Mmm that fast food, the stuff I flock to at an airport, the stuff that I crave after a game on a soccer road trip, the stuff I find myself eating more often than not late on a Friday or Saturday night. I ordered, I ate, and I enjoyed. But I didn't really give much thought, other than that, to fast food. Eric Schlosser really opened my eyes to the world of fast food in his book Fast Food Nation. Little did I know that the so called food that I was eating was the product of decades of work and refinement in the fast food industry. An industry that was built on economic principles and driven by The notion that the principles of microeconomics work well in economics textbooks, but not in the real world is not true because Schlosser provides evidence from various parts of the fast food …show more content…
Their whole objective was to produce output at a greater rate, cheaper. Schlosser explains that, “With innovative technology and the proper organization, a small number of workers can produce an enormous amount of goods cheaply” (69). The technological breakthroughs that were made were extremely beneficial to firms. They could now sell their product for even less. But the advancement of technology wasn’t beneficial for everyone. The breakthroughs decreased the demand for labor because firms simply no longer needed as much labor to produce great quantities of output anymore. With the decrease in demand for labor, there was a subsequent decrease in the price of labor. In a perfectly competitive wage market, the price of labor is set where the supply of labor intersects the demand of labor. This was seen in the 1900s in the fast food industry as the wages were set below the equilibrium price due to technological advancements. The wage market in the fast food industry was another place where economic principles were evident in the real
The investigative journalist, Eric Schlosser, has written a book to illuminate an epidemic that started in America and is now becoming one of the world’s largest problems. In Fast Food Nation, Schlosser frames today’s Fast Food giants in history,American entrepreneurialism, and over consumption in respect to consumer and employee wellbeing. The power of all modern Fast Food giants combined have eclipsed the power of any one government. Marketing has become a key component to luring consumers to fast food. Schlosser makes the argument that a once AllAmerican ideal, fast food has grown too big to control.
“Our purpose goes beyond what we sell. We’re using our reach to be a positive force. For our customers. Our people. Our communities. Our world.” This is what Mc Donalds has in place for their mission statement, or as they call it their “ambition”. Although on the surface it seems genuine and wholehearted, one must look beyond the words being stated and towards the actions that follow. According to Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation, Mc Donalds does not follow said mission statement. He argues how there is a danger with fast food, yet many people are blinded by the golden arches and unaware of its harmful effects. I for one agree with Eric Schlosser, based on the findings I discovered regarding their food, employees,
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser is a nonfiction book that examines the effects of fast food on society and this mind map attempts to illustrate the important details. This media mind map was created by hand with construction paper, paint, printed words, and actual packaging from various McDonald's products. The font of the words is simple as the novel raises serious issues that require a level of professionalism. The colours I chose are like the ones you find in a McDonald’s restaurant to engage the audience and make them feel as if fast food is really in front of them. The overall goal of the layout and colour scheme was to replicate what would be seen on a tray from a popular McDonalds combo with a burger, fries, and a drink.
Many feel that the fast food industry is providing a valuable service by catering to consumer needs; that it is inexpensive and easily accessible. For people who don't have time to prepare meals, for households in which both parents work, there's no question it provides a service. But what is the true cost of this convenience? In the book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser reveals that the cost is the lives of the people who work in the meat processing plants. Meat packing is now the most dangerous job in the United States.
Fast food restaurants exude bright colors, distribute meals with toys, and create a sense of happiness, but what truly goes on behind the scenes of this magical industry? In Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation and Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, the authors use similar rhetorical strategies to reveal the motives and unconventional practices of the food industry. Schlosser conveys his purpose through the utilization of pathos, ethos, anecdotes and imagery as compared to Sinclair who uses historical references and figurative language as well as imagery and pathos.
Eric Schlosser is one of the authors who describes the fast food phenomenon in his book Fast Food Nation. According to him, the biggest problem is the fast food industry that is increasing day by day. Fast food has affected not only the restaurants and the market, but also all the sectors of people's life, from the professional life to the personal one. This affirmation is sustained by Schlosser's statement: "Fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society. " ( Schlosser 3 ) The fast food industry has got into institutions and parts of the world that no one believed would be affected. Moreover, the power of fast food can be seen by taking a look at the American individual, who gives fast food different
The All-American meal takes more out of Americans to make then at first glance. Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation delves deep into the intricate workings of the fast food industry to expose mistreatment and cruelty towards workers in the business, just as Upton Sinclair had done in the early 1900’s regarding the meat packing industry. Schlosser is able to bring light to the darkness behind the All-American meal through extensive research and personal confrontations of which he has high regards for.
Explaining just about one quarter of the United States population eats fast food every day , he claims that fast food restaurants have “not only [changed] the American diet, but also our landscape, economy, work force and popular culture…and the consequences have become inescapable regardless ” how often you eat it ( Schlosser, 2004, p.3). According to DATAMONITOR a market research firm’s Fast Food Industry Profile,” [in] the United States fast food market grew by 0.2% in 2009 to reach a value of $71.4 billion. And, the compound annual growth rate of the market in the period 2005–09 was 3.7%” showing even years after the book was written, fast food continues to take a greater market share of consumer’s food dollars (“Fast Food Industry profile”,2010, pg. 12).
Fast food has turned into a genuine fundamental of our everyday life and made a religion of establishments that reaches out to the millions of Americans across the country. The Fast Food industry in a few eyes has been one of the sharpest developments this world has seen. It has been driven by our stomachs and our wallets for 40 to 50 years it's as yet developing to this date. The man who make-believe it can be known as the best representative, this nation has ever observed. The Fast Food Industry is big to the point that it has influenced our wellbeing, changed our way of life, and misshaped our territory as far back as the very first moment.
Fast Food Nation: The Darker Side of the All-American Meal is very interesting and stimulating. The author, Eric Schlosser, makes excellent points in all his chapters, for example in the epilogue he describes how we can make a difference and that is by not buying fast food and by going somewhere else to eat. Also is chapter ten, he explains how the fast food industry is like a circus. However, not every chapter is as critical for people to read as chapter one. Chapter one is the most important chapter because it describes how fast food originated (the founding fathers), the chapter shows how corrupt and back-stabbing the fast food industry has become, and how gullible Americans can be.
In the book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser talks about the working conditions of fast food meat slaughterhouses. In the chapter “The Most Dangerous Job,” one of the workers, who despised his job, gave Schlosser an opportunity to walk through a slaughterhouse. As the author was progressed backwards through the slaughterhouse, he noticed how all the workers were sitting very close to each other with steel protective vests and knives. The workers were mainly young Latina women, who worked swiftly, accurately, while trying not to fall behind. Eric Schlosser explains how working in the slaughterhouses is the most dangerous profession – these poor working conditions and horrible treatment of employees in the plants are beyond
Knowing what is in your fast food might make you think twice the next time you devour it. As the rise of the fast food nation in America has increased to an all-time high, so has the weight and waists of Americans all around the country. Not only has the United States grown to love the acquired taste of greasy golden fries and juicy burgers, it has also grown ignorant to the way their food is prepared. In the novel, “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal”(2002), by Eric Schlosser, he makes compelling points in his position against the fast food industry.
“Fast food is popular because it's convenient, it's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu.” – Eric Schlosser --
The story of the fast food industry and its effect on the world is well told in the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Schlosser makes the claim that, what started out as a special treat for the kids eventually ended up defining a way of life. During a brief period of time, the fast food industry has helped transform not only the American diet, but also our countryside, economy, workforce, and popular culture. The book thoroughly describes how important the two factors of money and power are in today's society. The book clearly establishes the broader thesis that as consumers, we should know what we eat even if it makes us uncomfortable by the knowledge.
He wants to show a personal account of the difficulties that everyday people endure trying to accommodate different aspects of a fast food meal possible to the consumer. By stressing this, Schlosser also shows the need for the sanitation of fast food to be dealt seriously. He directs these ideas towards the less informed of American society. Schlosser wants to reach out to those that wish to become more informed of the fast food aspect of America, and to Americans, fast food has become a normal aspect of life. Even Professer Pothukuchi, of Wayne State University agrees that “fast food is destroying us: individuals, communities, work and family life, and indeed, our very connections with the world” (Pothukuchi 1). This book is intending the audience to steer away from what seems harmless, because fast food seems innocuous, when in reality is the opposite.