Customer Reviews

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal

5 star:		(353)
4 star:		(196)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

Once in a while, journalists do what journalists are supposed to do - look at the mundane in broader scope, changing our thinking on something. Eric Schlosser has accomplished that in this sweeping work. There is no way I can ever waltz into a Wendy's or McDonald's and enjoy a burger again. The cost of this cheap food is expensive beyond belief.

I had recently become very ill with campylobacteriosis. I was contacted by a gent from the public health department, trying to track down what I had eaten and where. He told me that a lot of the fresh commercial poultry has salmonella and campylobacter jejuni. I consider myself fortunate; a week of antibiotics cleared it up - had I been elderly or had a compromised immune system, it could have been fatal.

Schlosser's book reveals what is in the food. E. Coli O157:H7, and Lysteria Monocytogenes (found in beef due to fecal contamination) make what I had look like a walk in the park. His description of Alex Donley's death during the Jack In The Box E-Coli outbreak in 1993 is unsparing in its brutality - portions of the child's brain had liquified!

As other reviewers have pointed out, he takes us from the humble hot dog stand to the global picture. The most surreal parts of the book for me were the flavour factory, and the horrendous conditions at the meat packing plants. The effect of a few companies controlling so much of agriculture is frightening - it has become factory farming. Animal abuse, slave labour conditions, government grants lavished on "training" for unskilled work, dumped into the pockets of the corporation, and what is actually in the meat are presented in an easy to read format. He presents his facts and forces the reader to examine them. His book makes you think.

He does give credit where it is due. He points out that McDonald's threatened to stop purchasing meat from companies who did not properly stun their cattle or hogs. Although this was due to pressure from animal rights' groups, it resulted in some changes in the meat packing industry within a year.

He presents some alternatives in the latter chapters of the book. Instead of blindingly driving into a fast food joint, look for a mom and pop place. Instead of cattle that are in a feedlot for most of their existence, look for natural or organic beef. There are some ranches that actually let their cattle eat (gasp!) grass in the pasture, not dead animal parts. Options are available if you are willing to look for them.

Schlosser remains hopeful that people will become more aware and change things. Considering the line-up at the Drive Thru window at the various fast food establishments, I remain sceptical. His book, however, has the capacity to change things one person at a time. And that is what happens when journalists do what journalists are supposed to do.

I definitely enjoyed the history given of the fast food industry in Mr. Schlosser's book. It's hard for people today to understand that these corporate giants were once started by trail blazers, people who broke out from the norm and took a lot of personal risks.

I was never a really big fast food fan and I have no illusions that when I do decide to treat myself to a Big Mac, chocolate shake, and fries that it is in any way healthy. We have all seen the stories on news programs uncovering the seedy side of the fast food industry (food dropped on the floor and served, rat feces found in food, employees tampering with the food, etc.) and many people choose to eat it anyway. Most people don't care. Mr. Schlosser doesn't seem to understand that.

The major issue I have with this book is Mr. Schlosser's attitude towards banning commercials and advertising toward young children. While I personally believe that marketing towards children is insidious, I still believe that marketers have the right to do it. They are not really preying on the children but the parents. And if you feel the need to give into your whining child, then shame on you. Parents can limit tv viewing so their children are not exposed to as many advertisements, they can serve their children healthy food so they do not develop a preference for fatty foods, and they can help to keep them active so they fight off obesity. It's time to stop pointing fingers and start taking responsibility for our children's health.

This book is essential reading if you are involved in any kind of advocacy fight.

Almost all our advocacy fights come down to money; our interests vs. the interests of big business. So even if your fight has nothing to do with food, this book is a really enlightening read.

My personal advocacy fight is to help patients with the neurological disease be treated based on science rather than misinformation made popular by vested interest groups.

The subsuming of the distinct neurological disease M.E. under various categories of `unexplained fatigue' or 'CFS' exist purely to serve the interests of various extremely powerful corporations, and government departments. For those that find this hard to believe, and who would argue that: (1) corporations in `civilised' countries would not be so completely amoral or unethical (2) corporations would not and could not cause this much harm to so many people merely to make more money (3) our governments (and legal system) would not let these corporations so easily get away with harming and even killing so many people - then this book is something you NEED to read!

In `Fast Food Nation' of course the corporations involved are not the same as the corporations involved in M.E. (eg. the health insurance industry) but this makes little difference as the essential `personality' of these different corporations is EXACTLY the same.

(They are completely uninterested in morals, ethics or human rights and are purely driven by `efficiency' and profit).

Reading this book makes so many things make sense in regards to how unethical companies will act to improve their bottom line and how little ethical concerns come into play, if they do at all.

The recent documentary 'The Corporation' also makes these same points very well and is also highly recommended as is the book on PR called 'Toxic sludge is good for you!.'

`Fast Food Nation' is also now available as a film, a fictionalised version of the book (not a documentary).

Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.

Quotes:

The history of the twentieth century was dominated by the struggle against totalitarian systems of state power. The great challenge now facing countries throughout the world is how to find a proper balance between the efficiency and the amorality of the market. Over the past twenty years the US has swung too far in one direction, weakening the regulations that safeguard workers, consumers, and the environment. An economic system promising freedom has too often become a means of denying it, as the narrow dictates of the market gain precedence over more important democratic values. p261

The profits of the fast food chains have been made possible by losses imposed on the rest of society. p261.

The real power of the American consumer has not yet been unleashed. A good boycott, a refusal to buy, can speak much louder than words. Sometimes the most irresistible force is the most mundane. p269.

Would you so enthusiastically bring a hamburger to your lips if you knew that your meal could be tainted with fecal bacteria, bone fragments, or industrial solvents? In his muckraking style that aims to tell all about the fast food industry, Eric Schlosser uses Fast Food Nation as a vehicle to expose the atrocities that occur on all levels of the fast food industry.

Schlosser begins the novel with the beginnings of the forceful fast food industry, telling the tale of the humble beginnings of such entrepreneurs as Ray Kroc and J.R. Simplot. The segue is clear but abrupt as the focus changes from the corporate schemes of the current executives of companies such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds to the lives of the individuals who work at the individual fast food chains. This perspective is one which Schlosser maintains throughout much of the book, as he depicts in this section the ways with which the workers are exploited by being paid very little, given only minor training skills, and are not allowed to join unions so that the executives can benefit from having total control over the workers.

The next main focus of the book is of the industrial aspect of the fast food industry, including how agribusiness has made fast food companies world-wide phenomena due to size and how quality control has become lost in the shuffle. Schlosser attains an extreme level of detail by obtaining anecdotes from individual farmers who have worked with or have been damaged by the combination tactics of the fast food industry and its desire to control as many farms as possible while paying exceedingly low prices.

One of the final and most harrowing portions of the book is his description of the factories in which the meat and potatoes for the fast food companies are produced. The conditions which he describes and the process which he uncovers provides a fitting summary of the entire goal of the fast food industry, which is to make as much money as possible, disregarding the individuals, including workers and consumers.

Most of what this book exposes, I already kind of knew in the back of my head- but like so many others I chose to ignore it. Now I can't.

What I did not already suspect was shocking. Who knew I spent my whole life eating meat from cannable-fed livestock, and that it has almost always been infected with fecal matter? As if that wasn't horrible and disgusting enough, it also introduces the rare yet possible side-effect of death. The afterward in the edition I read is even more alarming. I had no idea that mad-cow might possibly have an average incubation period of over 40 years! Not to sound like a doomsday nut, but it's certainly not impossible for it to become worse than the plague.

Over the years I've seen propaganda from the ultra-left like the McLibel pamphlets (found one on my windshield once). But the outrageous claims (many were made up) had the opposite effect on me because I saw right through it as nothing but psycho animal-lovers lying to promote their own vegetarian agenda. Schlosser's book, however, has done nothing short of making me think before I eat.

The only problem I have with this book is how partisan it appears. No, it's not that bad, but it's enough to be made an issue. Even though everything he says is clearly true (read the footnotes, learn what libel means), this will undoubtadly turn off many people who identify themselves as Republicans. While some attempt was made to seem non-partisan, Schlosser should have gone out of his way (even if it was a stretch) to show examples of wrongdoings by some Democrats and provided more examples of Republicans who oppose the evils of agribusiness without having to go back to Teddy Rosavelt in 1906. I'm sure there are at least some Republicans who strongly opposes deregulation of food safety even if they are a minority in the party.

I shouldn't say it's a problem for me personally. I myself am a progressive and none of the political facts suprise me one bit. But this book is far more important than the petty partisan politics we hear everyday in the news. Many people in this country treat their party as if they were a fan of a sports team. Those who don't, may still find the book contemptuous for they may regard the author in that light (which is understandable).

I just feel that the Democrat-leaning aspect makes it less accessable and less accepted by everyone as a whole- despite how accurate and important it really is. Any Republican who read this will take it in with cynicism and skepticism, and I find that very unfortunate because everyone needs to read this book.

We all read with expectations. The book should not be held at fault for failing to meet our preconceived notions. That said, this book is a very detailed, very well researched view of the fast food industry and related mechanisms.

It seems those who disliked the book center on how it failed to do what they wanted it to. From a somewhat detached academic perspective, this book resonates like the best of papers, just more entertaining to read.

I haven't eaten ground beef since!

What started out as a 500-dollar hot dog cart became the staple of American cuisine. Today, millions of people are digesting hamburgers from McDonalds, Burger King, and other chains. But when you order a Big Mac Combo, what actually did the burger and the fries start out as, and how did they get there? What are the many sources corruption that create two small meat patties, frozen, fried potatoes, and hunks of tender chicken that you are dining on? Eric Schlosser answers your many questions about the fast food industry in his first book, Fast Food Nation. Schlosser goes into the underworld of the burger corporations to find out what is put in and what comes out of an "All-American Meal." His research leaves no patties un-flipped and investigates cattle ranches, artificial flavor companies, meat packing industries, and many more places while seeking an answer.
One of the main strengths of the book are the constant references to the companies succeeding because of kids. One chapter explains how McDonalds employs teenagers as its main work force. Schlosser explains how companies can pay their teen workforce below minimum wage since most of them live with their parents and can work long hours with little benefits. Another chapter discusses how Ray Kroc, the founder of the McDonalds Corporation, used a form of marketing called "synergy" or marketing to kids. Kroc figured that if he marketed to kids, he would receive their parents/guardians as customers as well. The chapter discusses toy giveaways, commercials, and Ronald McDonald as well as other tactics. Other chapters mention kids as most vulnerable to the E coli 0157:H7 bacterium, or the utilization of school districts for product placement.
The darkest set of chapters makes up the main course of this book. Those chapters focus on the dreaded meat packing plants and the people who work there. Schlosser does an excellent job describing the brutal assembly lines, the tormented workers, and the overall danger of packing plants such as ConAgra, IBP, and Greeley. One chapter describes many of the risks employees take. Schlosser talks about deadly hydrogen sulfide fumes and the machines that cause people to throw out shoulders, lose arms, and even die when working. He describes how one of the largest-paying jobs operated by skilled professionals became a near minimum wage job operated by unskilled illegal immigrants with the addition of IBP's assembly line system. This book does a great job mentioning the poor condition of cattle at the plant and how E coli 0157:H7 gets into the burgers. Contaminated meat fails inspections while little is done to recall the it. These chapters also mention the horrible meat school cafeterias get from corporations such as Bauer and Cattle King, their continued use of contaminated meat, and how packing companies can get away with having salmonella in their meat.
Overall, I would score this book about five out of five stars. Every chapter is incredibly interesting as Schlosser pieces together the mysteries of fast food with descriptive language and personal experiences. This book has no major flaws even though certain parts of every chapter seem a bit dull compared to the rest. But that flaw is not enough to penalize such a great piece of literature. I recommend this book specifically to young adults for them to learn how they are targeted as key components of McDonalds' success, and I recommend this book generally to people of that age and above.

Great book for those with a strong stomach.

This book is a sensational read, one you won't quickly forget, one that will open your eyes to a lot of what's hidden under and in the food you eat.

It's not a finger-pointing diatribe, nor is it a boring list of "crimes" committed by fast food. It's the story of what's happened to an industry that has over time put profitability way above quality. Essentially, it's put all of us in danger.

It's shocking to learn that the UDSA and FDA do not have the power to change the behavior of the major meatpacking and fast food companies. Only their clients have this power (i.e., McDonald's Corp. can demand decent work conditions for the employees of slaughterhouses it buys from, but the USDA and FDA cannot). If this is what former President Clinton meant by "the era of big government is over" then let's begin a new one. The government needs power when the health of its citizens is put at risk by profiteers.

The revelations this book hands you are the kind that make you say "this is happening in my country?!?! Here?!?!?" The chapter on the "flavor industry" was so astounding I now wonder if what I'm tasting when I bite into food : is it the food itself or its flavoring additives? It's mind-blowing to think that the taste of the food we eat is a chemical mixture manufactured in a huge chemical factory.

Some of the other things this book deals with are downright horrifying. What's cleaner: your toilet or your kitchen sink? How hard is it for a slaughterhouse worker to convince his employer that he's injured? How many people die each year from tainted meat? Salmonella? Why do the fries taste so good? How young do some obese kids die of heart attacks these days?

This book will forever change how you look at your food. I became a vegetarian while reading it (not only because of the book, but it definitely helped me decide).

This is asking too much of the author, but it would be interesting to find out if the CEOs of the major fast food companies ever eat at their own restaurants. I have this suspicion that they don't, and if this is true, it would be quite telling.

The saddest realization I had after finishing this book was that similar books could probably be written for many other industries that put profit before people. Why has this become such a widespread behavior in business? Was it ever not the way to do business? Why do people act this way?

This book also in many ways conjured up images of the worst the nineteenth-century had to offer. In many ways we're living through that horror again, and this book provides some solid evidence of that.

In the end the author does the best thing he could: empower you. We as consumers need to educate ourselves and buy responsibly and let companies know when we do not approve of their practices or products. We probably have more power in the stores than we have in the voting booths.

This book will horrify, sicken, and anger you. But it will also fill you with optimism and hope that things can be better, that they will be better. Read it, then make your friends and family read it.

This is an excellent book. It is also written in as none-biased a way as I have ever seen. Eric Schlosser tries to be fair to both those who love fast food and those who don't.

Schlosser does paint some fairly graphic horror stories, about health and safety issues along with some stomach churning tales about people spitting into food before serving it, not washing their hands after going to the bathroom to name some of the many nasties he has come across during his research into this interesting subject.

This is a well-researched book, which for me gave an amazing insight not only into the Fast Food Industry but also into other subjects that was and still are linked to its phenomenal growth. Some of the areas covered are the industry's dependence on a teenage work force, its impact on low income families and immigrants, how Fast Food is perceived all over the world, and health implications because of the high fat content in a lot of fast food. Also covered is the power that the Fast Food Industry has, and how it has wielded this power for both good and bad. Impressive is one word that springs to mind with regard to this book.

I especially liked Eric Schlosser's eye for detail in that it moved between the past and present as well as covering in great detail the Fast Food Industry's growth outside of the USA. I found it fascinating, informative and most importantly very easy to read. Well worth buying or borrowing this book from the library if you get the chance.