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Fast Food Nation

by: Eric Schlosser

: 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: 399
Studio: Harper Perennial



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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 Review:
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: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Very grateful to have been encouraged to read this book
I was at a school-related conference (I work for a school district) and one part of it was led by ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - A Fine Social Thriller.
Fast Food Nation is a fine "Social Thriller" bringing you to the edge of your seat right from beginning ... Read More


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - Disappointing
I'm a vegetarian who doesn't eat at fast-food restaurants. I thought this book was going to be an interesting ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The true world of Fast Food opens before your eyes!
This book is truly interesting in that it explains a process that many consumers thought that they were already ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - By the Author of Outstanding You
Outstanding You: Discover, Design and Achieve Ultimate Fitness

This book should be required reading ... Read More

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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.