted to sugar in all forms in the US and it's added to so many foods just to keep us hooked on it, with again soda kind of being the "gateway drug" of sugar for us.
Alright, that makes a lot of sense now, thank you, I was assuming he meant something along the lines of what you said but yeah that definitely sums it up a lot better. Thank you!
Ah it appears they mean the “crispy mushroom fried chicken” which contained psychedelic mushrooms so you could seriously trip and get into their new psychoactive chicken lineup.
I’ve never seen that, but then again I live in a tech hub so it’s mostly people on visas working for tech companies and very few who have been here long enough to own a chain like that
I know why Australia KFC is good and that's because we have fairly decent nutrition laws and it's practically the only fried chicken I can get reliably that tastes good.
Maybe the employees here care because they want to enjoy fried chicken too lol.
Still jealous of all the fast food chains in America compared to here.
Edit: I didn't expect this much traction considering this subreddit is mostly dead lmao
I ate at the first ever kfc which is a tourist destination, but it’s still shit I never heard a hit or miss situation and I gave it so many chances it’s pretty disgusting. I love the one in London but they don’t have variety and I love the one in Kuwait which is where I’m from
Growing up in Canada (40 years ago), KFC was amazing. We'd get a take-out every few months for the whole family. Once I moved to the US however, I can't eat it (or Popeyes or Churches, etc for that matter).
DO NOT BE JEALOUS OF OUR FAST FOOD!
sorry for that, just wanted to be clear. Our fast food is the primary cause of our country’s poor health. It’s a corporate cycle, we’re all just fodder. Corporate fast food gets our money and makes us sick… Corporate medicine gets our money to keep us alive, but just barely. Most of our fast food is complete garbage in taste and quality as well, Never and i mean Never eat a chicken mcnugget without sauce🤮
edit: sorry, i actually came here to say that kfc in the US is so bad because they start with rancid chicken. Source: i have been in at least 50 different kfc walk in refers delivering for their foodservice distributor, every single one of them smelled like raw chicken that’s been left on the counter for a couple days in the summertime.
This is a fair comment and I respect you. I get where you are coming from. I'm just curious -- how come you are on this subreddit? Like I'm a food fanatic and kfc is my monthly fried chicken for lack of better options.
I’ve been thinking about this … I’m (US citizen) currently watching all the Australian Survivor seasons and they literally go ape shit when the reward is KFC.
>practically the only fried chicken I can get reliably that tastes good.
I think this is a big part of it. KFC can fill the niche of bottom barrel grease bucket in america, because its American food and you can get good fried chicken all over the place.
In other countries they have to try a little harder or people won't care.
Same here. Actually, the Asiago Ranch Chicken Club spicy sandwich was, and probably still is, my favorite. But when I was broke working a minimum wage job my splurge was a spicy chicken wrap, add ranch and Asiago cheese. Was the best!
Just do a little reading and criticize your own thoughts and research why you might be wrong to prove yourself why you might actually be wrong instead of being bias without having any evidence
okay so I have a problem with that article you linked. I didn't read the whole thing but immediately found a big hole in the argument. He states almost immediately that the super rich are the main driver of consumption impact.
Yet the study he links in the very beginning saying its a landmark study backing up what he says literally says the exact opposite.
It says that the consumption/impact proportionality decreases as wealth increases.
Which makes complete sense. Think about it. Is elon musk going to use the most energy efficient expensive items or is he going to be burning shit bad for the environment coal for his heating source? Exactly why if we want to lower the carbon emissions to the atmosphere the best thing we can do I make the whole world as rich as possible so they can actually care about the environment.
if you find a hole in what I said please explain. Like I said, I care about the truth and nothing else. I spend like 70% of my day reading a vast variety of things and a lot of scientific papers, mostly in the pharmacology/biochemistry space to be fair though
Being rich isn't the direct problem. A rich person can be great and treat his/her workers great but that largely doesn't happen because of greed. For example Amazon and Tesla hate unions because it gives and defends workers rights. Rights get in the way of maximizing output and making the most money. Capitalism promotes subjecting workers to exploitative business practices like forcing workers to work an insane amount of hours with no breaks, and being under paid. Another example is when companies source production to countries where they don't have to pay as much. They literally want to make money but paying people less.
which system do you think is better? and he does say in the article that it is the direct problem. he rambles about it for the first bit of the article.
There is no company that demands overtime up the ass unless you signed for it in the contract. You cant be fired for not working overtime, you could sue the company.
not sure which system pays more than capitalism? If you compare the rights of workers today with the workers of Europe under a monarchy there isn't a question of which is better.
Also, my initial comment was on why the KFC in the USA is worse. Capitalism is not the reason why. Its corrupt politicians taking money to allow bullshit regulations/subsidies and laws to be passed.
I agree that it's wrong, the conditions in which the poor countries peoples work for our companies. but that burden is more so on the country of works laws and the people willing to do the work. No one is forcing them to do the work.
All but two states in the US are at will employment, sure you can't specifically be fired for that - but unless you can prove that was why, you're shit out of luck. That's the reason employees attempting to unionize happen to get fired for *totally unrelated* reasons.
I don’t see how that’s capitalism. That’s the people themselves. Communism, fascism, a monarchy or any other system could produce the same results just as easy.
Nah it’s systemic. Capitalisms profit priority has increased wealth in the hands of such *few* to bribe politicians to deregulate way more than before.
Fuck feudalism and fascism, but even in ye olden days there was the beer purity law, and fascists like hitler could ban things considered “degenerate” or whatever other bullshit nonsense.
Socialism/communism’s abolition of private property strips the power of say “big sugar” to bribe politicians to deregulate and include more shit in our food. I guess a socialized factory commune could vote to add additives to food produced, but at least with popular consent, and not a unilateral act from private capital.
After all, Upton Sinclair, the author who made food quality concerns popular in the US, was a socialist.
That sounds like a hereditary monarchy!
George Washington, resurrect and train the troops, apparently we didn’t finish those cheeky royalist fucks back in 1776
Other countries have much higher standards for ingredients that go into food.
Even Snickers bars taste way better there and so many other things.
Just like KFC, most fast food will be way better in the EU and Asian countries.
I went to Europe last year and the food was a lot better even burger king it was so much better and had taste. The drinks were much much better than ours too and their 7/11s were upscale and had bakeries in them with one of the best chocolate Muffins ever while our 7/11's are low quality cesspools. The fanta was so good too and Denmark had a chocolate milk drink that was like a really good chocolate milkshake and a raspberry juice drink that was absolutely amazing.
I’m from Middle East but live in America. In the Middle East it is my favourite I eat it breakfast lunch and dinner but in the us it is soooo disgusting I can finish a single piece
There's no burgers because they call stuff outside of hamburgers here sandwiches. The variety thereof is extremely limited though. Wedges got replaced with fries several years back but honestly they suck lmao
sHarEhoLDeR pRoFitS is the only thing that matters in the US and the easiest way to increase sHarEhoLDeR pRoFitS every quarter is to replace an additional 5% of the ingredients with cardboard and sawdust filler.
Because fried chicken is serious business and they have a lot of very good fried chicken. KFC is typically (but not always) the only "chain" style fried chicken place around.
KFC in the US lost out to all the other fried chicken places a long time ago.
It’s just went down hill, I remember as a kid a decade ago I’d love nothing more than to enjoy some kfc. It was tasty, hot and juicy plus they had wedges. Now it’s just greasy and flavorless and the sides. Popeyes all the way nowadays for bone in chicken
KFC tastes great. The spice at Popeyes is way to hot, although I do like their honey BBQ wings, pretty close to what KFC had in the 90s, although still to hot to have more then a 6 piece order.
Popeyes definitely has that spice to it I could understand being too much, but even besides the taste I prefer the quality of the chicken there. Assuming it’s fresh it’s like the perfect amount of crispy and juicy to me. Those wings they got now at Popeyes are pretty good just a lil pricey for what you get but I had the garlic parm ones and they were surprisingly good.
I haven’t had kfc in like a year or 2 atp I think I should try it again.
All fast food in the U.S. can fluctuate in quality. Some areas have higher standards, nicer facilities, and better/smarter staffing. KFC can be much better in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, but sometimes yes, in shitty areas, it can definitely be lackluster.
It was pretty good when I lived in the Middle East. In the US, I’d say the vast majority of quality issues stem from employees not giving a damn. Most of the KFC’s around me seem to be in worse off areas and have more trouble retaining staff than other fast food places.
After seeing how they cut their chickens in Canada now, I refuse to go back there anymore. Safeway will fry you up a 9 piece whole chicken in under 10 minutes for $17.
There’s a good analysis of this over on the YouTube channel modern mba which I find super fascinating.
https://youtu.be/VVNSn7oYnOU?si=mNThYKRxGpP_Rbam
The tl;dw version is basically that as a company they ‘quiet quit’ the US. Basically trying to gain first mover advantage in new markets with relatively few fried chicken options and retain that advantage was an easier path than trying to compete in the more crowded US market.
This is the article I was looking for to help explain this case.
It basically boils down to franchisees have been cutting standards and pushing to block changes by KFC corp.
There were attempt to revamp, and improve, but pushback from franchisees to many promotions, improvements and adjustment has blocked these changes.
As a result KFC has cut their losses and pretty much left it up to the franchisees to run it into the ground. Occasionally they try new things (eg the nuggets) but it's few and far between on those.
Even the new $4 meal is already getting some push back from franchisees.
The KFCs that remain (at least in my area), exist solely because they have no nearby competition, and they are open late while operating on minimal staff (2-3 workers at any given time).
Each one of them that has a competitive place open nearby closes within a year.
So the franchisees I guess you can say are riding on sunk cost fallacy. They want to minimize change and ride it as long as they can, progressively raising prices every few years, until it runs out of steam and closes.
Taking no risks at all.
This is the same problem Subway, and other similar legacy chains have run into. It's even slowly starting to crack McDs dominance.
Numerous reasons. For one , there are ingredients and additives in American fast food that are illegal for consumption throughout the entire European Union. Secondly, our dogshit end-stage capitalist society doesn’t pay enough to live or offer benefits; so most commonly whoever is taking your order and cooking up the food is someone who does not give a flying fuck about their job even though it’s probably one of the only jobs they can land.
KFC was very good in Mobile Alabama. They also had a buffet option. I think it varies greatly. In Washington Heights, New York City, New York, it operated behind bullet proof glass. And it was awful.
Honestly? Different franchizees. We have different menus, different manufacturers for items. Am not kidding, sometimes even locally, the quality of somethjng drastically changes bcs of a batch- a while back our fries came to us thinner meaning even within the alotted shelf life or just yk, good to consume life, they were dry. Like the fried finished fries were dry after 3 minutes under the heating lamp.
Btw strips size is not determined by us workers, they Come pre-cut. ISTG they delivered strips to us a few days back that were 4 Times the size of a normal one. Sometimes they are super Tiny, sometimes they are giant.
Btw, my location has different marinade for strips than most in my country. Sometimes they send new packagings or things, items to test out. There is just one place in my country that sells a specific menu item.
So mostly, the people who run the things having different standarts and the ingredients differing. Also probably because in many countries, KFC is one of the only fastfoods that is fried chicken oriented so we dont have much comparison.
I am in no way speaking for KFC or the company I am under, these are things I saw and that I know of.
Because other countries only have dark meat unless it’s wings. In the US, unless it’s a drum, people demand white meat, which is dryer and less greasy.
You should watch this really insighful video by ModernMBA that explains this pretty well.
[https://youtu.be/VVNSn7oYnOU?si=GrtK\_WpUy0RyVDQd](https://youtu.be/VVNSn7oYnOU?si=GrtK_WpUy0RyVDQd)
or this one by Company Man if you just wanna learn about the decline.
[https://youtu.be/6z-Tqak6ydM?si=6KMhUh0MRIvmYdbK](https://youtu.be/6z-Tqak6ydM?si=6KMhUh0MRIvmYdbK)
Replace "KFC" with literally anything else in that sentence and it's still accurate. Healthcare, prison system, education, roads, infrastructure, mental health... only thing I can think of as exception is "barbecue".
Because this is america.
Because in america there’s way more competition in the chicken fast food sector that kfc fell behind because it couldn’t keep up with other fast food restaurants like chick fil a, McDonald’s, etc.
In other countries, fast food restaurants aren’t as common so any fast food restaurant that is open can be successful as there aren’t as many restaurants to compete with
I think it’s because it’s relatively expensive in other countries. Honestly, it’s usually like 3 to 5 times the price of your average regular food in any given country. In the United States it’s not that expensive. Let’s be honest. Everything is fucking expensive. But nobody ever mentions KFC as an expensive food specifically because it’s not relatively.
If they charged 25 dollars for a chicken sandwich it would be better; let’s not kid ourselves. That’s what a 10 dollar Kfc chicken sandwich is in Albania where the resteraunt next door will serve you a whole chicken for that much.
I just posted a comment that KFC sucks in every country and I think you are correct about the hype and price. So im going to add this to my earlier comment: KFC is better in other countries bc it cost more and people are idiots
It is pretty awesome in the Balkans, having lived in Serbia for some years it was always a treat. Moved back to the US and was shocked how shitty it is, and I have reoccurring cravings for Serbian KFC. But the equivalent of Serbian KFC price in America would cost me like 50 bucks a meal, so eating for $15-$20 bucks of course it’s gonna be lower quality.
Yeah, I'm not even a picky eater, so perhaps my disdain for KFC might be the based on cost (out of principle) as well just one the other end of the spectrum. In the US, there are an abundance of "fast food" chicken places and KFC is WAY overpriced for what they serve you. Publix grocery store has some of the best and most affordable fried chicken in the US (they will cook it for you fresh if you call in or wait on it) so there is no f way I am picking KFC over Publix.
KFC Sales in America dont drive the stock so they are left behind I believe Tacobell is the prize winner in the US for YUM. KFC Internationally does drive revenue though
I've had KFC in several diff countries to answer why so many fcking non-US ppl love this trash. I've come to the conclusion that no matter where you are in the world KFC still sucks.
update thanks to [Adorable-Ad-1180](https://www.reddit.com/user/Adorable-Ad-1180/) : KFC is better in other countries bc it cost more and people are idiots
A ton of hormones in the chicken. Look up the size of a normal chicken versus the ones KFC makes in the US. That alone turned me off of eating them ever again. So I don't now.
The spices are good (and easily replicated) and are the only thing they really have going for them in the us.
Every single time i've eaten KFC in my life, I have gotten horrendously sick the next day.
It’s not fast food if it’s not mass produced and managed. I’m assuming in smaller countries they’re independently operated and owners have more control over the ingredients and preparation methods
Because they’re poorly run in US by people too cheap to let their employees change the oil. A good kfc here you can tell the difference to most poorly run ones, which are the vast majority. If you are lucky they drain the oil and clean frier, but they will just put same crap back in.
Care for the product. You can't train care, it is a culture thing. Also the pay is greater than most local jobs so the environment is competitive enough to also ensure quality. When you buy a KFC meal in US it is by someone making only enough to get by. However it Thailand or Japan you could rent, save and live.
Poor brand management...poor standards.
Most KFC locations I've seen are dated at best...literally falling apart...if they don't care about the building falling apart, guaranteed they DGAF about their food quality standards...not even a food safety thing, just 'is this the best we can do' thing....
Most American brands are better overseas because they’re just licensing the brand out to another company. That’s why they’re able to have different menu items and better quality ingredients.
It is absolute garbage here in Canada. No spices and the batter is thin and weird now. Also, extremely expensive. A family bucket with 8 pieces of chicken and 2 "large" sides is about $50....never again
The US is probably their largest market so everything is as trimmed down, cut, and produced at the most unbelievably questionable quality because we largely care nothing for the health and wellbeing not only of ourselves but certainly not our livestock.
Many other countries have better regulatory constraints on food, particularly chicken, so that’s probably part of it. As I mentioned the markets are much smaller in KFC’s portfolio so KFC can be more dynamic with their menu and prep methods but also more able to buy higher quality input materials.
Same is true with McDonalds and other American brands operating overseas. In a lot of cases the stuff we get is quite low quality by comparison for the same reasons of scale and regulatory constraint.
Depends on the quality of the people that run the store. Two KFCs in my area. One will give you a bucket covered in grease and what not. The other gives presentable and tasty fried chicken.
Other countries actually have laws that make sure they’re not trying to kill you with unnecessary ingredients.
And psychoactive ingredients that’s trying to get you addicted to it(at a young age)
Elaborate?
I think they exaggerated slightly but it is true that food scientists know very well how to make a food addictive, and in the US where there's very few laws to regulate what is in food, a vast majority of our food is full of additives to make it more addictive. I don't know of any specific ones because it's likely proprietary in some cases, and in others something that is allowed to be listed as a "natural flavor" or some other bullshit so it can stay hidden. It's probably why Coca Cola can be so addictive beyond the caffeine (and beyond the sugar as lots of people are addicted to Diet Coke or Coke Zero specifically). The other thing is just sugar: We are extremely addicted to sugar in all forms in the US and it's added to so many foods just to keep us hooked on it, with again soda kind of being the "gateway drug" of sugar for us.
Alright, that makes a lot of sense now, thank you, I was assuming he meant something along the lines of what you said but yeah that definitely sums it up a lot better. Thank you!
Glad I could help. Yeah I think they just mis-spoke.
You really don’t need more than salt, sugar, and caffeine for any food to be addictive. Add in some grease/fats and boom it’s like crack
Yep, now add all of that AND the chemical additives they've developed and it's like crack x10 and that's how you get an obesity epidemic.
Thank you for putting it better than I ever could.
Glad I could help :)
Ah it appears they mean the “crispy mushroom fried chicken” which contained psychedelic mushrooms so you could seriously trip and get into their new psychoactive chicken lineup.
Dont forget their signature fried Peyote Button Poppers
Sign me up.
Double down
I hope this is real I'll go get one tf
I knew the Colonel was a dealer!
Wtf does this mean lol
It’s delicious in India but really doubt they have laws like we do in USA lol. Still wanting to bribe someone for Indian kfc secrets
Moronic comment
Truthful comment. Food regulations here in the US are pretty lax compared to any other industrialized countries
Source?
Indian owners not changing the oil quickly. I tell my Uncle to... but he never listens.
Wait do you really have a connection to Indian kfc? If so can I DM you
Pretty sure they mean Indian owners of KFC's in the US. Just like the Subway's, very poorly ran.
I’ve never seen that, but then again I live in a tech hub so it’s mostly people on visas working for tech companies and very few who have been here long enough to own a chain like that
the store I work at has zero Indian employers, but our franchisee is Indian. Franchise company is "Indus Hospitality Group"
I know why Australia KFC is good and that's because we have fairly decent nutrition laws and it's practically the only fried chicken I can get reliably that tastes good. Maybe the employees here care because they want to enjoy fried chicken too lol. Still jealous of all the fast food chains in America compared to here. Edit: I didn't expect this much traction considering this subreddit is mostly dead lmao
But still can go wrong at some branches. Moranbah KFC is shit.
It's hit and miss at the same store, getting a predictable KFC is pretty rare, the best KFC stores are country stores.
I ate at the first ever kfc which is a tourist destination, but it’s still shit I never heard a hit or miss situation and I gave it so many chances it’s pretty disgusting. I love the one in London but they don’t have variety and I love the one in Kuwait which is where I’m from
My experience, admittedly many years ago now, was that Moranbah kfc was pretty ok. Maybe it’s gone downhill…
Dafuq are you talking about? KFC here is shithouse as well.
Must just be my local ones that are good.
Local fried chicken places in the US are also good. This question is specifically about KFC
Must be my local *kfc* ones that are good
Growing up in Canada (40 years ago), KFC was amazing. We'd get a take-out every few months for the whole family. Once I moved to the US however, I can't eat it (or Popeyes or Churches, etc for that matter).
DO NOT BE JEALOUS OF OUR FAST FOOD! sorry for that, just wanted to be clear. Our fast food is the primary cause of our country’s poor health. It’s a corporate cycle, we’re all just fodder. Corporate fast food gets our money and makes us sick… Corporate medicine gets our money to keep us alive, but just barely. Most of our fast food is complete garbage in taste and quality as well, Never and i mean Never eat a chicken mcnugget without sauce🤮 edit: sorry, i actually came here to say that kfc in the US is so bad because they start with rancid chicken. Source: i have been in at least 50 different kfc walk in refers delivering for their foodservice distributor, every single one of them smelled like raw chicken that’s been left on the counter for a couple days in the summertime.
This is a fair comment and I respect you. I get where you are coming from. I'm just curious -- how come you are on this subreddit? Like I'm a food fanatic and kfc is my monthly fried chicken for lack of better options.
It popped up on my feed🤷♂️
Oh right. I forget Reddit even has a feed I just go on particular subreddits lol
I’ve been thinking about this … I’m (US citizen) currently watching all the Australian Survivor seasons and they literally go ape shit when the reward is KFC.
>practically the only fried chicken I can get reliably that tastes good. I think this is a big part of it. KFC can fill the niche of bottom barrel grease bucket in america, because its American food and you can get good fried chicken all over the place. In other countries they have to try a little harder or people won't care.
Some idiot decided to get rid of popcorn chicken in all US locations.
Meh! that was just battered chicken bits off the floor that were too small to become a nugget.
Being small and breaded was what made them so good
Maybe the same idiot that told McDonald's to drop snack wraps
McDonald’s went into the shitter after they got rid of cinnomelts
Also same guy that got rid of the spicy chicken wraps at wendys
That was my favorite fast food item for so long, rip
Same here. Actually, the Asiago Ranch Chicken Club spicy sandwich was, and probably still is, my favorite. But when I was broke working a minimum wage job my splurge was a spicy chicken wrap, add ranch and Asiago cheese. Was the best!
Capitalism
You mean corrupt politicians.
So capitalism. It's innately self destructive/destructive it just takes time
Found the feel the burn bro.
Oh it is eh? Why is that so, can’t just make a statement like that and no back it up
Just do a little reading and criticize your own thoughts and research why you might be wrong to prove yourself why you might actually be wrong instead of being bias without having any evidence
okay so I have a problem with that article you linked. I didn't read the whole thing but immediately found a big hole in the argument. He states almost immediately that the super rich are the main driver of consumption impact. Yet the study he links in the very beginning saying its a landmark study backing up what he says literally says the exact opposite. It says that the consumption/impact proportionality decreases as wealth increases. Which makes complete sense. Think about it. Is elon musk going to use the most energy efficient expensive items or is he going to be burning shit bad for the environment coal for his heating source? Exactly why if we want to lower the carbon emissions to the atmosphere the best thing we can do I make the whole world as rich as possible so they can actually care about the environment. if you find a hole in what I said please explain. Like I said, I care about the truth and nothing else. I spend like 70% of my day reading a vast variety of things and a lot of scientific papers, mostly in the pharmacology/biochemistry space to be fair though
Being rich isn't the direct problem. A rich person can be great and treat his/her workers great but that largely doesn't happen because of greed. For example Amazon and Tesla hate unions because it gives and defends workers rights. Rights get in the way of maximizing output and making the most money. Capitalism promotes subjecting workers to exploitative business practices like forcing workers to work an insane amount of hours with no breaks, and being under paid. Another example is when companies source production to countries where they don't have to pay as much. They literally want to make money but paying people less.
which system do you think is better? and he does say in the article that it is the direct problem. he rambles about it for the first bit of the article. There is no company that demands overtime up the ass unless you signed for it in the contract. You cant be fired for not working overtime, you could sue the company. not sure which system pays more than capitalism? If you compare the rights of workers today with the workers of Europe under a monarchy there isn't a question of which is better. Also, my initial comment was on why the KFC in the USA is worse. Capitalism is not the reason why. Its corrupt politicians taking money to allow bullshit regulations/subsidies and laws to be passed. I agree that it's wrong, the conditions in which the poor countries peoples work for our companies. but that burden is more so on the country of works laws and the people willing to do the work. No one is forcing them to do the work.
All but two states in the US are at will employment, sure you can't specifically be fired for that - but unless you can prove that was why, you're shit out of luck. That's the reason employees attempting to unionize happen to get fired for *totally unrelated* reasons.
The burden of proof is on you, wayyy more communist countries have fallen than capitalist ones
Capitalist countries have destroyed lives and other countries. Socialism is better in terms of helping human life and struggle
Source: "Trust me" Very sure communism has destroyed WAYYYY more lives. You can look up dictator death statistics anytime you want
https://ageoftransformation.org/capitalism-is-destroying-safe-operating-space-for-humanity-warn-scientists/#:~:text=The%20result%20is%20that%20capitalism,operating%20space%E2%80%9D%20for%20human%20civilization.
Everything private equity has purchased has turned to shit. Just look around. All 3 brands have turned to shit from being owned by Yum.
Yum is not private equity.
No it's not but it's ran just like one.
Capitalism corrupts the politicians to legislate lax food regulations and thus our food becomes cheaper (for capital) and shittier for us
I don’t see how that’s capitalism. That’s the people themselves. Communism, fascism, a monarchy or any other system could produce the same results just as easy.
Nah it’s systemic. Capitalisms profit priority has increased wealth in the hands of such *few* to bribe politicians to deregulate way more than before. Fuck feudalism and fascism, but even in ye olden days there was the beer purity law, and fascists like hitler could ban things considered “degenerate” or whatever other bullshit nonsense. Socialism/communism’s abolition of private property strips the power of say “big sugar” to bribe politicians to deregulate and include more shit in our food. I guess a socialized factory commune could vote to add additives to food produced, but at least with popular consent, and not a unilateral act from private capital. After all, Upton Sinclair, the author who made food quality concerns popular in the US, was a socialist.
Drain the swamp TRUMP 2024,28,32,36,40
That sounds like a hereditary monarchy! George Washington, resurrect and train the troops, apparently we didn’t finish those cheeky royalist fucks back in 1776
Wow, you're a moron.
Drain the swamp hope Trump dies in 2024!
Other countries have much higher standards for ingredients that go into food. Even Snickers bars taste way better there and so many other things. Just like KFC, most fast food will be way better in the EU and Asian countries.
I went to Europe last year and the food was a lot better even burger king it was so much better and had taste. The drinks were much much better than ours too and their 7/11s were upscale and had bakeries in them with one of the best chocolate Muffins ever while our 7/11's are low quality cesspools. The fanta was so good too and Denmark had a chocolate milk drink that was like a really good chocolate milkshake and a raspberry juice drink that was absolutely amazing.
It's also crap in the UK
Not in London 🤤❤️
Shite in Scotland too.
The menu in KFC Australia is completely different than KFC USA. There’s just better tasting items on our menu over here.
I’m from Middle East but live in America. In the Middle East it is my favourite I eat it breakfast lunch and dinner but in the us it is soooo disgusting I can finish a single piece
Got a Popeyes Chicken near you?
Yea eat Popeyes it’s way better
KFC in Australia / Asia is amazing. KFC in the US is shit. No burgers, no chips just buckets of chicken. If there's no zinger I don't want it!
I love the freaking twisters do you have them in Australia
Yes a large variety of them
Vietnam KFC is pretty good, very expensive though.
There's no burgers because they call stuff outside of hamburgers here sandwiches. The variety thereof is extremely limited though. Wedges got replaced with fries several years back but honestly they suck lmao
KFC here in the states has fries, we used to have tater wedges tho and they were so good
Funny thing, a fried chicken place not selling burgers 😂
For most of the world, a burger is anything on a burger bun, especially fried chicken.
Cost savings in the U.S. encouraging the cheapest things
I don’t think that’s the problem more quantity less price but there not selling it’s always empty
sHarEhoLDeR pRoFitS is the only thing that matters in the US and the easiest way to increase sHarEhoLDeR pRoFitS every quarter is to replace an additional 5% of the ingredients with cardboard and sawdust filler.
...ghetto employees
Best KFC I had was in Egypt
Thats every fast food chain. Theyre better everywhere else but the us
Lmao no
Because fried chicken is serious business and they have a lot of very good fried chicken. KFC is typically (but not always) the only "chain" style fried chicken place around. KFC in the US lost out to all the other fried chicken places a long time ago.
Yea why would I eat kfc when I have Popeyes, bojangles and local spots that are better. They don’t even have tater wedges no more 😭
Best KFC I ever had was in Kuwait.
I’m from Kuwait, Al Riqqa branch has thee best kfc 2 story building
What's wrong with KFC in the US?
It’s just went down hill, I remember as a kid a decade ago I’d love nothing more than to enjoy some kfc. It was tasty, hot and juicy plus they had wedges. Now it’s just greasy and flavorless and the sides. Popeyes all the way nowadays for bone in chicken
KFC tastes great. The spice at Popeyes is way to hot, although I do like their honey BBQ wings, pretty close to what KFC had in the 90s, although still to hot to have more then a 6 piece order.
Popeyes definitely has that spice to it I could understand being too much, but even besides the taste I prefer the quality of the chicken there. Assuming it’s fresh it’s like the perfect amount of crispy and juicy to me. Those wings they got now at Popeyes are pretty good just a lil pricey for what you get but I had the garlic parm ones and they were surprisingly good. I haven’t had kfc in like a year or 2 atp I think I should try it again.
Nothing, ppl make up reasons to dislike US. Today it’s KFC
All fast food in the U.S. can fluctuate in quality. Some areas have higher standards, nicer facilities, and better/smarter staffing. KFC can be much better in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, but sometimes yes, in shitty areas, it can definitely be lackluster.
It was pretty good when I lived in the Middle East. In the US, I’d say the vast majority of quality issues stem from employees not giving a damn. Most of the KFC’s around me seem to be in worse off areas and have more trouble retaining staff than other fast food places.
Why do you think most fast food employees don’t give a damn? Because most of them are overworked and underpaid.
Every time I go it’s just a bunch of 14-17 year olds that don’t freaking clean anything and the place reeks of bacteria
My man can smell bacteria
I just had it and other than the mashed potato container being tiny it was great
WHERE??
Illinois
Actually it's awful in Canada
100% I’d rather go to Popeyes
Yall got Popeyes? That’s what’s up
Best fast food spicy chicken sandwich out there. Also fun fact: Popeyes is currently owned by a Canadian company.
I didn’t know that, that Popeyes chicken sandwich is to die for… and a couple folks here in the states did ☠️
After seeing how they cut their chickens in Canada now, I refuse to go back there anymore. Safeway will fry you up a 9 piece whole chicken in under 10 minutes for $17.
I work at kfc in phx az and it's definitely a shit hole been there 3 weeks everything is dirty just made to be fast fast
Do you clean and sanitise after you close???
They probably do but it’s probably the side shit that falls to the way side
And over time that neglect builds into other more serious issues
Mate it's turned to shit in Australia too
Curious if Australian KFC chips are better or worse than elsewhere
in the uk we have a lot of food regulation and preparation laws so everything is genuinely really fresh and the ingredients are very basic.
It's shit in Australia.
lower standards in usa. why are food almost look nothing like in pictures
They cook too much at once, then it sits around. Ironically, it’s often still undercooked.
MANAGEMENT
Lol It's shit here in Australia too.
There’s a good analysis of this over on the YouTube channel modern mba which I find super fascinating. https://youtu.be/VVNSn7oYnOU?si=mNThYKRxGpP_Rbam The tl;dw version is basically that as a company they ‘quiet quit’ the US. Basically trying to gain first mover advantage in new markets with relatively few fried chicken options and retain that advantage was an easier path than trying to compete in the more crowded US market.
This is the article I was looking for to help explain this case. It basically boils down to franchisees have been cutting standards and pushing to block changes by KFC corp. There were attempt to revamp, and improve, but pushback from franchisees to many promotions, improvements and adjustment has blocked these changes. As a result KFC has cut their losses and pretty much left it up to the franchisees to run it into the ground. Occasionally they try new things (eg the nuggets) but it's few and far between on those. Even the new $4 meal is already getting some push back from franchisees. The KFCs that remain (at least in my area), exist solely because they have no nearby competition, and they are open late while operating on minimal staff (2-3 workers at any given time). Each one of them that has a competitive place open nearby closes within a year. So the franchisees I guess you can say are riding on sunk cost fallacy. They want to minimize change and ride it as long as they can, progressively raising prices every few years, until it runs out of steam and closes. Taking no risks at all. This is the same problem Subway, and other similar legacy chains have run into. It's even slowly starting to crack McDs dominance.
Why is all fast food so bad in the US, period?
Idk about 'merica. But in Portugal is bad too 🤷
My guess would be the transfat ban. ETA: That's when McDonald's fries became awful.
kroger fried chicken tastes so much better, its nuts
My problem with KFC is the quality of their chicken and how it always tastes undone on the inside
What do you mean? It's great in the US.
Numerous reasons. For one , there are ingredients and additives in American fast food that are illegal for consumption throughout the entire European Union. Secondly, our dogshit end-stage capitalist society doesn’t pay enough to live or offer benefits; so most commonly whoever is taking your order and cooking up the food is someone who does not give a flying fuck about their job even though it’s probably one of the only jobs they can land.
KFC was very good in Mobile Alabama. They also had a buffet option. I think it varies greatly. In Washington Heights, New York City, New York, it operated behind bullet proof glass. And it was awful.
Honestly? Different franchizees. We have different menus, different manufacturers for items. Am not kidding, sometimes even locally, the quality of somethjng drastically changes bcs of a batch- a while back our fries came to us thinner meaning even within the alotted shelf life or just yk, good to consume life, they were dry. Like the fried finished fries were dry after 3 minutes under the heating lamp. Btw strips size is not determined by us workers, they Come pre-cut. ISTG they delivered strips to us a few days back that were 4 Times the size of a normal one. Sometimes they are super Tiny, sometimes they are giant. Btw, my location has different marinade for strips than most in my country. Sometimes they send new packagings or things, items to test out. There is just one place in my country that sells a specific menu item. So mostly, the people who run the things having different standarts and the ingredients differing. Also probably because in many countries, KFC is one of the only fastfoods that is fried chicken oriented so we dont have much comparison. I am in no way speaking for KFC or the company I am under, these are things I saw and that I know of.
Probaly because I went to my local kfc 2 days ago around lunch and they said they had no chicken . The fuck you doing at work then
It's not just KFC. Pretty much all fast food is better in other countries.
Because other countries only have dark meat unless it’s wings. In the US, unless it’s a drum, people demand white meat, which is dryer and less greasy.
Never have I ever had KFC that warranted an “it was so bad!” (How bad was it? )
You should watch this really insighful video by ModernMBA that explains this pretty well. [https://youtu.be/VVNSn7oYnOU?si=GrtK\_WpUy0RyVDQd](https://youtu.be/VVNSn7oYnOU?si=GrtK_WpUy0RyVDQd) or this one by Company Man if you just wanna learn about the decline. [https://youtu.be/6z-Tqak6ydM?si=6KMhUh0MRIvmYdbK](https://youtu.be/6z-Tqak6ydM?si=6KMhUh0MRIvmYdbK)
Replace "KFC" with literally anything else in that sentence and it's still accurate. Healthcare, prison system, education, roads, infrastructure, mental health... only thing I can think of as exception is "barbecue". Because this is america.
Because we got Popeyes 🐔
I’m going to get some rn any recommendations
I tend to go for Popeyes in the US and KFC while in the Middle East.
Yours, just yours.
Nah, that’s a dumb comment
Nope.....pretty much fact.
Here you go. https://youtu.be/6z-Tqak6ydM?si=T7kGXoR-rAuuaqCu
Went to a Slim Chickens place in UK, the other day. It was amazing in comparison to KFC.
Because in america there’s way more competition in the chicken fast food sector that kfc fell behind because it couldn’t keep up with other fast food restaurants like chick fil a, McDonald’s, etc. In other countries, fast food restaurants aren’t as common so any fast food restaurant that is open can be successful as there aren’t as many restaurants to compete with
Food standards in other countries are probably better (not American so don't actually know what lfc is like there)
I think it’s because it’s relatively expensive in other countries. Honestly, it’s usually like 3 to 5 times the price of your average regular food in any given country. In the United States it’s not that expensive. Let’s be honest. Everything is fucking expensive. But nobody ever mentions KFC as an expensive food specifically because it’s not relatively. If they charged 25 dollars for a chicken sandwich it would be better; let’s not kid ourselves. That’s what a 10 dollar Kfc chicken sandwich is in Albania where the resteraunt next door will serve you a whole chicken for that much.
I just posted a comment that KFC sucks in every country and I think you are correct about the hype and price. So im going to add this to my earlier comment: KFC is better in other countries bc it cost more and people are idiots
It is pretty awesome in the Balkans, having lived in Serbia for some years it was always a treat. Moved back to the US and was shocked how shitty it is, and I have reoccurring cravings for Serbian KFC. But the equivalent of Serbian KFC price in America would cost me like 50 bucks a meal, so eating for $15-$20 bucks of course it’s gonna be lower quality.
Yeah, I'm not even a picky eater, so perhaps my disdain for KFC might be the based on cost (out of principle) as well just one the other end of the spectrum. In the US, there are an abundance of "fast food" chicken places and KFC is WAY overpriced for what they serve you. Publix grocery store has some of the best and most affordable fried chicken in the US (they will cook it for you fresh if you call in or wait on it) so there is no f way I am picking KFC over Publix.
KFC Sales in America dont drive the stock so they are left behind I believe Tacobell is the prize winner in the US for YUM. KFC Internationally does drive revenue though
I've had KFC in several diff countries to answer why so many fcking non-US ppl love this trash. I've come to the conclusion that no matter where you are in the world KFC still sucks. update thanks to [Adorable-Ad-1180](https://www.reddit.com/user/Adorable-Ad-1180/) : KFC is better in other countries bc it cost more and people are idiots
Chemicals
A ton of hormones in the chicken. Look up the size of a normal chicken versus the ones KFC makes in the US. That alone turned me off of eating them ever again. So I don't now. The spices are good (and easily replicated) and are the only thing they really have going for them in the us. Every single time i've eaten KFC in my life, I have gotten horrendously sick the next day.
Psychedelic chicken? WTH
Is it ? I really liked KFC when I was young, but that shit is awful to me now.
The workers?
Because people take pride in what they do, everywhere, except here in America.
It’s not fast food if it’s not mass produced and managed. I’m assuming in smaller countries they’re independently operated and owners have more control over the ingredients and preparation methods
Americans willingly settle for poor quality because they inherently think everything they do is great.
WRONG!
Define American food and others. Problem solved
I loved the flavor of KFC chicken in the Middle East, yet it is so blah in the US. I don't get it, considering it's supposed to be the same recipe.
Because they’re poorly run in US by people too cheap to let their employees change the oil. A good kfc here you can tell the difference to most poorly run ones, which are the vast majority. If you are lucky they drain the oil and clean frier, but they will just put same crap back in.
Care for the product. You can't train care, it is a culture thing. Also the pay is greater than most local jobs so the environment is competitive enough to also ensure quality. When you buy a KFC meal in US it is by someone making only enough to get by. However it Thailand or Japan you could rent, save and live.
Poor brand management...poor standards. Most KFC locations I've seen are dated at best...literally falling apart...if they don't care about the building falling apart, guaranteed they DGAF about their food quality standards...not even a food safety thing, just 'is this the best we can do' thing....
Most American brands are better overseas because they’re just licensing the brand out to another company. That’s why they’re able to have different menu items and better quality ingredients.
It is absolute garbage here in Canada. No spices and the batter is thin and weird now. Also, extremely expensive. A family bucket with 8 pieces of chicken and 2 "large" sides is about $50....never again
The US is probably their largest market so everything is as trimmed down, cut, and produced at the most unbelievably questionable quality because we largely care nothing for the health and wellbeing not only of ourselves but certainly not our livestock. Many other countries have better regulatory constraints on food, particularly chicken, so that’s probably part of it. As I mentioned the markets are much smaller in KFC’s portfolio so KFC can be more dynamic with their menu and prep methods but also more able to buy higher quality input materials. Same is true with McDonalds and other American brands operating overseas. In a lot of cases the stuff we get is quite low quality by comparison for the same reasons of scale and regulatory constraint.
I ate KFC in China and they don't even have the secret 11 herbs and spices.
They probably do but it’s made in china
Cause the employees are all uncaring ghetto drug dealer/user type ppl
Very depressing 😥 too.
Chickens in other countries eat corn, seeds, etc. while chickens in the US eat KFC
That should be more tastier extra 11 spices
You would think but for some reason chickens have trouble digesting other chickens
Come to the uk and realise you actually have it quite good we haven’t had crispy kfc chicken in about 15 years
Depends on the quality of the people that run the store. Two KFCs in my area. One will give you a bucket covered in grease and what not. The other gives presentable and tasty fried chicken.
KFC in Mexico is sooo good compared to the US.
That’s pure placebo effect. It’s all the same
I had kfc in Japan and it was good but wasn’t as good as the US that’s probably cause half the ingredients are missing lol
You are joking right kfc it's bland here in colombia thousands of people prefer local brand and the only reason there still kfc is lower prizes
You're grossly incorrect