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The author talks about one farmer who refuses to use the tactics other big ranchers use to fatten up their cattle for the biggest profits at the consumers' expense. He writes, "None of the cattle used in Lasater Grasslands Beef spend any time at a feedlot. The meat is much lower in fat than grain-fed beef, and has a much stronger, most distinctive flavor" (Schlosser, 2002, p. 257). If Americans are really concerned about the quality of the food they eat, they need to seek out businesses like these and others that the author profiles, and support them instead of the fast food outlets that support the mega-huge agriculture and packing facilities that are so unsafe for workers and animals. If more people knew the background behind the food they eat, they probably would not eat it, and they would call for stricter regulations, which are also necessary for food and worker safety.
Many countries prohibit advertising directly geared to young children, and it is time for this country to limit these ads, as well. Marketing to toddlers creates customers for life, and the fast food giants know this. They want customers for life, no matter what it does to their waistline or bank account. It is time for the government to stop being swayed by industry lobbyists and to crack down on the industry and its business methods. That goes for employment practices and food quality, but it goes for advertising methods, as well. Schlosser sums it up. He says, "Congress should create a single food safety agency that has sufficient authority to protect the public health" (Schlosser, 2002, p. 264). Fast food advertising reels...
It is interesting that companies like McDonald's have huge operating manuals that detail every step of every preparation, yet they offer no guidelines for hiring or paying employees. They should adopt standards such as Starbucks has which reward employees with stock ownership, promote safe and healthy work environments, and support environmental efforts that make their coffee growers sustainable and eco-friendly. Starbucks is a huge chain and they can still turn a profit with their corporate responsibility, and the fast food chains could still make a massive profit if they became more consumer and eco-friendly. These companies are all about profits, but they should never put them before their customers and employees, and sadly, they do just that.
In conclusion, this book makes a number of valid and disturbing points. Americans eat hundreds of billions of dollars of fast food every year, and most of them have no idea what that is doing to their health and well-being. Fast food is convenient, cheap, and easy to eat on the run, which has made it extremely popular in today's lifestyle. However, it needs regulation, just like any other industry, because of the health and safety issues that surround it. The book shows that fast food rules the nation, and that some things need to change before it destroys it, too.
References
Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation: The dark side of the all-American meal. New York: Harper Perennial.
Therefore from the results of this study alone it would be quite easy to conclude that access to fast food is responsible for increased obesity. Other evidence may however dispute this conclusion though. A very recent study by Morland & Evenson found examined the relationship between the presence of different types of food establishments and a number of different diet-related health outcomes, including obesity, in the southern region of the
"While a handful of workers manage to rise up the corporate ladder, the vast majority lack full-time employment, receive no benefits, learn few skills" (Schlosser 6). The companies actually receive tax credits for hiring low-income workers although "in 1996 an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor concluded that 92% of these workers would have been hired by the companies anyway" (Schlosser 72). "While the real value of the wages
However, as bad as the conditions may be working inside the restaurants, conditions in the meat-processing plants that provide the animal products used by the industry are far worse. Workers safety laws are ignored, and disease is prevalent. Schlosser reports a heart-rending tale of a young boy who died from E.coli bacteria after eating a tainted Jack-in-the-Box burger. It is difficult to track the source of an infection because
Fast Food Nation" Chapter 3 "Behind the Counter" Process essay: The process of coaching children in youth sports In his chapter, "Behind the Counter," of his expose Fast Food Nation, the author Eric Schlosser highlights the darker side of working at a fast food restaurant. The labor is frequently young, often exploited, and regarded as a disposable commodity by the managers. In fact, it works to the company's advantage if there
Fast Food Nation Effects of technology on personal, national, and global levels in "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser Eric Schlosser, in his expose entitled, "Fast Food Nation: The dark side of the all- American meal," had revealed to the general public information about the fast food industry, practices and facts that illustrated how, with the advent of new technologies, negative effects abound that threatened the welfare of human society, who
Fast Food Nation The Ramifications of Technology on Health Care and Welfare of Animals and Meatpacking Workers in "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser In the book "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser, newfound information about the behind-the-scenes operations of fast food establishments such as the well-known McDonald's, had been discussed critically. In revealing the 'hidden operations' behind the production of merchandise associated with the fast food industry such as meat