Kentucky Fried Chicken is one of the well-known fast food restaurants in the world. The industry was founded by Colonel Sanders. The corporation is based in Louisville, Kentucky and now regarded as the most famous chicken restaurant chain. It can be noted that each day, nearly eight million customers avails the products and foods offered by this fast food chain.
There are many ethical issues that an organisation face and one of the organisations which faces major issue is the Kentucky Fried Chicken. In my report, I would analysis about the issue faced by KFC and the ethical problems that the company encounters.
1.0 ETHICS DILEMMAS FACING BY KFC
KFC is among the most popular fast food brands in the world. Started out in the fifties, KFC now boasts of operating, franchising, and serving a worldwide chain of around 11,000 fast food restaurants that prepare, package and sell a menu of ready to eat foods. However, despite of the established brand of KFC Corporation and contrary to its previous achievements; it seems that there is a need for the management to redefine its image. The growing and bustling population of today is obviously different from the population of the previous decades in terms of health and nutritional attitudes and behaviours. People today are more concerned with their health and figures than ever before. Obviously, the reason for this increased awareness is because of the fact that information is everywhere and every reports and research about nutrition seem to link fast foods with the growing number of obesity. Furthermore, there is also a number of emerging diet programs that promote and encourage the public to be figure conscious.
1.1 Provide Greasy Unhealthy Food
Being one of the most popular fast food restaurants and with millions of people patronising the products and foods offered by the company, it is important the company adheres to ethical standards specifically in terms of providing healthy foods. However, it has been observed that KFC is using oil which contains Tran's fatty acids. This kind of oil is noted to increase cholesterol and even increased the risk of having heart disease. As authorities discovered this, the case was being carried over by the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest and told the company to use healthier cooking products than the one they are using.
Gram for gram, they are believed to be twice as damaging as saturated fat. The Nutrition Action Healthletter, published by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), reported in 1997 that in clinical studies Tran's fat raised people's blood cholesterol about as much as saturated fat did. Because trans-fatty acids are not listed on food labels, they are invisible to consumers. The CSPI found that the trans-fat content in most chains' French fries equalled or even exceeded the amount of saturated fat. That means a big order of fries has as much bad fat as a signature burger. With the negative effect of this to the people, KFC has been faced with problems in terms of following business ethics and finding ways to find solutions to these kinds of issue.
1.2 Protests by PETA
KFC is the world's largest chicken fast-food chain in the world with more than 9900 stores at an average annual consumption of nearly 800 million chickens in all over the world. In order to reduce costs, KFC chicken suppliers kept the chickens in overcrowded cages and given drug to urging their growth so that they are usually too heavy and can't even walk. In year 2003, PETA organization (Association of Ethical Treatment of Animals) found a video exposing KFC supplier abuse chickens by cruel trick and this immediately aroused public attention. In the video can see the staff do anything to abuse the chicken, they often cut off their wings, slamming them to the wall, punched them as sandbags, kicked them as football. At slaughter, the chicken' throats are slit and dropped into tanks of scalding-hot water while they are still conscious. They abuse the chickens alive to death and then gave to outlet frying as delicious fried chicken serve all around the world.
In this case, the PETA organization has been called upon to KFC must immediately stop this cruel chicken farming, with the requirement: to improve the living conditions of chickens to expand their activities in space, for example, cages set within the “room” and separators, so that rearing environment closer to the wild, natural environment and so forth, have been reared chickens have the most basic living conditions. But the real solution is consumers should taken actions to support the way to get all the animals from being inhumane and even standing on a healthy position, one can also choose to become a vegetarian to improve health, meanwhile more positive action to reduce the number of animals are subjected to inhumane treatment.
1.3 Advertisement Mislead
Nowadays, advertising communication play a importance role in our society. As we all know, fast food is high fat and calorie food, cellulose content is low, long-term consumption will lead to obesity, endangering the liver and other organs healthy. But fast-food ads never mentioned these issues, always promoted eating fast food is a modern lifestyle and fashionable, the food is fresh and tasty, nutrition and health. This is a food culture and lifestyle misleading from advertising.
In 2003 autumn, KFC played “health card” at TV ad, saying that Kentucky Fried Chicken “has the human body the necessary carbohydrates, is a daily non-integral part of the menu.” This ad exaggerated the Kentucky Fried Chicken features, many people discontent into this broadcast, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission specifically to this investigation. Under pressure from all sides, soon KFC company take off this advertisement. In this year July, ASA (Advertising Standards Authority), found that the U.S. KFC have an ad misleading consumers think that the fresh chicken is on daily basis delivered to every KFC outlets, this suspected of misleading to consumers. Advertising content shows a young chef side of a chicken sprinkled with flour, says: “I want to cook the most delicious food, secret is use the correct materials, like this fresh chicken”. Ad adds the narration: “Kentucky Fried Chicken, fresh meat. Every store, Every day.” But the ASA found that KFC chicken are delivered to each stores three times per week, it was decided shall not broadcast the ad, unless modified.
2.0 SOLUTION FOR THESE DILEMMAS
