Chandni Rathod - Quicklet on Eric Schlossers Fast Food Nation

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Background and Basics

About the Book

Hundreds of millions of people buy fast food every day without giving it much thought, unaware of the subtle and not so subtle ramifications of their purchases. They rarely consider where this food came from, how it was made, what it is doing to the community around them. They just grab their tray off the counter, find a table, take a seat, unwrap the paper, and dig in. The whole experience is transitory and soon forgotten. I've written this book out of a belief that people should know what lies behind the shiny, happy surface of every fast food transaction. They should know what really lurks between those sesame-seed buns.

Published in 2001, Eric Schlossers Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal explores the dark underbelly of fast food production in the United States. An award-winning journalist and contributor to Atlantic Monthly , Schlosser developed the book from a series of articles for Rolling Stone magazine. Rolling Stone asked Schlosser to find out where fast food came from. As someone who enjoyed indulging in fries and hamburgers, Schlosser was initially reluctant to take on the assignment.

As he began to research the history and formation of the fast food industry, he became increasingly curious about how the industry gained power and influence on Americas agricultural landscape and food culture. With over 50 pages of research notes included at the end of the book, the author defends his points with thorough analysis from various legal investigations, interviews, and journal articles. Schlosser artfully weaves sarcasm with gritty investigative journalism to demonstrate how corporations and greed have corrupted the food system in America.

Schlossers book was a New York Times bestseller for over two years and has sold over 1.4 million print copies . In 2006 , Fast Food Nation became a fictionalized film directed by Richard Linklater, which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival.

However, the book and film were not met without criticism from trade industry producers of beef, potatoes, and restaurant chains like McDonald's. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2006 that various organizations were trying to create campaigns against Schlossers allegations in the book that fast food consumption contributes to obesity and fostered corruption in the nations agricultural system.

Introducing the Author

Eric Schlosser always knew he wanted to be a writer. He grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York and Los Angeles, California. His father worked as the chairman of NBC. Schlosser attended Princeton University and studied writing and American history. He later completed a postgraduate degree in British History at Oxford University.

His initial writing endeavors were as a playwright and scriptwriter in New York City. In 1985, he wrote a play, Americans, that was produced in London in 2003. His other play, We The People, was produced in 2007 at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre.

Schlosser also tried his hand at writing novels, but he was unsuccessful. It was not until his thirties that he began nonfiction writing.

His investigative journalism career began at The Atlantic Monthly in Boston. His work for Rolling Stone led to his first published nonfiction work, Fast Food Nation, in 2001. An instant bestseller, Fast Food Nation literally became Americas food for thought. Consumers began reconsidering their fast food choices and large fast food chains began rethinking their advertising campaigns.

In 2003, Schlosser published his second book, Reefer Madness , which took an in-depth historical look at the underground marijuana trade, migrant strawberry farm workers in California, and pornography in the United States.

His third book, co-authored with Charles Wilson, Chew on This: Everything You Dont Want To Know About Fast Food (2006) is a bestselling childrens book, an expose on the harmful health effects of fast food and how it is produced.

Schlosser received accolades on a number of occasions for his writing and reporting including the National Magazine Award and the Sidney Hillman Foundation Award. As a journalist, Schlosser has always tried to cover subjects often missed by mainstream media. Through his writing and research, he strives to show readers that there is often more to an issue than meets the eye.

Overall Summary

This is a book about fast food, the values it embodies, and the world it has made. Fast food has proven to be a revolutionary force in American life; I am interested in it both as a commodity and as a metaphor. What people eat (or dont eat) has always been determined by a complex interplay of social, economic, and technological forces.

In Fast Food Nation , Schlosser scrutinizes every unsavory facet of the fast food supply chain. It begins with fast foods innocuous evolution in southern California and ends with well-oiled fast food corporations changing food production around the world. Throughout the book, Schlosser takes a critical look at how fast food changed Americans and their attitude towards food culture.

The founding fathers of fast food crafted and mastered the art of the Speedee Service System, which allows faster food with lower prices for consumers. Later, Schlosser tours readers through McDonalds corporate headquarters in Illinois to meet our trusted friends. Behind the golden arches is a calculated facade to make parents feel good about taking kids to fast food chains and advertisements to make kids want every meal to be a Happy Meal.

Behind the counter, Schlosser finds underpaid teens and illegal immigrants consistently working overtime. At times unsavory, the employees give Schlosser a behind-the-scenes look at just how the food arrives and then is prepared, often by people with little training and poor hygiene.

Next, Schlosser investigates the food itself. He is surprised to discover that the natural flavoring of the fries is ironically not so natural after all. The beef is made from cattle, which are fed grain instead of grass to fatten them up more quickly. The most gruesome part of the entire book is an expedition through the slaughterhouse, where countless workers are injured on the job everyday and shown little remorse from their employers. Even scarier, is the amount of meat that makes it through processing centers tainted with potentially life threatening E.coli and other pathogens.

Unfortunately, at present the US government has little power over the meatpacking and fast food industries and their practices. Schlosser runs through laundry lists of failed legislation and federal investigations ultimately leading to minimal change in the operations of fast food companies.

Schlosser writes with dexterity to flush out a compelling and persuasive investigation. Schlosser sympathizes with the dilemma consumers face wanting cheap eats and convenience at the same time. The powerful nature of the industry on the nation and globally makes it difficult to implement positive change quickly through governmental means. He urges fast food companies to look within themselves to change and tells consumers they are the most powerful forces of change. Simply put, consumer demands drive sales.

The book is divided into two main sections. Chapters 1-4 fall under The American Way, a historical perspective on how the fast food industry developed and became powerful. Chapters 5-10 are listed under the heading of Meat and Potatoes, a revealing perspective on how fast food is created and processed.

Schlossers account of the industry is enriched with facts, statistics, and quotations from a myriad of sources. It is difficult not to get an uneasy feeling the next time you consider eating a fast food hamburger.

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