Fast Food Nation: Chapter 9
This chapter is arguably one of the most disturbing in the book. It focuses on the massive amounts of disease that contaminates the meat produced in American factory farms. Schlosser bombards the reader with frightening statistics, like how 30% of beef samples were contaminated with Salmonella, and horrific descriptions of the symptoms that severe food poisoning can cause. It really draws attention to the ultimate cost of the "quantity over quality" mindset that pervades the entire business world in America, particularly when that mindset applies to food. How that cost affects everyone in the country, young children, hard-working men and women, senior citizens - everyone.
Fast Food Nation: Chapter 8
This chapter talks about the people who work in the actual meat processing plants - calling it "The most dangerous job". The workers, almost all young immigrants, have to wear chain mail for protection against knives and machinery, but still they suffer constant injuries. Schlosser talked to one man, Kenny Dobbins, who was sent home for chest pains that were written off as a pulled muscle but actually turned out to be a massive heart attack. The man was fired while he recovered, despite having worked there for nearly 16 years, replaced by someone the company could actually utilize. The people running these plants have no care for the workers, only for the speed and the volume of production.
Fast Food Nation: Chapter 3
This chapter is all about the regulation and ultimately dehumanization that the fast food industry has created. It has spread into other areas of American life, too - most notably the housing - but nowhere else does it seem to be doing so much harm. Corporations are conspiring to figure out more and more ways to get out of training their workers, making every employee cheap and replaceable. They can treat their workers as horribly as they please, and not worry about them acting up - they can just fire the worker who objected and hire a new one who doesn't know any better. What these chains are doing is a kin to brainwashing, and it is doing absolutely nothing to better the lives of people. Someone can work at a McDonald's with minimal ability to operate machinery, almost complete illiteracy, no ability to cook, and hardly any way left to think for themselves. It's wrong, but it is also unfortunately becoming more and more of a common practice, with millions getting roped into the vicious downward spiral created by the need to do everything faster and cheaper.
Fast Food Nation: Chapter 4
Chapter four talks mostly about the idea of "franchising" - the up- and down-sides, and the huge success it has had in the fast food industry. The concept of franchising combines the security of big business with the allure of small business, allowing franchisees to start their own "business" with a head start from the corporation. There's a dark side to the system, though, just as with any other business. Franchisees are being lured into heavy, long-winded contracts, and saddled with the financial burden of "experimental" locations. It's hard to say whether the benefits outweigh the downfalls, but one thing is for certain: franchising isn't going to go away any time soon.
Fast Food Nation: Chapter 2
The latter half of chapter two primarily addresses the growing trend of marketing to children. There were definitely parts that freaked me out - it brought up Tiny Beanie Babies at McDonald's, something I remember. They were introduced in 1997, which would have made me 3 years old. To this point, my earliest memory has been at the age of four - which meant that McDonald's and their advertising techniques have gotten deeper into my psyche than actual events in my life. There was also a great deal about advertising in schools, something that could definitely become more of a reality as education faces more and more budget cuts. The way that fast food has been able to get into young minds is scary, and it is definitely having a negative effect on the health of our generation.
Fast Food Nation through page 42
The first two chapters of Schlosser's book discuss the humble beginnings of the fast food corporations that have taken over and shaped our culture. He talks about normal people from tough backgrounds who went on to start these fast food giants: Carl Karcher (Carl's Jr.), Glen W. Bell (Taco Bell), Keith G. Cramer (Burger King), Dave Thomas (Wendy's), and Thomas S. Monaghan (Domino's). These backgrounds seem to reflect everything that is the "American dream", coming from nothing and making a name for yourself. It goes along with the view of the fast food industry as "All-American" companies, a view that has made us dangerously blind to the negative effects it's having on our culture now.
Post 1: An introduction to a darker world.
The introduction to 'Crude World' (CW) and 'Fast Food Nation' (FFN) seemed emotionally confusing. In FFN, Schlosser appeared that, though he still enjoyed fast food and recoginzed it as a very American part of American culture, it has turned what was once a healthy (both economically and in human health) nation into obese entrepreneurs that kill family owned businesses. Maass' view about oil was emotionally confusing because his interest in oil's affect on society both socially and economically stems from his experiences living in the middle of the Iraqi war. Maass seems both immersed in the struggle for oil as we looks at it from an outsider's view. I mean this in that he isn't sure what to make of the struggle himself. He sees the good it brings to the economies but also the hardships. I question Schosser's statistics that he brings in the begining of his introduction. One in particular, which is quoted on the book's cover, "This year, Americans will spend more money on fast food than on higher education". I automatically question this statement's validity. Americans of all ages (save for perhaps those 0- and 1-year-olds running around) can eat fast food, but not all Americans can go to college. The Americans who do go to college rarely ever have 20,000 dollars to spend up front for tuition. Scholarships and grants pay for some, but mostly student loans are taken out and payed off in the future in monthly intervals. The point is, everyone eats but not everyone goes to school. Maass I do not have as much of a problem with yet, however his introduction was not as long and more tied emotionally and through his personal mermoirs than statistics.
I am eager to read the chapters to come and learn more about what they learn and watch their emotions and opinions of the subject mater change. To my readers, welcome to a globe of crude foods.
No comments:
Post a Comment