RSSFast Food Nation
May 31st, 2006 | View Comments
Author: Eric Schlosser
Publisher: Perennial
Rating: 
Buy Fast Food Nation on Amazon.com
The entire time I was reading this book, I was having the worst craving for a McDonald’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich. The same thing happened when I was watching Supersize Me. Go figure.
I expected this book to be a The Jungle-style grossout exposé of the fast food industry, but it didn’t turn out to be that way. Instead, it is a fascinating account of the rise of fast food from wholesome All-American fare to today’s modern evil empires (though arguably, evil empires are still All-American).
Fast Food Nation begins with a history of fast food before moving on to the modern fast food industry. It discusses the manufacturing (yes, manufacturing) of fast food flavor (which is all fake, although Schlosser is ambivalent about What That Means), the role that fast food, specifically McDonald’s, plays in perpetuating the human and animal rights abuses (here’s the gross stuff) that take place in the meat industry (it’s a big one), and how fast food treats its workers (poorly).
Schlosser comes down particularly hard on McDonald’s, as it is by far the biggest force in fast food. Schlosser is also not gentle on Republicans, drawing a direct connection from their ties to the beef industry to the wimpy meat regulations. Democrats are more or less let off the hook, though he claims in the afterword that this was more due to space issues rather than a political bias. The inequity didn’t bother me, but then again, I tend to be more closely aligned with the Democrats.
Eric Schlosser is a great storyteller, wrapping information in humor and poignant anecdotes. The sections on flavor and the plight of fast food workers are angles on the industry that we don’t often hear much about, and complement the overall theme nicely.
Fast Food Nation definitely made me consider how what I and others choose to eat can affect so many others, not just in terms of the fast food industry, but the food industry in general.
This is a book worth reading.
Buy Fast Food Nation on Amazon.com
Yvonne posted this on May 31st, 2006 @ 8:40pm in Book Reviews | Permalink to "Fast Food Nation"
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