Fast Food Nations by Eric Schlosser
Fast Food Nations by Eric Schlosser
Thesis Statement: The objective is to explore the way industrialized agriculture business has transformed from the earlier times to current day situation.
The author of the book Fast Food Nation is basically an investigative journalist. Being a journalist the author explored and carried out profound research in order to study the fast food industry. His research helped him to know about the final product that ends up on the restaurant table right from scratch i.e. in case of meat – from the farm to the final product. The author combined his three years of research with statistics and other primary research and presented the entire thing in the above mentioned book. The author presents the change in the way industrialized agri-business is done in todays business scenario.
The book is divided to two major and different parts. The first part of the book which is named as the “American Way” focuses on discussing the history of Americas Fast Food industry. This part also gives background information about the major fast foods of the country like McDonalds, Burger King Etc, including information about their founders. The remaining part of the first part of the book discusses how most of the once family owned and small businesses have become famous worldwide and how they have become part of ones daily lives especially, Americans.
The second part of the book discusses about the regulations that have been instituted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and also provides various reports and information about the working conditions at meatpacking plants and the slaughter houses. The fifth chapter of the book speaks about the making of French fries, one of the most favorite and ordered snack at a fast food and especially about a person named J.R. Simplot. The reasons for speaking about a specific individual is because, it was in his factory which was situated in Idaho that most of the frozen French fries are made and are shipped to most of the fast food restaurants all across the United States.
The author deeply delves into the aspects of the color and taste that all the fast food items have. HE also reveals many interesting, astonishing and rather unknown facts like the taste, smell and color of the foods not being natural and how these aspects for the food are created by using chemicals and different additives.
In the book, the author specifically speaks about the impact of fast food chains on the people of United States. The statistics presented by the author, approximately one-third of the adult population of the United States visits a fast food restaurant daily and on a weekly basis a typical American is said to be consuming three hamburgers and four French fry orders. The reason behind presenting the above statistics in this paper is to discuss the affects of consuming fast food