Japan's Natural Lawson convenience store chain is a combination natural and specialty foods store, natural and upscale health and beauty care store, and different from all the other 40,000 conbini (convenience stores) in Japan. Read what makes it different, and how Natural Lawson is stretching the boundries of convenience retailing in the nation.

A report titled, "Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago," is believed to be the first to examine the correlation between population and the access to food in supermarkets. Further, this report follows past research by Gallagher looking at the distribution of chain supermarkets in Chicago and access to grocery stores.

Fast food is the term given to many foods that can be prepared and served quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, such as TV dinners, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store which is rapidly prepared and served to the customer in a packaged form for take out/take away.Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating, or fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants). Franchise operations which are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.The capital requirements to start a fast-food restaurant are relatively small, particularly in areas with non-existent or poorly enforced health codes. Small, individually-owned fast-food restaurants have become common throughout the world. Fast food restaurants with higher sit-in ratios, where customers can sit and have their orders brought to them, are known as fast casual restaurants.