Fast Food Nation
I recently read Fast Food Nation and have wanted to blog about it since I started it BUT wanted to wait until I finished it- and after that I’ve been distracted by a few things. However I’m making a bit of time now because I really want to share some of the stuff I learnt.
Before I start, I want to point out 3 things:
1)I don’t eat red meat or pork. I cut out red meat around freshman year of college. I had made this decision the summer of my junior year of High School, as I ended up working with a lab that did animal experimentations. My reasons have changed for not eating red meat, going from the young ethical- meat is murder, to a more adult- I think I eat better since I cut out the red meat, I think chicken is better for you and I eat more fish now then I did as a kid.
2)I don’t have the book in front of me, so my points might be a bit more general. I borrowed the book from BPL and had to give it back
3)I’ve mentioned that I eat a good amount of fast food. Well that’s changed since I’ve read Fast Food Nation. I went to Burger King once when I started the book, but that was more to be seen reading Fast Food Nation… and I haven’t gone to Wendy’s at all since starting the book.
I thought the book would be similar in vein to Super Size Me! I knew there was a chapter about how they get the ‘tastes’ of foods (there are ‘food labs’ in NJ who help create ‘tastes’ for their clients) but I was surprised that it was more about the social ills caused by McDonalds and when it talks about the unhealthiness of the food, it talks more about e. coli then fat customers( though it does point out that there seems to be a link to McDonalds opening in Japan and the fact that for the first time in recorded history there are obese Japanese).
The part that really got to me was the meat packing practices. The author, Eric Schlosser, goes into great detail on how dangerous the cutting the cows are- not only for the worker but also the consumer. For the worker, the problems start with the fact that it has become one of the lowest paid jobs, relying on illegal immigrants with little to no education. There is NO federal oversight to make sure that the meat is containment free. The workers work with sharp instruments and often suffer from repetitive stress syndrome, cuts and bruises and on the job deaths due to companies more concerned with keeping the line going then the safety of their workers. In fact, Mr. Schlosser notes several deaths caused while people are CLEANING the slaughterhouses with chemicals that would fry a person’s lungs.
I should note here that the ‘safest’ chain to eat at is Jack in the Box. This is because THEY actually had to deal with an outbreak of e. coli and since then have set a higher standard for the meats they buy. The book goes on to point out that there is nothing in place for a meat ‘recall’ so if there is bad beef out there- neither the suppliers nor the sellers have to tell US the consumers anything…
And Jack in the Box has higher beef standards then Public Schools.
While reading all this I was very glad that I did not eat red meat. Granted what they do to chickens isn’t prolly nice for the chicken but it’s a lot safer for me.
Fast Food Nation also looked at how the corporations treat their workers. Taco Bell for instance give their managers bonuses for coming in ‘under’ hours- the result is that many managers force their workers to work OFF the clock. McDonalds seemed to be one of the worst companies- as they on one hand try to make the job as simple as possible( re: require no actual job training) and on the other hand gets money from the US Government for ‘training’ workers. It gets worse as McDonalds claims how many workers they’ve trained because they keep firing people and then filing the same position over and over (they fire people to keep from giving them any sort of benefits).
I felt the worst thing was that these huge companies were worse then Staples. Inc because they were also campaigning heavily to keep the federal minimum wage where it is( and not increase it) because fast food places are the ones on a grand scale paying their workers only minimum wages- as most of their workers are minors( I did get more then minimum wages at Staples).
So as said because of this book, I haven’t been to Wendy’s in over a couple of weeks and I have no plans to go there or Burger King. I will admit I’ve hated McDonalds ever since I found out about their ‘beef flavored’ fries- but now I hate them more. Being totally honest- I’m not sure if the next time I go to NYC, I’ll be able to pass up going to Popeye’s. Popeye’s wasn’t named by name in the book and I do so love their chicken strips.
The author points out in the end (as I am doing) that the only way for these companies to change is for us the consumers to make them change. Jack in the Box has the healthiest food because they knew that if they didn’t get tough, they’d go out of business- well if Burger King knew that we wanted them to be a better boss, they might pay their employees more to keep their business (a dollar an hour raise would translate to cost of about a dime more a burger- and that’s a dime I’d be willing to pay).
Before I start, I want to point out 3 things:
1)I don’t eat red meat or pork. I cut out red meat around freshman year of college. I had made this decision the summer of my junior year of High School, as I ended up working with a lab that did animal experimentations. My reasons have changed for not eating red meat, going from the young ethical- meat is murder, to a more adult- I think I eat better since I cut out the red meat, I think chicken is better for you and I eat more fish now then I did as a kid.
2)I don’t have the book in front of me, so my points might be a bit more general. I borrowed the book from BPL and had to give it back
3)I’ve mentioned that I eat a good amount of fast food. Well that’s changed since I’ve read Fast Food Nation. I went to Burger King once when I started the book, but that was more to be seen reading Fast Food Nation… and I haven’t gone to Wendy’s at all since starting the book.
I thought the book would be similar in vein to Super Size Me! I knew there was a chapter about how they get the ‘tastes’ of foods (there are ‘food labs’ in NJ who help create ‘tastes’ for their clients) but I was surprised that it was more about the social ills caused by McDonalds and when it talks about the unhealthiness of the food, it talks more about e. coli then fat customers( though it does point out that there seems to be a link to McDonalds opening in Japan and the fact that for the first time in recorded history there are obese Japanese).
The part that really got to me was the meat packing practices. The author, Eric Schlosser, goes into great detail on how dangerous the cutting the cows are- not only for the worker but also the consumer. For the worker, the problems start with the fact that it has become one of the lowest paid jobs, relying on illegal immigrants with little to no education. There is NO federal oversight to make sure that the meat is containment free. The workers work with sharp instruments and often suffer from repetitive stress syndrome, cuts and bruises and on the job deaths due to companies more concerned with keeping the line going then the safety of their workers. In fact, Mr. Schlosser notes several deaths caused while people are CLEANING the slaughterhouses with chemicals that would fry a person’s lungs.
I should note here that the ‘safest’ chain to eat at is Jack in the Box. This is because THEY actually had to deal with an outbreak of e. coli and since then have set a higher standard for the meats they buy. The book goes on to point out that there is nothing in place for a meat ‘recall’ so if there is bad beef out there- neither the suppliers nor the sellers have to tell US the consumers anything…
And Jack in the Box has higher beef standards then Public Schools.
While reading all this I was very glad that I did not eat red meat. Granted what they do to chickens isn’t prolly nice for the chicken but it’s a lot safer for me.
Fast Food Nation also looked at how the corporations treat their workers. Taco Bell for instance give their managers bonuses for coming in ‘under’ hours- the result is that many managers force their workers to work OFF the clock. McDonalds seemed to be one of the worst companies- as they on one hand try to make the job as simple as possible( re: require no actual job training) and on the other hand gets money from the US Government for ‘training’ workers. It gets worse as McDonalds claims how many workers they’ve trained because they keep firing people and then filing the same position over and over (they fire people to keep from giving them any sort of benefits).
I felt the worst thing was that these huge companies were worse then Staples. Inc because they were also campaigning heavily to keep the federal minimum wage where it is( and not increase it) because fast food places are the ones on a grand scale paying their workers only minimum wages- as most of their workers are minors( I did get more then minimum wages at Staples).
So as said because of this book, I haven’t been to Wendy’s in over a couple of weeks and I have no plans to go there or Burger King. I will admit I’ve hated McDonalds ever since I found out about their ‘beef flavored’ fries- but now I hate them more. Being totally honest- I’m not sure if the next time I go to NYC, I’ll be able to pass up going to Popeye’s. Popeye’s wasn’t named by name in the book and I do so love their chicken strips.
The author points out in the end (as I am doing) that the only way for these companies to change is for us the consumers to make them change. Jack in the Box has the healthiest food because they knew that if they didn’t get tough, they’d go out of business- well if Burger King knew that we wanted them to be a better boss, they might pay their employees more to keep their business (a dollar an hour raise would translate to cost of about a dime more a burger- and that’s a dime I’d be willing to pay).
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