| |  | Books : Fast Food Nation |  | | | | | | | | | |
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 394.10973
EAN: 9780060838584
ISBN: 0060838582
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: July 01, 2005
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: July 05, 2005
Sales Rank: 279
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list of charges, but Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning.
Schlosser's myth-shattering survey stretches from California's subdivisions, where the business was born, to the industrial corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike, where many of fast food's flavors are concocted. Along the way, he unearths a trove of fascinating, unsettling truths -- from the unholy alliance between fast food and Hollywood to the seismic changes the industry has wrought in food production, popular culture, and even real estate.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001:
On any given day, one out of four Americans opts for a quick and cheap meal at a fast-food restaurant, without giving either its speed or its thriftiness a second thought. Fast food is so ubiquitous that it now seems as American, and harmless, as apple pie. But the industry's drive for consolidation, homogenization, and speed has radically transformed America's diet, landscape, economy, and workforce, often in insidiously destructive ways. Eric Schlosser, an award-winning journalist, opens his ambitious and ultimately devastating exposé with an introduction to the iconoclasts and high school dropouts, such as Harlan Sanders and the McDonald brothers, who first applied the principles of a factory assembly line to a commercial kitchen. Quickly, however, he moves behind the counter with the overworked and underpaid teenage workers, onto the factory farms where the potatoes and beef are grown, and into the slaughterhouses run by giant meatpacking corporations. Schlosser wants you to know why those French fries taste so good (with a visit to the world's largest flavor company) and 'what really lurks between those sesame-seed buns.' Eater beware: forget your concerns about cholesterol, there is--literally--feces in your meat.
Schlosser's investigation reaches its frightening peak in the meatpacking plants as he reveals the almost complete lack of federal oversight of a seemingly lawless industry. His searing portrayal of the industry is disturbingly similar to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, written in 1906: nightmare working conditions, union busting, and unsanitary practices that introduce E. coli and other pathogens into restaurants, public schools, and homes. Almost as disturbing is his description of how the industry 'both feeds and feeds off the young,' insinuating itself into all aspects of children's lives, even the pages of their school books, while leaving them prone to obesity and disease. Fortunately, Schlosser offers some eminently practical remedies. 'Eating in the United States should no longer be a form of high-risk behavior,' he writes. Where to begin? Ask yourself, is the true cost of having it 'your way' really worth it? --Lesley Reed
Customer Reviews Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Corporatism at the worst
In Eric Schlosser's first devastating book on the malpractices of the fast food industry, he pieces together history, facts, and numerous sources to reveal some disturbing truths about their nature.
Fast Food Nation is less an expose` on how unhealthy junk food is than a look into the operations of the food industry, specifically McDonalds. The book is divided into two sections: the first, "The American Way," is concerned primarily with the growth and development of the fast food chains, ... Read More
Rating: - The hard truth.
If you eat fast food, you need to read this book to understand what you're really putting into your body.Even if you don't eat fast food, this is an important read for the sake of understanding how the fast food industry has changed what we are as a country, and what we're becoming.It is a remarkable reality check.
Rating: - And you thought McDonalds was bad for you!
You might think you know what this guy has to say, but rest assured that this book as full of surprises! It is also very interesting in a way that makes you read deep into the night.
The book doesn't only cover what fast food is doing to our health and families, but also at how it is changing industries across the world. It contains a shocking section on how minorities are being exploited, especially in the US meat industry.
It becomes more and more obvious how much research must have ... Read More
Rating:  - Food for thought
Schlosser attempts to explain the food industry: its origins, its workers, the supply of meat and potatoes and how these all have changed over the years. While I had already heard about the food side, I was surprised at how much time was spent covering the worker injuries and treatment both in the fast food franchises and in slaughterhouses. I did appreciate the whole picture approach and would recommend the book. However, there are at least 2 drawback that I can see.
Although there are many statistics, ... Read More
Rating: - A shocking look at how fast food has impacted our culture and nation
It's unnerving how a few mega billion dollar corporations can control the food supply in this country.I was shocked by the dehumanizing conditions in the slaughter houses and the negative impact they have on the environment.
I can tell that the author has never experienced the working end of a grill spatula by how clueless he is to the business end of the industry, the people who are in the trenches.What manager has read I'm OK you're OK a book written in the 70's, please.Managers "stroke" their ... Read More
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