Chew On This Summary
Eric Schlosser takes a bold step in attacking fast food restaurants by exposing the inhumane and horrid methods and practices of fast food restaurants. Mainly targeting McDonalds, this book delves deep into what really goes on in their food industry as well as their business aspects. Fast food restaurants mainly target kids and would be in a worse financial situation without them. McDonalds is the biggest toy company in the world. With an average of 1.2 billion happy meals sold each year the amount of toys produced keeps them at the top of the toy company list. One out of every three toys sold to a child in the country is from a fast food restaurant. In addition, kids of older ages have become victims of fast food restaurants in school. One out of every five public schools in the country sells fast food from a brand name, but do not know where it comes from. The contribution of youth has not only skyrocketed fast food businesses but has done so without them knowing.
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High school dropouts and salesman have begun some of the big franchises of today, and have sparked fads of chains in malls and strips. The McDonalds family who made hamburgers for a living made a life changing decision and sold their business to a businessman named Ray Kroc who made it the most successful franchise in the world today. With over 14,000 McDonalds restaurants in the country today these franchises make an impact on the communities in America, both good and bad. Chew on this looks into the methods of a chicken slaughterhouse, factory methods, and food smells. Many facts are eye-popping and scary such as; one hamburger can have meat from hundreds or thousands of different cows, each can of soda can have more than ten teaspoons of sugar, chickens can be killed by being stomped on, thrown against a wall, or put in electrified water, and leftover waste from cattle is sometimes their
Section 1: Typically, we need a well-balanced meal to give us the energy to do day-to-day tasks and sometimes we aren’t able to get home cooked meals that are healthy and nutritious on a daily basis, due to the reasons of perhaps low income or your mom not being able to have the time to cook. People rely on fast food, because it’s quicker and always very convenient for full-time workers or anyone in general who just want a quick meal. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation argues that Americans should change their nutritional behaviors. In his book, Schlosser inspects the social and economic penalties of the processes of one specific section of the American food system: the fast food industry. Schlosser details the stages of the fast food production process, like the farms, the slaughterhouse and processing plant, and the fast food franchise itself. Schlosser uses his skill as a journalist to bring together appropriate historical developments and trends, illustrative statistics, and telling stories about the lives of industry participants. Schlosser is troubled by our nation’s fast-food habit and the reasons Schlosser sees fast food as a national plague have more to do with the pure presence of the stuff — the way it has penetrated almost every feature of our culture, altering “not only the American food, but also our landscape, economy, staff, and popular culture. This book is about fast food, the values it represents, and the world it has made," writes Eric Schlosser in the introduction of his book. His argument against fast food is based on the evidence that "the real price never appears on the menu." The "real price," according to Schlosser, varieties from destroying small business, scattering pathogenic germs, abusing wor...
Finally, Mattel should collaborate with quick service restaurants such as McDonalds and Burger King to include a Mattel toy, such as Hot Wheels, in kids’ meals. In 2006, the food industry spent over $360 million on toys and 36% of all fast food meals were served to kids, making toys the most popular form of marketing to children (Gagnon & Freudenberg, 2012). This is a unique opportunity for Mattel to increase their competitive advantage through a different marketing
Many people do not realize that the jobs in the fast food industry are very dangerous. These are the jobs that no one realizes what it’s like behind the scenes. The workers face high rates of injury in the factories and in fast food restaurants, so we feel like we shouldn’t support the fast food industries. In chapters three and eight of “Fast Food Nation,” Eric Schlosser uses pathos to highlight the fact that fast food jobs are difficult as well as dangerous. The jobs involved with fast food are so dangerous that more regulations should be reinforced more firmly, as well as more laws should be put into place.
The main idea of “Fast Food Nation” Eric Sclhlooser , shares his views on the fast food manipulative franchise. The author feels that fast food restaurants “McDonalds” for example have climbed their way into taking over the typical family household which puts these corporations at higher advantages to empower most wealth which leaves smaller private business at risk of going out of business. Farmers and smaller business are losing their jobs and recognition because of massive food corporations are taking over. This leads to a higher rise of unemployment for our poor and middle class and also grants more power to these massive corporations. Franchises like McDonald’s make it fairly impossible for small family business such as farmers to make
Crouse, Janice Shaw. "The Fast-Food Industry Intentionally Markets Unhealthy Food to Children." Fast Food. Ed. Tracy Brown Collins. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.
Schlosser then describes the working conditions for the average fast food employee which the term“McDonaldization” derives from. He examines the job conditions of the teens and forms an analysis from interviewing teens at a local high school in Colorado. He also observes that many teens do not consider forming a union, instead they’d rather quit their job and work somewhere else. He also discusses how much teens value their jobs just as much as their education. He then discusses the unfair advantages of the McDonald's franchisees which tainted the significance of the “American
Fast food restaurants such as Burger King and McDonald’s, create advertisements where it urges people to consume their product. For example Mcdonald’s created a product where you can get two items such as a mcdouble and a medium fries for three dollars. According to “The battle against fast food begins at home”, by Daniel Weintraub, it shows how companies are intriguing their customers. “ The center blames the problem on the increasing consumption of fast food and soft drinks, larger portion sizes in restaurants and the amount of available on school campuses”(1).For the most part, the Center for Public Health believes that fast food companies are the problem for health
In the book Fast Food Nation: The Darks Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser claims that fast food impacts more than our eating habits, it impacts “…our economy, our culture, and our values”(3) . At the heart of Schlosser’s argument is that the entrepreneurial spirit —defined by hard work, innovation, and taking extraordinary risks— has nothing to do with the rise of the fast food empire and all its subsidiaries. In reality, the success of a fast food restaurant is contingent upon obtaining taxpayer money, avoiding government restraints, and indoctrinating its target audience from as young as possible. The resulting affordable, good-tasting, nostalgic, and addictive foods make it difficult to be reasonable about food choices, specifically in a fast food industry chiefly built by greedy executives.
The influence of Ray Kroc to McDonald’s brother to pursue a goal to be well known in the world has paid off. Nowadays, the company is serving for more than 70 million customers and helping 1.8 million employees worldwide (Company Profile). They have surpassed a lot of challenges and changes through the years but the influence of the founder, Ray Kroc, is still visible and felt. Don Thompson, president and chief executive officer, reinforces the global strategy “plan to win” in giving priority on its customer service. Thompson’s drive for global strategic innovation and collaborative style pushes to optimize its menu, modernize customer satisfaction, and expand worldwide. Among the collaborative structure of the company is the establishment of Hamburger University in Illinois to train franchisees and employees about how to run the business. It proves that they value and devote their time and effort for their future leaders to adopt its organizational cultur...
“Out of every $1.50 spent on a large order of fries at fast food restaurant, perhaps 2 cents goes to the farmer that grew the potatoes,” (Schlosser 117). Investigative journalist Eric Schlosser brings to light these realities in his bestselling book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Schlosser, a Princeton and Oxford graduate, is known for his inspective pieces for Atlantic Monthly. While working on article, for Rolling Stone Magazine, about immigrant workers in a strawberry field he acquired his inspiration for the aforementioned book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, a work examining the country’s fast food industry (Gale).
One of the most shocking books of the generation is Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation. The novel includes two sections, "The American Way" and "Meat and Potatoes,” that aid him in describing the history and people who have helped shape up the basics of the “McWorld.” Fast Food Nation jumps into action at the beginning of the novel with a discussion of Carl N. Karcher and the McDonald’s brothers. He explores their roles as “Gods” of the fast-food industry. Schlosser then visits Colorado Springs and investigates the life and working conditions of the typical fast-food industry employee. Starting out the second section, Schlosser travels to the western side of Colorado to examine the effects presented to the agriculture world in the new economy. Following Schlosser’s journey across the nation, he leads everything up to slaughterhouses and the main supply of income for fast food franchises – the meat. After visiting the meat industries in America, Schlosser explores the expansion of fast food around the eastern hemisphere – including the first McDonalds in Germany. Throughout Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser presents in his point of view and informative tone, a detailed disscussion of the conditions using various examples imagry and flowing diction/syntax to help support and show his audience the reasoning behind the novel.
The McDonald's Corporation is the largest chain of fast food restaurants in the world. It is franchised in over 119 countries and serves an average of 68 million customers daily. The company started in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald in the United States. They reorganized their business as a hamburger stand in 1948. In 1955, Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent. He purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its global-wide growth (McDonald’s 2014).
He saw how much potential the restaurant has, so he bought it out and opened one of the first franchises. Within the first year of Ray Kroc buying it, there were one hundred and two locations all around the world. McDonalds currently is one of the largest fast food restaurants in the world and currently has served over sixty four million customers through one of their thirty two thousand sites. It has almost become a way of life for America. Though, McDonalds started off as a small business between two brothers, it grew into one of the largest restaurant franchises in the world and greatly affects our society and how we eat our food.
Marketers are often accused of marketing to children to gain higher profits. Young children are targeted because they usually do not know right from wrong. Many people have criticized McDonald’s for advertising the Happy Meal towards young children for higher profits. Some people consider it unethical because the Happy Meal is so unhealthy. However, McDonald’s has taken many initiatives to show that it is a corporation that does not manipulate children for profit and that they care for children. The Ronald McDonald House Charities organization was created by McDonalds in 1974 to help children in need. The organization believes that helping one child will go a long way, and they express their commitment in their vision statement, “We believe when you change a child’s life, you change a family’s, which can change a community and, ultimately, the world” (Ronald McDonald House Charity). McDonald’s also provides donations for many other children’s charities and has taken steps to improve the Happy Meals by providing healthier options. McDonalds works hard towards making children all ove...
Works Cited Schlosser, Eric. A. Fast Food Nation. N. p. : Harper Perennial, 2001. Print.