Bolivia Is Now a McDonald's-Free Zone

Those traveling in Bolivia can forget about a Big Mac. McDonald's has closed its eight restaurants there because of weak sales, making Bolivia the only nation in Latin America without the golden arches, reports the Hispanically Speaking News blog. The chain tried without success for 14 years to gain a foothold in the nation.

The blog's take: "Fast-food represents the complete opposite of what Bolivians consider a meal should be. To be a good meal, food has to have be prepared with love, dedication, certain hygiene standards and proper cook time." Ouch. Treehugger loves the development and wished the rest of the world valued meals as much as Bolivians apparently do. (More McDonald's stories.)