A Fine Social Thriller.November 19, 2008 Fast Food Nation is a fine "Social Thriller" bringing you to the edge of your seat right from beginning till the end. If "Erin Brockowich" is for P&G, then "Fast Food Nation" is for MacDonald's.Author has not spared a single stone unturned to make this book an "encyclopedia" of fast food "facts"( read evils)
Going right into the production of raw materials,beef, french fries, potato farms, cattle feeds, workers apathy, production plants overseas, rules,legalities, food poisoning etc, Author has managed to bring the complete loop or lifecycle into this 300 pages "encyclopedia".Author has to commended for the way he has presented the topic to be an interesting reading and not a dull thesis.
And as a reader , I respectfully disagree with the author on the following areas :
Authors blatant attack on the low paid jobs - It is true that pay scales in fast food joints are going down, but we need to understand that fast food joints have created enormous amount of "low quality-high quantity"jobs that helps the economy. Do not expect any industry (even the government) to hire millions of employees even on short term contracts with zero to no skills at close proximity to employees homes at hours that are flexible. In fact America is called a "service economy" and a service economy is mostly nothing more than flipping burgers .
So many people read the book for sheer one reason: How does it affect me and my children ?-
And that would have meant atleast some comparison to restaurent jobs, restaurant cleanliness etc outside the fast food world. This would probably have given the reader a more balanced view of the food industry as a whole( contrary to all "burger kings and MacDonald's are villains).
Author also fails to emphazise the bigger picture of the fact that "fast food" industries are an evolution of the "modern couch potato American" , "working moms", "single parent" culture. It was not the sheer marketing genius of MacDonald's that made it what it is today.Fortunately or unfortunately MacDonald ( and others )are adding value to the society by filling up a "dangerous need" in the society. "Low cost food" - fast and easy.
And the worst of all, the same need is getting slowly created in societies like India and China.
Read this book - If you have a family If you frequently grab a quick lunch at McDonald's If you or ur friends have tried Lipitor and other weight loss medications Read it - even if you read only fiction books!.It is about YOU AND YOUR LIFE.
One of the finest books that I have read in recent times on social themes. I always wondered this book has every quality to be a 'movie' and yes, it did become a movie. If you are averse to reading, watch the movie. For me , I enjoyed the literary richness of the book ,analysis and the content of the book
DisappointingOctober 2, 2008 2 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'm a vegetarian who doesn't eat at fast-food restaurants. I thought this book was going to be an interesting expose of the fast-food industry. Instead, it was a series of meandering stories that weren't all that compelling. I got about halfway through the book and realized there was really no point in finishing it.
I noticed that whenever someone was portayed negatively, the word "Republican" invariably cropped up. When one meatpacking company owner became less sympathetic to workers, Schlosser goes out of his way to let the reader know that he went from being a liberal Democrat to a conservative Republican.
It's this kind of political posturing (Schlosser is obviously a liberal Democrat who can't keep his disdain for Republicans out of his writing), along with the fact that Schlosser just isn't that good of a writer, that helps to sink this book.
I kept wondering when I was going to learn something interesting that wasn't obvious. All I learned was what I already knew. Fast-food is a giant industry that pays teenagers low wages and uses a lot of potatoes from giant agribusiness companies and beef from giant cattle companies. Oh yeah, and they use flavorings from companies in New Jersey.
Stop the presses.
The true world of Fast Food opens before your eyes!September 30, 2008 This book is truly interesting in that it explains a process that many consumers thought that they were already familiar with.
This book will explain why:
1) it always seems the person at the register is being "trained".
2) children flock to most fast food joints.
3) the fast food industry exploded with growth in the last 30 years.
4) This country needs an alternative to our current and growing feeding trends!
By the Author of Outstanding YouSeptember 9, 2008 Outstanding You: Discover, Design and Achieve Ultimate Fitness
This book should be required reading at all American schools. The purpose behind this book is not to convert people to vegetarian/vegan diets, but instead to educate them about the disastrous state our food supply is in. Though I use this book for information to support my vegan/vegetarian diet, I found it incredibly detailed and thought provoking. Highly recommended for anyone seeking more information on where their food comes from.
Ron Betta Author - Outstanding You
highest approvalSeptember 6, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
received the book quicker than expected. the book was in excellent condition. I highly recommend this seller
