Oh for the love of all that is good and holy, can we put this marketing-is-brainwashing thing to rest? People don't go to McDonald's because they saw a clown singing a jingle on a television. They go because they like the food at that price. They may be more aware of that option than other options due to marketing, but people aren't automatons that just do like television tells them to.

That being said, I challenge your assertion. I can buy a double cheeseburger (call it 1/4lb of meat) from McDonald's for $1. This takes me about 5 minutes. Buying organic beef, cheese, and rolls, and then prepping, seasoning, and grilling that burger will take you, give or take, 20 minutes and probably cost you on the order of $2-5 per burger (depending where you live), minus the time needed to get those ingredients. You value time, effort, and knowledge at zero, which is below their actual value.

My point is that your argument is fallacious. Learn from what McDonald's puts out and understand why, despite plenty of marketing, Burger King has fallen off a cliff and Wendy's has come charging ahead. McDonald's has a lot of value in terms of a case study, but you dismiss it with that old-programmer-standby, "It's just marketing." I'm sick of seeing that attitude--it quickly dismisses good and interesting business strategies that we can learn from.

No one is dismissing anything. I'm only suggesting that one of the primary factors is marketing in most sales dealing with consumers in the fast food industry. Marketing doesn't mean a tv commercial itself, but it does mean the underlining messages that consumers begin to wrongly believe to be true.

If you go to a fast food chain, and go to an organic shop, the difference in the look of the customers is drastic. You might be getting your food quicker, maybe even cheaper, but you end up losing out at the end.