FAST FOOD IS TAKING OVER THE WORLD.

Fast food appears to be the sole truly international form of catering, says Euromonitor, a London-based provider of global consumer market intelligence, with the world's leading brands--McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, KFC, and Domino's Pizza--covering about 100 countries. Tricon, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, is the world's largest fast-food firm in terms of outlets, with more than 22,000, followed by McDonald's (about 15,000), Dairy Queen, Allied Domecq (Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins), Diageo (Burger King), and Domino's Pizza.

The fast-food industry accounts for more than half the consumer market in the U.S. and Canada. This sector...