The book didnt feel like an uberlong journal article. Fast food nation is an informational book that lets readers in on the actual food process. Sinclairs work, as schlosser notes in his book, went on to spur theodore roosevelt and the congress to enact regulation in support of hygienic meatpacking practices. The dark side of the allamerican meal, is a thoughtprovoking, researchbased account of the rise of the fast food industry and the resulting consequences of the drive for lowcost, rapidly prepared meals. What criticism does crossen make of the book fast food.
Fast food nation offers some bitter truths about america. In the afterword, schlosser talks about mad cow disease a disease that schlosser failed to mention upon the initial release of fast food nation. Fast food nation doesnt take easy shots at the fast food and beef industry, it shows the whole story, shifting back and forth betweeen intimate details of real people a meat packing plant worker, a franchise owner, several cattle ranchers, and. Include any vocabulary terms you needed to look up and define. Every day in the united states, 200, 000 people are sickened by a.
Its not only a critique of fast food, the chemicals we are ingesting and the health problems we are facing, it is also critical of a system that allows exploitation of young, old and immigrant workers, and of the suburban sprawl. This book represents an ambitious undertaking, an attempt to assess the role that fast food restaurants play in the. The health risks of unhealthy eating habits in fast food nation, a film by richard linklater. Fast food nation study guide from litcharts the creators. The movie presents these same issues in the context of a story. The dark side of the allamerican meal from the worlds largest community of readers. Given my distaste for fast food and the general knowledge of its detrimental. He vows to trace the impact of fast food companies both backward and forward in the food chainfrom the farmers who raise steer and grow potatoes, to the agribusinesses that process the food, to the restaurants like mcdonalds that sell it, to the consumers who eat it. Based on the text you are reading, answer the following questions in complete sentences in a reading journal. Colorados front range, or a group of cities including denver, colorado.
At the very least, schlosser makes it hard to go on eating fast food in blissful ignorance. People tend to think brightly colored food tastes better than blandlooking foodeven if. The dark side of the allamerican meal is a 2001 book written by investigative journalist eric schlosser that examines the local and global influence of. It is, by and large, a sordid, ugly tale, leaving a nasty aftertaste. Behind the counter critical reading questions directions. The dark side of the allamerican meal by eric schlosser is not just a book about food, but also a wideranging critique of american society. During my research for the book, i ate an enormous amount of fast food. The author does not interview anyone who is a fan of fast food. Fattening up a controversial article published in rolling stone in 1999, schlosser considers all the ways in which fast food has lessened the quality of life in america.
The book inspires readers to look beneath the surface of our food system, consider its impact on society and, most of all, think for themselves. Learn fast food nation with free interactive flashcards. Investigative journalist eric schlosser exposes how the fast food industry has altered america and inspires readers to consider what they are. Manmade flavor additives were used mostly in baked goods, candies, and sodas until the 1950s when the demand soared for processed foods. Choose from 500 different sets of fast food nation flashcards on quizlet. Mcdonalds was still hesitant to improve their working conditions and critics worldwide criticized schlossers claims. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in fast food nation, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Schlossers expose has since been expanded to a book and then a movie, and still international love affair with fast food continues.
But in a larger sense, what fast food nation criticizes is the very freemarket enthusiasm that has made heroes of the burger fans gates and buffett, the latter of whom has famously been a major mcdonalds shareholder. Fast food nation is the kind of book that you hope young people read because it demonstrates far better than any social studies class the need for government regulation, the unchecked power of multinational corporations and the importance of our everyday decisions. Fast food nation is a 2006 comedydrama film directed by richard linklater and written by linklater and eric schlosser. However, fast food nation is a forthright piece of social criticism and deserves to be criticized from that point of view.
Fast food nation traces the history of the fast food industry from modest. He visited fast food restaurants, he visited meatpacking plants, and. Fast food nation is a fascinating and very readable book. This book relates so well with health implications because if other countries are gaining weight because of our fast food than fast food is the problem. The film, an international coproduction of the united states and the united kingdom, is loosely based on the schlossers bestselling 2001 nonfiction book fast food nation. What are the differences between fast food nation the. Schlosser clearly demonstrates that this industry alone has been. A discussion of the bestselling fast food nation book and food production in america. Criticism of fast food includes claims of negative health effects, animal cruelty, cases of worker exploitation, children targeted marketing and claims of cultural degradation via shifts in peoples eating patterns away from traditional foods. James beard, the legendary american gourmet, loved mcdonalds fries. Melissa sweeney introduction taking place in the many different fast food franchises, chicken and cattle farms, and factories around the united states, fast food nation, by eric schlosser, teaches the world the untold story of fast foods. A reaction to fast food nation, a book by eric schlosser. For information on editing questions, click more help below. In some ways it reminds me of upton sinclairs the jungle.
These are just a few negative aspects of the fast food industry eric schlosser elucidates in fast food nation. Immediately download the fast food nation summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for. Less a movie than a political act, fast food nation aims to disseminate its counterpropaganda to the widest possible audience, which is the only plausible reason why the book has been shoehorned into a narrative instead of a documentary. If you go to see fast food nation with a group of friends, there is a good chance that someone the smartalecky contrarian. You caused a lot of fits in the industry, from mcdonalds on.
Readings quiz week 12 fast food nation this test has 64 attempts. In 1998, the seed of fast food nation appeared in rolling stone magazine. Fast food nation might have translated into a compelling documentary. We should try to stay away from it as much as possible if we want to live long and healthy lives.
Prior to the rise of large meatpacking plants, people would become ill from bad food in small, localized arenas. Instead, schlossers research is used as a springboard into a sluggish fictional narrative that merely hints at the grim. That is one of the main reasons people buy fast food. The taste of mcdonalds french fries, for example, has long been praised by customers, competitors and even food critics. After reading this book, you shouldnt find that a hard choice to make. Schlosser is not the first to explore the subject, but he does provide an uptodate, thorough. Schlosser writes that this is a book about fast food, the values it embodies, and the world it has made.
Fast food chains have come under fire from consumer groups, such as the center for science in the public interest, a longtime fast food critic over. People began to react negatively to schlossers opinions listed in the book. The characters exist mainly to illustrate certain key points of the book this is especially true of the mexican immigrants. The fast food nation causes acidification disease acceleration corrupt adjudication false nutrition advocation cancer alteration animal assassination and forest annihilation footnote eric schlossers book fas. What criticism does crossen make of the book fast food nation in a culinary wasteland.
Fast food nation by eric schlosser books the guardian. The author fails to properly cite several of his information sources. Just prior to the initial release of fast food nation. Organization of fast food nation point of viewtone i thought that the author made a good choice in his point of view because it seemed very credible because he has done all the research and then wrote about it. Eric schlossers book promises to tell the dark side of the allamerican meal and he delivers. However, his elitist approach and complete lack of working class analysis must be criticized, as well as his blaming the fast food industry instead of the system that produced it.
Intro to political science 51220 fast food nation the investigative journalist, eric schlosser, has written a book to illuminate an epidemic that started in america and is now becoming one of the worlds largest problems. Ten years after his seminal book fast food nation, eric schlosser reflects on how little has changed in the production, safety, and consumption in americabut why hes still hopeful. As a result of your criticism of the fast food industry, youve been tailed. The book is a work of nonfiction with chapters that cover the dangers of the fast food economy, from slaughterhouse conditions to health issues to environmental devastation. Now, because meat is distributed all over the nation, an outbreak of food poisoning in one town may indicate nationwide epidemic. Color is another important aspect of processed foods. Eric schlosser begins his account of the american fast food industry by focusing on one region of the united states in particular. News on climate in the time of coronavirus subscribe today. The dark side of the allamerican meal is a 2001 book written by investigative journalist eric schlosser that examines the local and global. Review of fast food nation unl digital commons university of. Ten years after his seminal book fast food nation, eric schlosser reflects on how little has changed in the production, safety, and consumption. It pains me to blast this book so savagely, since schlossers heart is obviously in the right place. It thoroughly explains what happens at the slaughterhouses all over the country.
Fast food nation takes up, in some sense, the pathbreaking writings of upton sinclair, whose 1906 novel the jungle first detailedexquisitely and, to some, repugnantlythe terrible conditions of chicago meatpacking plants. His chief objection is not that it tastes badfar from it, he insists, going on to examine, for instance, why mcdonalds fries lauded by the likes of julia child and james. The dark side of the allamerican meal is a 2001 book written by investigative journalist eric schlosser that examines the local and global influence of the united states fast food industry. In a new afterword for this edition, schlosser discusses the growing interest in local and organic food, the continued exploitation of poor workers by the food industry, and the need to ensure that every american has access to good, healthy, affordable food. This book was not a truly critical look at the system. Fresh meat, vegetables and fruits are healthier than processed food. The latest edition also contains an afterword addressing mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Fast food nation is as relevant today as it was a decade ago. Eric investigates on the different locations where food is prcessed and learns how everything started in the business or in the world. Fast food nation does make some important points about the industry, but it doesnt quite work as cinema. The author refuses to give his personal opinion of fast food.
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