"In 2019, during a trip to Marrakech, Gary He (New York, 41 years old), a photojournalist based in the Big Apple, went into a McDonald's. It was Ramadan, and he saw that they had an iftar kit the meal eaten to break the day's fast, just after sunset with harira soup, dates, chebakia, and a yogurt and milk drink. He had been pondering for years how a global fast-food chain with more than 43,000 restaurants scattered around the world, according to Statista,"
"Six years, more than 50 countries, six continents, and thousands of shots later, the photojournalist has published his book, McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches, in which he challenges the notion that the multinational is a kind of homogenizing, monolithic juggernaut that steamrolls the local culture of the country it enters. There's some truth to that! he clarifies. But it's not all McNuggets and Big Macs."
Gary He, a 41-year-old New York photojournalist, encountered a Ramadan iftar kit at a Marrakech McDonald's and began investigating menu localization. He noted that McDonald's, with more than 43,000 restaurants worldwide, sometimes offers regional specialties tied to local customs. After six years and visits to over 50 countries across six continents, he published McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches featuring 250 anthropological photographs, data, locations, and historical context. The work argues that the brand functions as a network of local business owners sharing branding resources, enabling menu variation like rice, spaghetti, macaroni, and falafel alongside core items.
Read at english.elpais.com
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