Fast Food Nation was an instant success after being published in 2001 and became an international bestseller. The book was one of Schlosser’s later works in his career. He quickly became recognized for his muckraking ability when he began his career in journalism in 1995. All of his pieces have been about controversial topics such as marijuana use and nuclear weapons. His investigative journalism is eye opening to the reader and provokes action. A lot of what he writes about goes unnoticed and deserves the attention he gives it.
Schlosser begins the book by introducing the reader to a man by the name of Carl A. Archer, who is a fast food pioneer. He explains his rise to fortune from buying his first hotdog cart to becoming the owner of thousands of Carl Jr's around the US. This
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This potato plant later ends up sealing a deal with Mcdonald’s for providing frozen french fries for them to cut costs. All these restaurants have humble beginnings but end up becoming more and more ruthless as they grow. Growth is what changed the goals of these restaurants. They went from having quality in mind to quantity. The more restaurants they opened for their franchise the more resources it takes to make food for customers. At a certain point they need to cut costs in order to maximize profits so they turn to the food. Quality goes down but profits go up. Workers are also a big focus of fast food franchises Schlosser explains. They make sure to minimize worker training costs to a bare minimum. Pictures are put onto the appliances they use, 16 year olds are overworked, and immigrants that barely speak english are hired. As long as they speak “Mcdonald’s English” which is knowing the foods on the menu, they can work. Every little thing they can take advantage of is taken advantage of. Kids are a perfect example of this, fast food companies target them in order to get them to beg their
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.
Schlosser was able to partially satisfy the criteria that a nonfiction book should include relevant anecdotes that help the reader connect to the fast food industry that causes health risks for its workers. He started the book off with chapter one solely on the relationship of Ray Croc, the owner of McDonalds, and Walt Disney. However, he was unable to incorporate the importance of the relationship into his overall claim regarding the disregard of workers and consumers health by the fast food companies. After he finished with the overly drawn out anecdote, he began to provide relevant anecdotes from actual workers in different jobs associated with the business. First he started with Elisa, a sixteen year old McDonald’s employee that wakes up at 5:15 every morning and spends seven hours behind the counter on her feet, and when she gets home her feet hurt. (pg. 68) He uses Elisa’s anecdote wisely since his readers can easily connect with her story
The employment practices of the fast food chains also leave a lot to be desired. They are a great part of the reason that people need more than one job to survive. Because they have so many minimum wage jobs even managers only make about $10 to $15 an hour. That had become a norm in the US, where people don 't even make a livable wage.
1. Eric Schlosser chose the topic of fast food industry because he became quite inspired after reading an article about illegal immigrants in a strawberry field and how they a suffered in the process. The article was based on an investigation that was placed on the fields while they worked. It was also based on the immense impact that this industry had on society. Schlosser wanted to as said in his book “shed light” to the world on how successful hard working industry works. Also the way American industries portray and work in the diligent industry throughout the years . Since the fast food restaurants are known as one of the most active businesses which makes them a perfect example of what he was trying to convey.
The author displays the harsh actuality of the fast food industry through the use of ethos. Schlosser’s writing in Fast Food Nation is from a first person point of view for the most part due to the fact that the anecdotes and people that are mentioned throughout the book are people or stories the author has witnessed himself, heard from the source himself, or met himself. For instance, Kenny is a man that is introduced in Chapter 8. Kenny worked for a meatpacking company and met with Schlosser for an interview. Kenny, during the
The fast food industry both feeds and prays off the young. Pioneers in developing marketing strategies to target children, the fast-food chains have even infiltrated the nation's schools through lunchroom franchises and special advertising packages that answer public education's need for funds; in every way possible, giving the children a loyal friend to rely on. In many franchises, teenagers are perfect candidates for low-paying, low-skilled, short-term jobs and constitute a large part of the fast-food chains' workforce; and often practically run individual locations, having more responsibility than most adults.
Overall, the book has more strengths than it does weaknesses. Given the popularity of fast food by Americans and people across the world, this was information that needed to be spread to consumers everywhere. Schlosser does an incredible job of presenting the fast food industry from the grass roots up. But all of the problems that Schlosser identifies essentially bring up more questions than he can possibly answer in his book. The book proposes solutions to the evils of the industry but he doesn't really elaborate on the issues to make them understandable.
Schlosser also focuses about how the fast food chains market their products. "A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald. The only fictional character with a higher degree of recognition was Santa Claus. The impact of McDonald 's on the way we live today is hard to overstate. The Golden Arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian Cross" (P.4). By this quote you can see who fast food chains marketed towards. They did this because if children went they also
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.
One of the most shocking books of the generation is Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation. The novel includes two sections, "The American Way" and "Meat and Potatoes,” that aid him in describing the history and people who have helped shape up the basics of the “McWorld.” Fast Food Nation jumps into action at the beginning of the novel with a discussion of Carl N. Karcher and the McDonald’s brothers. He explores their roles as “Gods” of the fast-food industry. Schlosser then visits Colorado Springs and investigates the life and working conditions of the typical fast-food industry employee. Starting out the second section, Schlosser travels to the western side of Colorado to examine the effects presented to the agriculture world in the new
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.
Fast food has become a comfort food during struggling economic hardship can provide comfort and reduce stress, increase satisfaction feeling and security. With promotions items or dollar value meals, some families which eat at fast food restaurant can find it cheaper to eat their rather than going to local grocery store and purchase food for the family. Another reason fast foods restaurants have been part of comfort foods is because they have been around for over 50 years, so for generations families have been eating there and can recall found memories of family time together. Consumers don’t like change and fast food restaurants can provide that consistence deliver of goods. Fast Food Chains are easily chosen during times that restrict personal finances, because during those times families still seek to have a way to "escape" the chains that are tightening them towards debt. Fast foods is there are no tipping policies, many often have deals where children under 12 eat free on certain days, many offer coupons through out the week to help save even further.
Eric Schlosser’s novel Fast Food Nation provides a deep insight into the systematic and unified world of the fast food industry. From the title alone, readers develop a clear sense of the author’s intention for writing this book. Schlosser’s purpose for writing the novel is to raise awareness about the impact and consequences of fast food industries on society. The purpose of the novel is achieved by the author’s use of personal stories, and by relating fast food to various aspects of society.
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 New York Times bestseller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is one of the most riveting books to come out about fast food restaurants to date (Schlosser, 2004). Fast food consumption has become a way of life for many in the United States as well as many other countries in the world. The author Eric Schlosser an investigative reporter whose impeccable researching and bold interviewing captures the true essence of the immense impact that fast food restaurants are having in America (2004). Beginning with McDonald’s, the first fast food restaurant, which opened on April 15, 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois to current trends of making fast food a global realization McDonald’s has paved the way for many fast food