Fast Food Nation

Book Review

Introduction

Given my distaste for very fast nourishment and the general information of its detrimental result on the American diet, I didn't anticipate to find any revelations in Fast Food Nation. But reporter Eric Schlosser's methodically studied and well-written search into the commerce that has changed American roadsides, consuming patterns, and agriculture was really an eye-opener.

Fast Food Nation finds the annals of the very fast nourishment commerce from unassuming hotdog stands to the umpteen billion burgers traded as America disperse its gospel of quick-and-easy (and greasy) cuisine round the globe. Yet Fast Food Nation is far more than a lament for dwelling preparing nourishment and mom-and-pop diners. It is a grave part of investigative journalism into a commerce that has assisted focus business ownership of American agribusiness, while engaging in work practices that are often shameful.

Overview

The McDonald's, Burger Kings, and Wendy's of the world have their origins in the car-centric heritage of California of the late 1940s and 1950s, a heritage that disperse as the interstate main street scheme was prepared and suburbs sprawled nationwide. Shrewd entrepreneurs like Carl Karchner and Ray Kroc amplified their drive-in bistros to accommodate Americans' expanding mobility and yearn for familiarity.

To encourage mass output and earnings, the commerce should hold work and material charges low. Teenagers and latest immigrants make up much of the very fast nourishment workforce, often under threatening and poor conditions. Turnover is gigantic, and the businesses earnings from it: Short-term employees accrue couple of advantages and are less probable to organize. Schlosser explains how McDonald's and its ilk have battled contrary to unions, occasionally concluding shops to avert employees from unionizing.

Then there's the food. Three businesses augment and method about 80 per hundred of all French fries now assisted by very fast nourishment chains. "The multinational nourishment companies," ...