This assignment deals with how the fast food industry as a whole, dealt with the problem of unhealthy food. For example, the fast food industry at first ignores the claims of fast food not being healthy, but slowly starts to recognize and eventually it institutionalizes laws/standards that obligate every fast food restaurant to comply to these rules and therefore it ensures a healthier option for consumers. The questions for this section is, how did the industry deal/react to this issue using the four stages of issue maturity (latent, emerging, consolidating, and institutionalized) as described below.

The four stages of issue maturity- basically, how society progresses with the way a certain issue is perceived

Latent- activists and NGOs aware of the issue, little scientific evidence, issue largely ignored by businesses

Emerging- political and media awareness of the issue, emerging research but weak data, leading business experiment with approaches to dealing with the issue

Consolidating- emerging business practices, voluntary initiatives established, litigation and need for legislation, standards developed and collective action

Institutionalized- legislation to govern practice, business norms established, the practices become a normal part of the business model requirements- 1 page APA style with in-text citations and list at least two references