Schlosser begins Fast Food Nation by almost suggesting, through various entrances, fast food's centrality to our "culture": the anecdotal musings on Cheyenne mountain, the statistical supremacy of its consumption, and its relationship to marketing and advertising. It is a shame that Schlosser does not peruse this idea that fast food could have implications for America beyond the thing in itself, and its byproducts (exploitation, irreversible pollution, diabetes, E. coli, et cetera) which are equally products ("the real price never appears on the menu"). One of the main (noteworthy) criticisms I see of this text, looking through Amazon reviews, and the documentary of the same name, is that what's "revealed" to us is obvious. Schlosser talks in the afterward, for instance, about how he was surprised the Jainists (and vegetarians) were surprised (and "outraged") to learn there was beef in the french fries (at one point I think Schlosser even points out there's more beef in the fries than in the burger). Did they really think that was "100 percent vegetable oil" they were using back there? Well of course they sadly did. But, more precisely, if eating cow is eating one's mother, why would one support an institution that sells burgers if only to purchase innocent "french fries"? Yes, it is obvious, but here Schlosser makes the obvious unambiguous. From the moderately humble genesis of fast food to the rise of its viral spectacle, there is nothing redeeming about this system. Not the extortive labor, not the sketchy and tentative "abundance," and definitely not the cultural imperialism.
Fast Food Nation has brought a whole new perspective to my eyes on the fast food corporations. The familiarity of things played a big role in the beginning of the book, explaining how humans like familiar things, familiar places and that is what these places are. Even though the content of the food is thouroughly explained, the food is almost eliminated when it comes to the “idea” of a fast good corporation. “A fast food kitchen is merely the final stage in a vast and highly complex system of mass production” (Shclosser 7). It is made to be seen only for what it is, an evil, manipulating, teenage robbing business. The more I read the more cult-like these business seemed to become, it was as if they had strage motives hiding behind the happy face of Ronald McDonald the creepy clown coming to clog your arteries. There is a strange trade off for eating fast food: your health for cheap, easy, good tasting food. I appreciated the descriptions of the growth and change of the city through the yes of the fast food corporations because it was a new and honest perspective. The section that spoke about the job aspect of the business made me ask myself are jobs like this necessary? Could this be seen as something positive? They require no real talent and the directions are given in very simple English and Spanish. Is this is not what some people want? The teenagers that worked at places like McDonalds Schlosser says “They’ve got to crawl before they can walk” (Schlosser 72). But what I realized is that they are stuck crawling, how will people ever learn to walk by working at McDonalds?
I particularly like the accuracy of the assigned labels "Current Events / Sociology" on the back of the book. For me these two principles are subsequently the two most important aspects asserted into our Fast Food Nation - the history of our current system, and the men behind it. The specific cultural and industrial ideologies that were birthed in this fertile time of frontierism and aggressive progress towards monetary are what - to me - represent the poignancy of the book. The section "walt and ray" sheds light on the irrefutable facts of how this system came to be. The two men were surely different - Kroc: "charming, funny, and indefatigable traveling salesman who endured many years of disappointment" and Disney: "a strange duck", an introvert with immediate success. Yet both men institutionalized this system of technology replacing workers, authoritarian corporate dominance over labor, product, production, advertising, etc. I could go on all day merely listing, but I'd rather like to direct the inquiry towards my inferences of history vs. actuality. One could argue that the reason behind any system persisting that is not beneficial to the "beneficiary society" is due to a lack of education. Perhaps the mass of society is not knowledgeable of the imperialistic ideologies of the corporations, or the immense lack of nutrition that is consciously constituted as meals by those in charge. Surely we live in an age of connectivity and information that even McDonald's - which pioneered effective mass advertising - could not have foreseen. We have "Super Size-Me" being aired on public television, "Fast Food Nation" as a bestseller and collegiate material, franchises owned by McDonald's display calories on the overhead menu (now I get to stare my caloric content at Chipotle in the face), we witnessed the "Jared/Subway" war waged against fast food - we are at this moment more informed as a society to the ills of fast food and yet: "McDonald's enjoys sales feast Global results help send stock to 43-year high
Bloomberg News August 9, 2008
McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant company, reported July sales that rose more than analysts estimated after selling more dollar-menu items and expanding or promoting more heavily its menus in the U.S. and abroad.
Sales by European outlets open at least a year grew the fastest, at 7.6 percent, the Oak Brook-based company said Friday. U.S. sales advanced 6.7 percent, exceeding a median analyst projection of 4 percent.
The news boosted McDonald's shares, which rose to the highest in 43 years, up $3.81, or 6.2 percent, to $65.67. McDonald's reached its highest since the start of trading in 1965, according to company spokeswoman Heidi Barker. The price has risen fivefold from a low of $12.12 on March 12, 2003."
Sure, a lot of the company's recent success has come about due to increased revenue in the foreign chains and not entirely in it's homeland. And we also know that McDonald's has historically been able to beat the market by offering a perpetually cheap product that appeals to all - meaning: when times get tough for the majority... they spend more on fast food and stock rises. Yet this begs the undeniable question: In this global pandemic of market volatility like the world has never seen and a level of global connectivity reminiscent of the birth of the printing press - people still love McDonalds. No matter the turmoil or education, the system does not only persist, but strengthen. Are we all just blissfully ignorant sheep keeping the imperialistic ideologies perpetuating... or do we as a global society simply not care? Maybe not enough are aware of the realities of the industry, maybe there will never be a greater majority of "educated" vs. "ignorant", but I feel both distinctions ignore the human possibilities of will. The industry may ingrain at an early age - but it is impossible to force anyone's hand. To imply that because McDonald's so aggressively and purposefully went about their corporate tasks, that the consumer is merely a tragic victim to Kroc's insidious visions is to imply that the consumer is therefore ignorant and devoid of any cognition which could rise above persuasion - which I don't agree with. This rationale might make more sense in an era where information or histories are allowed to remain inaccessible. No matter how ingrained or systematized an ideology is, there is always human inquiry.
In his book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser writes about the power of fast food and other chain stores on American life and consumer patterns. Though at first read it seems unrelated to a lot of the following text, the first half of the introduction of this book, about Cheyenne Mountain, was amazing and probably my favorite part. The book brings to light some startling facts and figures about American consumer response to fast food and standardization as a whole. Schlosser speaks in great detail about food economy and the homogenizing power that corporations of food can have on the lifestyle of the people it affects. He also claims that whoever has power over the nations food supply has the power over the people, which I would not argue with. I think it is an obvious point, but one that you do not often realize. Schlosser argues that every aspect of American life is faceted or chained but this is one point that I fail to agree on. Though standardization has a large effect on culture I do not think that it has moved into every aspect of American life and that there are some places where it just can’t reach. For example, family cooked meals and meal-time are still very important to large communities in the US. What is more important to uncover his how those who do not participate in the fast food nation manage to live in an economy that is driven by it. Also what I felt the book discussed but did not answer is why Americans are driven to choose uniformity other than for the need of consumer reassurance, because everyone desires such, but what in American people makes them more susceptible to this type of culture.
Schlosser introduces his book Fast Food Nation by presenting how mass production funded by corporate industries have shaped modern day Americans. Corporations such as Disney and Mcdonalds began in mid-20th century to expand their markets through numerable merchandise and chain-store franchises. Both industries are linked economically and politically through their constant competing against each-other. While one deals with cartoons and films, the other is based on selling food. Schlosser demonstrates how both target the same audience, children, as their key consumers. Getting a child’s attention obligates his or her parents, grandparents, etc. to take notice of the product and therefore succeeds in advertising a specific product. Schlosser goes behind the advertisements and gives a history of the people who actually influenced and ran these industries, and their motives behind it. I think it is interesting that he mentions Disney’s way of making nuclear warfare ‘fun’ by making a film called “Our Friend the Atom”(39). Such are the things that infiltrate our national consciousness and determine the fate of the world.
Here we have an example of quality muckraking. The book makes some extraordinary claims - treat your uncooked meat at a biohazard! - but cites an impressive range of sources (most of which appear fairly legitimate) to back it up.
I found myself, typically, hanging the details of this story squarely upon my pre-existing conception of mature, unrestricted capitalism: mechanize labor-intensive processes and de-skill what labor is left, maximize efficiency, externalize all negative aspects of production, pre-fabricate where possible, employ artificial chemicals without concern or impunity, lobby for deregulation, utilize branding/disinformation campaigns, etc. All in the name of producing what Clay rightly identifies as "sketchy and tentative abundance". Schlosser's contribution supplies objective documentation for yet another facet of our preferred McMode of Production. Schlosser's rhetoric could apply to just about any mature, mechanized industry. It is the way it is simply because it's the cheapest, most efficient way we've thought of to do it. More importantly, it is the way it is because we continue to eat there.
Here's where I started becoming frustrated (not with the book, necessarily): So what to do about it? Schlosser points to the usual remedies: regulation, legislation, education - all of which seem appropriate and pragmatic enough. But the end of the book hit a shrill note for me: same problems, same solutions. His critique is universally applicable; his solutions have been offered elsewhere.
Seven years (including two on the NYT best-seller list), 2 editions, and a documentary film later ... here we are. We are indebted to Schlosser for giving us adequate ammunition ... but where's the gun?
Even though the evidence introduced in this book is unsurprising, I think Schlosser contributes to the existing criticism of the fast food industry (and corporate mass production in general) by taking a very reasonable and empathetic angle. Instead of depicting fast food pioneers as evil profiteers, he tells their stories, their backgrounds, how they achieved their success. It's understandable why, growing up with limited opportunity, they see their business as progress. Neither do we get the impression that fast food eating Americans are uncultured and lazy. Rather, we see the massive, practically unavoidable marketing strategies that cultivate the demand. His attention to children is particularly effective. While some may defensively argue the impermeability of their adult selves (unaffected physically by food or labor and mentally unaffected by advertising), the vulnerability of children is generally accepted. The idea of corporations seeking to create "cradle-to-grave" kid consumers, and lobbying to cheapen the worth of teenage labor, is easily disturbing. I think by targeting business practices and the culture of consumerism, and not simplifying it to one person or corporation, Schlosser diagnoses the problems represented in the fast food industry in a widely applicable and understandable way.
So far, nothing that Schlosser says comes as a surprise to me...which may be an indication that the problem is far worse than than I originally thought. It angers me that these corporations leave poor individuals with no other choice...I live well into Bushwick, not a far cry from East New York in what many have begun to refer to as a "food desert." It logically doesn't make sense to agree that fast food is terrible for the body (not to mention the environment, etc) yet claim that it is easy enough to just stay away, to eat fruits and veggies and bypass the golden arches. In places like this, if you aren't some hipster or student, you LIVE in the community...which means you work in the community and buy from the community. In this way, these companies exploit the very people that work for them. "Freedom of choice" is extremely subjective; while it is arguably not too hard to go into Manhattan to buy an organic pineapple, the working poor give up a lot in order to be able to make such a choice. Does this person have a child? One job, two, or even three?
I agree with Eric Schlosser that fast food is a part of our culture and because of that it should be analyzed. Fast food restaurants helped cities thrive. Business itself boomed. It is an important aspect to our culture, yet, it harms us just as much as it helps us. Our quality of life and health are depleted. Our children are exposed to advertisements fabricated just to catch their attention and exploit them. In order for our schools to get funding to stay open, they rely on fast food corporations to provide materials (all molded to mold the children in the way they see fit for business.) And to think, this is only half of the book and already so many issues have been revealed. But now that we see the problem, how can we fix it? These corporations have gained so much power over the years that we have become too dependent on them.
Being the daughter of a radical, ultra-leftist child psycologist has brought me, after nearly 20 years of life, a plethora of strange experiences when dealing with my peers. Growing up I often found myself in social situations with kids that had, let's say, a more traditional upbringing; they drank soda, ate fast food, went on vacation, and weren't strongly encouraged to volunteer at a Schizophrenia rehab center in Richmond, California. And while I love my mother precisely because of her unique and highly politically-mindful lifestyle, I think it is also the very reason why I still remember, to this day, my first McDonald's french fry. I was with my friend Kayla, at a mall, and it was awful (that is to say, the mall was awful AND the fry was awful). I remember the dissapointment I felt as my mouth watered for the crunch of a fried potato and instead received the overly soft collapse of an unrecognizable vegetable. The taste of chemicals. I couldn't believe what I was doing! After years of being taught the bloodsucking ways of corporations here I am eating McDonald's at an indoor mall! Immdiatly I saw the error of my ways, and silently begged my absent mother for forgiveness. But I know that not everyone can have mothers who feed them raw okra instead of Happy Meals, and so the majority of children (you know, the ones who watch t.v and such) are subjected to the horrid taste of greasy cardboard. But as Schlosser so importantly emphasizes, it is not the fault of the children but rather the corporations that orchestrate the fast-food industry. Sadly, big business has sought advertisement possibilities through televised commercials and neon signs for decades, so that's old news. What was tremendously shocking, disheartening, et cetra, is the corporate pressence that now looms the hallways of academic institutions everywhere. But, Pepsi does have a point. I mean, you really can't enjoy reading The Alchemist without also simultaneously drinking soda. If I had to have a glaring Dr.Pepper sign on the roof of my high school I would drop out. But then again, who would hire a teenager like me? Oh, right..
One of the most striking things about fast food culture has always been, to me, the intensive measures taken by corporations in the industry to convince the consumer that this corporation is his/her "trusted friend." The use of familiar faces, architecture, color schemes, etc, have all contributed to America's vision of fast food corporations as friends and allies, leading some particularly faithful consumers to even nickname them as if they were an older sibling: "Mickey D's," "Dunkin," "Friday's," "BK." Reading Schlosser's account of the measures taken by these corporations has increased my anger tenfold; I can only imagine the sense of betrayal that a loyal McDonald's customer might experience after this book. The fast food industry has betrayed and commodified basic human interests and instincts: McDonald's golden arches are likened by Louis Cheskin to a "pair of large . . . mother McDonald's breasts" (98). Though this symbolism may seem a little far-fetched, the fact that it possibly exists in the human subconscious was enough for McDonald's executives to keep the golden arches logo. I found a similar appearance of basic cultural symbolism in Peter Lowe's capitalist prayer on p106, remodeling the "Christ who went among the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, among lepers and prostitutes" into a celebrity of free enterprise, a defender of the capitalist regime. This repainting of Jesus' image travels down the classes from the top (folk like Peter Lowe and the other speakers at the "Success" convention), reinforcing the notion that cutthroat, exploitative capitalist enterprises (like the fast food industry) are the consumer's friend. In fact, in this instance, the industry is God.
Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation surprised me. He doesn’t surprise me in his explanation of people’s comfort in familiarity or the growth of these corporations and the assembly, factory like conditions in fast food restaurants. The Shocker for me was the details and insight into the evolution of food production and the façade that has evolved and represented these corporations over the years. These masks that covers McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr. are so elaborate and perfect, they really have everyone fooled. People actually believe that what they are eating is in some way shape of form “real” food. They are so familiar now and inviting, and convenient, that people are somehow drawn to these fast food havens. I also agree with Cordellia in her statement about how these corporations exploit the poor communities who depend on these corporations for not only food but also work. Clearly, these corporate head have not a humane bone in their bodies.
“Fast Food Nation” explores the many bizarre aspects of the modern American food economy that is dominated by giant corporations. In this sarcastic and disturbing book, Schlosser discusses the way in which “a nations diet can be more revealing than it’s art or literature”—today, for example, Americans spend around 110 billion dollars on fast food, more than they do on “higher education, personal computers, computer software… new cars…movies, books…newspapers” etc. (2). Perhaps more revealing, however, is the way in which fast food represents our financial system, social structure, and world-relations. He investigates the economic influence fast food has had on this nation, from it’s initial availability to middle and lower classes to the influence of early feminism, beginning in 1973, when women entered the workforce. In this way fast food echoes the drastic cultural changes our nation has undergone over the past few decades and symbolizes of the modern American lifestyle. His discussion of Colorado Springs as an “exemplar of low density sprawl” in chapter 3 especially interested me. A rapidly evolving metropolis, Colorado Springs and its expansive land containing “thousands upon thousands of nearly identical houses…covering the prairie without the slightest respect for its natural form” can be seen as the architectural equivalent of fast food, as well as a region riddled with chains littering long highways—eerily identical to that of hundreds of other towns and cities in this country. According to Schlosser, this resemblance is hardly coincidental, and even more striking is the perfected art of restaurant selection that mass cooperation’s utilize in flourishing new areas. Particularly amazing/creepy to me was McDonald’s relatively new computer software program, “Quintillion”, which literally spies on customers (reminiscent of high-tech government tools employed during war) through satellite imagery, demographic information, CAD drawings, and sales information in order to locate prime locations for marketing, as well as “site-testing” new restaurant technology and software.
In Fast Food Nation the author discusses the processes involved in creating fast food as well as the advertising techniques used to convince often young kids to start consuming the somewhat addictive but unhealthy food. Fast food was started to satisfy the need for quickly made foods that people could eat while traveling by car. Early hamburger "joints' like MacDonald's standardized their food preparation so people would become familar with the restaurant's signature food offerings and would feel comfortable going back. Fast food restaurants appealed to kids in order to "hook them" early. These kids would grow up to become adults who would continue eating at the reastaurant. Large fast food corporations have been expanding rapidly since their birth and displacing Mom and Pop restaurants all around the world. Consumption of their food tends to increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.
17 comments:
Schlosser begins Fast Food Nation by almost suggesting, through various entrances, fast food's centrality to our "culture": the anecdotal musings on Cheyenne mountain, the statistical supremacy of its consumption, and its relationship to marketing and advertising. It is a shame that Schlosser does not peruse this idea that fast food could have implications for America beyond the thing in itself, and its byproducts (exploitation, irreversible pollution, diabetes, E. coli, et cetera) which are equally products ("the real price never appears on the menu"). One of the main (noteworthy) criticisms I see of this text, looking through Amazon reviews, and the documentary of the same name, is that what's "revealed" to us is obvious. Schlosser talks in the afterward, for instance, about how he was surprised the Jainists (and vegetarians) were surprised (and "outraged") to learn there was beef in the french fries (at one point I think Schlosser even points out there's more beef in the fries than in the burger). Did they really think that was "100 percent vegetable oil" they were using back there? Well of course they sadly did. But, more precisely, if eating cow is eating one's mother, why would one support an institution that sells burgers if only to purchase innocent "french fries"? Yes, it is obvious, but here Schlosser makes the obvious unambiguous. From the moderately humble genesis of fast food to the rise of its viral spectacle, there is nothing redeeming about this system. Not the extortive labor, not the sketchy and tentative "abundance," and definitely not the cultural imperialism.
Fast Food Nation has brought a whole new perspective to my eyes on the fast food corporations. The familiarity of things played a big role in the beginning of the book, explaining how humans like familiar things, familiar places and that is what these places are. Even though the content of the food is thouroughly explained, the food is almost eliminated when it comes to the “idea” of a fast good corporation. “A fast food kitchen is merely the final stage in a vast and highly complex system of mass production” (Shclosser 7). It is made to be seen only for what it is, an evil, manipulating, teenage robbing business. The more I read the more cult-like these business seemed to become, it was as if they had strage motives hiding behind the happy face of Ronald McDonald the creepy clown coming to clog your arteries. There is a strange trade off for eating fast food: your health for cheap, easy, good tasting food. I appreciated the descriptions of the growth and change of the city through the yes of the fast food corporations because it was a new and honest perspective. The section that spoke about the job aspect of the business made me ask myself are jobs like this necessary? Could this be seen as something positive? They require no real talent and the directions are given in very simple English and Spanish. Is this is not what some people want? The teenagers that worked at places like McDonalds Schlosser says “They’ve got to crawl before they can walk” (Schlosser 72). But what I realized is that they are stuck crawling, how will people ever learn to walk by working at McDonalds?
I particularly like the accuracy of the assigned labels "Current Events / Sociology" on the back of the book. For me these two principles are subsequently the two most important aspects asserted into our Fast Food Nation - the history of our current system, and the men behind it. The specific cultural and industrial ideologies that were birthed in this fertile time of frontierism and aggressive progress towards monetary are what - to me - represent the poignancy of the book. The section "walt and ray" sheds light on the irrefutable facts of how this system came to be. The two men were surely different - Kroc: "charming, funny, and indefatigable traveling salesman who endured many years of disappointment" and Disney: "a strange duck", an introvert with immediate success. Yet both men institutionalized this system of technology replacing workers, authoritarian corporate dominance over labor, product, production, advertising, etc. I could go on all day merely listing, but I'd rather like to direct the inquiry towards my inferences of history vs. actuality. One could argue that the reason behind any system persisting that is not beneficial to the "beneficiary society" is due to a lack of education. Perhaps the mass of society is not knowledgeable of the imperialistic ideologies of the corporations, or the immense lack of nutrition that is consciously constituted as meals by those in charge. Surely we live in an age of connectivity and information that even McDonald's - which pioneered effective mass advertising - could not have foreseen. We have "Super Size-Me" being aired on public television, "Fast Food Nation" as a bestseller and collegiate material, franchises owned by McDonald's display calories on the overhead menu (now I get to stare my caloric content at Chipotle in the face), we witnessed the "Jared/Subway" war waged against fast food - we are at this moment more informed as a society to the ills of fast food and yet: "McDonald's enjoys sales feast
Global results help send stock to 43-year high
Bloomberg News
August 9, 2008
McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant company, reported July sales that rose more than analysts estimated after selling more dollar-menu items and expanding or promoting more heavily its menus in the U.S. and abroad.
Sales by European outlets open at least a year grew the fastest, at 7.6 percent, the Oak Brook-based company said Friday. U.S. sales advanced 6.7 percent, exceeding a median analyst projection of 4 percent.
The news boosted McDonald's shares, which rose to the highest in 43 years, up $3.81, or 6.2 percent, to $65.67. McDonald's reached its highest since the start of trading in 1965, according to company spokeswoman Heidi Barker. The price has risen fivefold from a low of $12.12 on March 12, 2003."
Sure, a lot of the company's recent success has come about due to increased revenue in the foreign chains and not entirely in it's homeland. And we also know that McDonald's has historically been able to beat the market by offering a perpetually cheap product that appeals to all - meaning: when times get tough for the majority... they spend more on fast food and stock rises. Yet this begs the undeniable question: In this global pandemic of market volatility like the world has never seen and a level of global connectivity reminiscent of the birth of the printing press - people still love McDonalds. No matter the turmoil or education, the system does not only persist, but strengthen. Are we all just blissfully ignorant sheep keeping the imperialistic ideologies perpetuating... or do we as a global society simply not care? Maybe not enough are aware of the realities of the industry, maybe there will never be a greater majority of "educated" vs. "ignorant", but I feel both distinctions ignore the human possibilities of will. The industry may ingrain at an early age - but it is impossible to force anyone's hand. To imply that because McDonald's so aggressively and purposefully went about their corporate tasks, that the consumer is merely a tragic victim to Kroc's insidious visions is to imply that the consumer is therefore ignorant and devoid of any cognition which could rise above persuasion - which I don't agree with. This rationale might make more sense in an era where information or histories are allowed to remain inaccessible. No matter how ingrained or systematized an ideology is, there is always human inquiry.
Didn't realize my first post was so long, my apologies to all.
In his book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser writes about the power of fast food and other chain stores on American life and consumer patterns. Though at first read it seems unrelated to a lot of the following text, the first half of the introduction of this book, about Cheyenne Mountain, was amazing and probably my favorite part. The book brings to light some startling facts and figures about American consumer response to fast food and standardization as a whole. Schlosser speaks in great detail about food economy and the homogenizing power that corporations of food can have on the lifestyle of the people it affects. He also claims that whoever has power over the nations food supply has the power over the people, which I would not argue with. I think it is an obvious point, but one that you do not often realize. Schlosser argues that every aspect of American life is faceted or chained but this is one point that I fail to agree on. Though standardization has a large effect on culture I do not think that it has moved into every aspect of American life and that there are some places where it just can’t reach. For example, family cooked meals and meal-time are still very important to large communities in the US. What is more important to uncover his how those who do not participate in the fast food nation manage to live in an economy that is driven by it. Also what I felt the book discussed but did not answer is why Americans are driven to choose uniformity other than for the need of consumer reassurance, because everyone desires such, but what in American people makes them more susceptible to this type of culture.
Schlosser introduces his book Fast Food Nation by presenting how mass production funded by corporate industries have shaped modern day Americans. Corporations such as Disney and Mcdonalds began in mid-20th century to expand their markets through numerable merchandise and chain-store franchises. Both industries are linked economically and politically through their constant competing against each-other. While one deals with cartoons and films, the other is based on selling food. Schlosser demonstrates how both target the same audience, children, as their key consumers. Getting a child’s attention obligates his or her parents, grandparents, etc. to take notice of the product and therefore succeeds in advertising a specific product. Schlosser goes behind the advertisements and gives a history of the people who actually influenced and ran these industries, and their motives behind it. I think it is interesting that he mentions Disney’s way of making nuclear warfare ‘fun’ by making a film called “Our Friend the Atom”(39). Such are the things that infiltrate our national consciousness and determine the fate of the world.
Here we have an example of quality muckraking. The book makes some extraordinary claims - treat your uncooked meat at a biohazard! - but cites an impressive range of sources (most of which appear fairly legitimate) to back it up.
I found myself, typically, hanging the details of this story squarely upon my pre-existing conception of mature, unrestricted capitalism: mechanize labor-intensive processes and de-skill what labor is left, maximize efficiency, externalize all negative aspects of production, pre-fabricate where possible, employ artificial chemicals without concern or impunity, lobby for deregulation, utilize branding/disinformation campaigns, etc. All in the name of producing what Clay rightly identifies as "sketchy and tentative abundance". Schlosser's contribution supplies objective documentation for yet another facet of our preferred McMode of Production. Schlosser's rhetoric could apply to just about any mature, mechanized industry. It is the way it is simply because it's the cheapest, most efficient way we've thought of to do it. More importantly, it is the way it is because we continue to eat there.
Here's where I started becoming frustrated (not with the book, necessarily): So what to do about it? Schlosser points to the usual remedies: regulation, legislation, education - all of which seem appropriate and pragmatic enough. But the end of the book hit a shrill note for me: same problems, same solutions. His critique is universally applicable; his solutions have been offered elsewhere.
Seven years (including two on the NYT best-seller list), 2 editions, and a documentary film later ... here we are. We are indebted to Schlosser for giving us adequate ammunition ... but where's the gun?
Even though the evidence introduced in this book is unsurprising, I think Schlosser contributes to the existing criticism of the fast food industry (and corporate mass production in general) by taking a very reasonable and empathetic angle. Instead of depicting fast food pioneers as evil profiteers, he tells their stories, their backgrounds, how they achieved their success. It's understandable why, growing up with limited opportunity, they see their business as progress. Neither do we get the impression that fast food eating Americans are uncultured and lazy. Rather, we see the massive, practically unavoidable marketing strategies that cultivate the demand. His attention to children is particularly effective. While some may defensively argue the impermeability of their adult selves (unaffected physically by food or labor and mentally unaffected by advertising), the vulnerability of children is generally accepted. The idea of corporations seeking to create "cradle-to-grave" kid consumers, and lobbying to cheapen the worth of teenage labor, is easily disturbing. I think by targeting business practices and the culture of consumerism, and not simplifying it to one person or corporation, Schlosser diagnoses the problems represented in the fast food industry in a widely applicable and understandable way.
So far, nothing that Schlosser says comes as a surprise to me...which may be an indication that the problem is far worse than than I originally thought. It angers me that these corporations leave poor individuals with no other choice...I live well into Bushwick, not a far cry from East New York in what many have begun to refer to as a "food desert." It logically doesn't make sense to agree that fast food is terrible for the body (not to mention the environment, etc) yet claim that it is easy enough to just stay away, to eat fruits and veggies and bypass the golden arches. In places like this, if you aren't some hipster or student, you LIVE in the community...which means you work in the community and buy from the community. In this way, these companies exploit the very people that work for them. "Freedom of choice" is extremely subjective; while it is arguably not too hard to go into Manhattan to buy an organic pineapple, the working poor give up a lot in order to be able to make such a choice. Does this person have a child? One job, two, or even three?
Michael Pollan's open letter to the next President!
I agree with Eric Schlosser that fast food is a part of our culture and because of that it should be analyzed. Fast food restaurants helped cities thrive. Business itself boomed. It is an important aspect to our culture, yet, it harms us just as much as it helps us. Our quality of life and health are depleted. Our children are exposed to advertisements fabricated just to catch their attention and exploit them. In order for our schools to get funding to stay open, they rely on fast food corporations to provide materials (all molded to mold the children in the way they see fit for business.) And to think, this is only half of the book and already so many issues have been revealed. But now that we see the problem, how can we fix it? These corporations have gained so much power over the years that we have become too dependent on them.
-Jacqueline Gallerson
Being the daughter of a radical, ultra-leftist child psycologist has brought me, after nearly 20 years of life, a plethora of strange experiences when dealing with my peers. Growing up I often found myself in social situations with kids that had, let's say, a more traditional upbringing; they drank soda, ate fast food, went on vacation, and weren't strongly encouraged to volunteer at a Schizophrenia rehab center in Richmond, California. And while I love my mother precisely because of her unique and highly politically-mindful lifestyle, I think it is also the very reason why I still remember, to this day, my first McDonald's french fry. I was with my friend Kayla, at a mall, and it was awful (that is to say, the mall was awful AND the fry was awful). I remember the dissapointment I felt as my mouth watered for the crunch of a fried potato and instead received the overly soft collapse of an unrecognizable vegetable. The taste of chemicals. I couldn't believe what I was doing! After years of being taught the bloodsucking ways of corporations here I am eating McDonald's at an indoor mall! Immdiatly I saw the error of my ways, and silently begged my absent mother for forgiveness. But I know that not everyone can have mothers who feed them raw okra instead of Happy Meals, and so the majority of children (you know, the ones who watch t.v and such) are subjected to the horrid taste of greasy cardboard. But as Schlosser so importantly emphasizes, it is not the fault of the children but rather the corporations that orchestrate the fast-food industry. Sadly, big business has sought advertisement possibilities through televised commercials and neon signs for decades, so that's old news. What was tremendously shocking, disheartening, et cetra, is the corporate pressence that now looms the hallways of academic institutions everywhere. But, Pepsi does have a point. I mean, you really can't enjoy reading The Alchemist without also simultaneously drinking soda. If I had to have a glaring Dr.Pepper sign on the roof of my high school I would drop out. But then again, who would hire a teenager like me? Oh, right..
One of the most striking things about fast food culture has always been, to me, the intensive measures taken by corporations in the industry to convince the consumer that this corporation is his/her "trusted friend." The use of familiar faces, architecture, color schemes, etc, have all contributed to America's vision of fast food corporations as friends and allies, leading some particularly faithful consumers to even nickname them as if they were an older sibling: "Mickey D's," "Dunkin," "Friday's," "BK." Reading Schlosser's account of the measures taken by these corporations has increased my anger tenfold; I can only imagine the sense of betrayal that a loyal McDonald's customer might experience after this book. The fast food industry has betrayed and commodified basic human interests and instincts: McDonald's golden arches are likened by Louis Cheskin to a "pair of large . . . mother McDonald's breasts" (98). Though this symbolism may seem a little far-fetched, the fact that it possibly exists in the human subconscious was enough for McDonald's executives to keep the golden arches logo. I found a similar appearance of basic cultural symbolism in Peter Lowe's capitalist prayer on p106, remodeling the "Christ who went among the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, among lepers and prostitutes" into a celebrity of free enterprise, a defender of the capitalist regime. This repainting of Jesus' image travels down the classes from the top (folk like Peter Lowe and the other speakers at the "Success" convention), reinforcing the notion that cutthroat, exploitative capitalist enterprises (like the fast food industry) are the consumer's friend. In fact, in this instance, the industry is God.
Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation surprised me. He doesn’t surprise me in his explanation of people’s comfort in familiarity or the growth of these corporations and the assembly, factory like conditions in fast food restaurants. The Shocker for me was the details and insight into the evolution of food production and the façade that has evolved and represented these corporations over the years. These masks that covers McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr. are so elaborate and perfect, they really have everyone fooled. People actually believe that what they are eating is in some way shape of form “real” food. They are so familiar now and inviting, and convenient, that people are somehow drawn to these fast food havens. I also agree with Cordellia in her statement about how these corporations exploit the poor communities who depend on these corporations for not only food but also work. Clearly, these corporate head have not a humane bone in their bodies.
“Fast Food Nation” explores the many bizarre aspects of the modern American food economy that is dominated by giant corporations. In this sarcastic and disturbing book, Schlosser discusses the way in which “a nations diet can be more revealing than it’s art or literature”—today, for example, Americans spend around 110 billion dollars on fast food, more than they do on “higher education, personal computers, computer software… new cars…movies, books…newspapers” etc. (2). Perhaps more revealing, however, is the way in which fast food represents our financial system, social structure, and world-relations. He investigates the economic influence fast food has had on this nation, from it’s initial availability to middle and lower classes to the influence of early feminism, beginning in 1973, when women entered the workforce. In this way fast food echoes the drastic cultural changes our nation has undergone over the past few decades and symbolizes of the modern American lifestyle. His discussion of Colorado Springs as an “exemplar of low density sprawl” in chapter 3 especially interested me. A rapidly evolving metropolis, Colorado Springs and its expansive land containing “thousands upon thousands of nearly identical houses…covering the prairie without the slightest respect for its natural form” can be seen as the architectural equivalent of fast food, as well as a region riddled with chains littering long highways—eerily identical to that of hundreds of other towns and cities in this country. According to Schlosser, this resemblance is hardly coincidental, and even more striking is the perfected art of restaurant selection that mass cooperation’s utilize in flourishing new areas. Particularly amazing/creepy to me was McDonald’s relatively new computer software program, “Quintillion”, which literally spies on customers (reminiscent of high-tech government tools employed during war) through satellite imagery, demographic information, CAD drawings, and sales information in order to locate prime locations for marketing, as well as “site-testing” new restaurant technology and software.
In Fast Food Nation the author discusses the processes involved in creating fast food as well as the advertising techniques used to convince often young kids to start consuming the somewhat addictive but unhealthy food. Fast food was started to satisfy the need for quickly made foods that people could eat while traveling by car. Early hamburger "joints' like MacDonald's standardized their food preparation so people would become familar with the restaurant's signature food offerings and would feel comfortable going back. Fast food restaurants appealed to kids in order to "hook them" early. These kids would grow up to become adults who would continue eating at the reastaurant. Large fast food corporations have been expanding rapidly since their birth and displacing Mom and Pop restaurants all around the world. Consumption of their food tends to increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.
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