Fast Food Nation
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Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (2001) is a book by Eric Schlosser, first serialized by Rolling Stone in 1999. The book examines the fast food industry in the United States and its global effects.
Contents |
Summary
Schlosser examines how the increasing dominance of fast food and the industry which supports it have led to changes in American society. In particular, Schlosser argues that the fast food industry has used political influence to increase profits at the expense of human health and the social conditions of its workers.
In his brief introduction, Schlosser describes Cheyenne Mountain, a military base in Colorado. He establishes a connection between fast food and the military base through a hypothetical nuclear war. After such a war, anthropologists of the future would discover remnants of American society, such as fast food wrappers from the base's employees. Schlosser argues that these discarded fast food wrappers might be more indicative of American society than much of American literature.
The book continues with an account of the evolution of fast food and how it coincided with the advent of the automobile. He explains the transformation from countless independent restaurants into a few uniform franchises. This shift led to a production-line kitchen prototype, standardization, self-service, and a change in marketing demographics: from teenager to family-oriented.
Regarding the topic of child-targeted marketing, Schlosser explains how the McDonald's Corporation modeled the marketing tactics of The Walt Disney Company, which inspired the creation of advertising icons such as Ronald McDonald and his supporting characters. The theory behind this shift to child-targeted marketing was that it would not only attract children but also their parents and grandparents as well. More importantly, it would instill brand loyalty in them, which would persist throughout adulthood through nostalgic associations to McDonald's. Its ills are discussed: the exploitation of children's naïve, trusting nature and that the average child watches 21 hours of television per week.
Schlosser states that corporate tax cuts that have compromised school funding have presented many corporations with the opportunity for sponsorship within those same schools. According to sources, 80% of the sponsored textbooks contain material that is biased in favor of the sponsors, and 30% of high schools offer fast foods in their cafeterias. Furthermore, high school student Mike Cameron was suspended from school for an incident on "Coke day"; during a promotional event, the student exhibited a Pepsi t-shirt while he and other students clad in red and white formed the word 'Coke' in the football field that was to be photographed aerially.
In his examination of the meat packing industry Schlosser finds that it is now dominated by casual, easily exploited immigrant labor and that levels of injury are among the highest of any occupation in the United States. In his records, Schlosser mainly investigates Iowa Beef Packers and Ken Monfort.
Schlosser notes that there are more robberies at fast-food restaurants than at banks, gas stations or convenience stores.
In the later section of the book, the fast food industry's effect role in globalization is discussed, linking increased obesity in China and Japan with the arrival of fast food. A summary of the McLibel case is included.
In later editions, Schlosser has added a final section, including reviews of his book, counters to some critics that emerged since first publication, and then discusses the effect that the threat of BSE had on Federal Government policy towards cattle farming. He concludes that, given the swift, decisive and effective action that took place as a result of this interest and intervention, many of the problems documented in the book are soluble, given enough political will.
Trivia
- The book is mentioned in "Franco Un-American," a song from NOFX's album The War on Errorism in the lines "I'm eating vegetation, 'cause of Fast Food Nation; I'm wearing uncomfortable shoes 'cause of globalization."
Film adaptation
A film adaptation of Fast Food Nation is in post-production at Participant Productions. Directed and written by Richard Linklater, the movie uses a fictionalized approach instead of being a documentary, telling the story from the point of view of people involved in the industry. It is planned for a 2006 release. The ensemble cast includes Catalina Sandino Moreno, Luis Guzman, Patricia Arquette, Kris Kristofferson, Wilmer Valderrama, and Avril Lavigne. The film was selected for the 2006 edition of the Cannes film festival.
According to an April 10, 2006 article in Crain's Chicago Business, the movie is "being filmed under the code name 'Coyote'."
The author also features and discusses the book in an extra feature of Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me.
Young Adult version
An adaptation of Fast Food Nation for tweens entitled Chew On This will be published in May 2006 by Houghton Mifflin. It is co-authored by Charles Wilson.
ISBN numbers
- ISBN 0060938455 (paperback edition 2002, 400pp.)
- ISBN 0713996021 (paperback edition 2001, 368pp.)
- ISBN 0141006870 (paperback edition 2002, 400pp.)
- ISBN 0395977894 (hardcover edition 2001, 288pp.)
See also
- Super Size Me — a 2004 documentary by Morgan Spurlock on a similar topic.
- The Jungle — a 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair on the meatpacking industry. Fast Food Nation makes various references to it.
- Reefer Madness — a 2003 book by Eric Schlosser examining the pornography and marijuana businesses in America.