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For years I've had sort of a vague idea that fast food executives aren't great people who are out to make lives better. I've had a vague idea that the fast food industry as well as the farming and meatpacking industries, aren't entirely wonderful. I hadn't really explored these ideas fully.
This book provided the concrete information to back up my vague ideas. I can't say that anything in this book was truly shocking. I've heard enough rumors about slaughterhouses, and advertising, and farming that I can't say I was devastated to read about the corruption in these organizations. However, the information here clarified exactly how big the problems are.
I am not at all surprised that fast food companies are trying to make the most money possible. I'm not surprised that they try to cut corners wherever possible and make every effort to acquire the cheapest labor and the cheapest product. I'm also not surprised that farmers and slaughterhouses do everything in their power to stay in the good favor of the fast food companies.
What I find maddening, though, is that the government organizations that are supposed to oversee the food companies are so corrupt. It is infuriating to know that within our own government safety concerns are being completely disregarded, in order to keep the giant companies happy. What a disgraceful scenario.
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Fast Food Nation is a very well written book about the "bad side" of the food. The viewpoint is fairly objective, with a multitude of references, making it all the more powerful.
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Millions of people and many organizations are actively protesting and agitating for better health care coverage and medical treatment. After reading FAST FOOD NATION I began to think that the same effort by the same groups should be castigating our fast food chains for ruining their health and making medical treatment more necessary.
This is not placing blame on the populace, but on the greed and thoughtlessness of most fast food chains and processors.
The author does not write in generalities. He names names and tells the sordid details of the food chain--especially when it comes to meat and poultry.
And food is not the only topic. You will be appalled at the working conditions of fast food workers, too. And how the original suppliers of food--the farmers and ranchers--are being forced into near servitude to the large, economically and politically powerful purveyors of fast food, whether such food is ready to eat or bought at a supermarket.
There are too many well-researched facts in this book, but I will mention a few:
1. In 1970 kids drank twice as much milk as they did soda (with 8-12 teaspoons of sugar per 12 ounces); in 2000, that was reversed.
2. Too many school districts have installed TV in classrooms and require it to be turned on daily for a period of time. The advertisers are fast food chains.
3. None of the workers at 15,000-plus McDonald's in the U.S. is represented by a union--mostly because the typical worker quits or is fired every 3-4 months! And the U.S. government (we tax payers) subsidize the training of new employees; the more they quit, the more the money rolls in.
4. Eleven years ago (what's it like today?) more fast food restaurant workers were murdered on the job in the U.S. than police officers. A great job for young people.
5. At least when this book was written, the farmer got only 2 cents out of $1.50 sale of, for example, french fries. This is basically because buyers of farm produce band together to push down the price. So, many small farmers need a second job.
6. Chicken McNuggets contain twice the fat per ounce as a hamburger--all due to processing and additives.
7. The suicide rate among ranchers and farmers in the U.S. is three times higher than the national average.
8. The annual cost of obesity (which rose with the popularity of the fast food chains) is now twice as large as the fast food industry's total revenues. So, the low price of fast food does not reflect its real cost (p. 261).
Is there a solution to the choke hold the fast food mentality has on our food growing and distribution system? Yes. Read the book to find out how "people can be fed without being fattened or deceived." According to the author, at least 70 percent of all adult visits to fast food chains are impulsive, not intentional. The solution to the negative effects of fast food? Just say no.
Following in this vein, you might want to see the independent film FOOD, INC. Look it up via a search engine to see when it is showing in your neck of the woods.
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I got this in conjunction with Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America and both reads really resonated with me. In this enlightening book, the author really tells how fast food became a part of our cultural awareness and goes into some detail about the corporations themselves. All in all, I thought it was facinating and would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the culture of fast food.
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As a self-professed foodie, I love to read about foods, cuisines and cooking. So it is only fitting that I read Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation". I enjoyed this book because it is highly educational and enlightening. Schlosser looks at the fast food culture from its humble beginnings in the early 20th century to its present day form. He also took us step by step through the fast food processing chain, which can be quite unappetizing and off-putting.
It is especially important that Schlosser explored the human element of the fast food chain, ranging from the farmers and slaughterhouse workers to the servers we encounter when we patronize a fast food restaurant. Sometimes it becomes rather disheartening when reading about how an initially quality food business has descended to a greedy, 100% profit-based, inhumane industry. However, as the author mentions in the book, change starts from within and the individual has the power of the purchasing decision.
I enjoyed this book very much and the only shortcoming of this book is the constant blaming of the Republicans and conservatives for the current state of the fast food industry. A first-rate investigative reporter/journalist should know better than to simplify the the evolution of the fast food insdustry to pure Republican greed.
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