American life is quick paced and busy. Americans want quick reliable transportation, quick internet connection, quick money, quick healing, quick weight loss, quick energy, and even quick service from the restaurants they eat out at. When a busy person is looking for a quick, easy food, fast food is usually the best option. The main food at a fast food restaurant is usually a burger and French fries. Fast foods restaurants are popular in America because they are inexpensive and served very quickly. There’s no problem with eating fast food every so often, but if a person is eating it almost every day, it can lead to serious health concerns. Americans love to eat. However, it is important to understand that what goes into one’s mouth can affect the rest of the body. Fast food has brought a change into American lives. Hunting for food was once a full time job for humans. Today, such thoughts have become ancient. Food is delivered at the footsteps of your door. In addition, fast food's easy access has strongly contributed to the epidemic of obesity. Furthermore, the marketing of fast food through the media has become big business. History of Fast Food Eating outside the home has always been a popular choice for Americans. Throughout history, hamburgers, for example, have always been a favorite food for Americans. “In 1925, when New Yorkers were asked to name their favorite meal, the hamburger ranked nineteenth.” (Schlosser & Wilson 2007). As the American population grew, so did different methods of transportation. The rise of car ownership in America brought changes to the restaurant businesses. Families were able to drive long distances to enjoy quick tasty meals. It was around the mid-twentieth century when the fast-food... ... middle of paper ... ...carhops." . Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/398328075?accountid=35084 Lukas, P. (2004). White castle, still proud, takes a turn as a film set. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/432835679?accountid=35084 Schlosser, E., & Wilson, C. (2007). Chew on this: everything you don't want to know about fast food. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=XdkZb4tiIZUC&source=gbs_navlinks_s Sperber, B. (2002). Fast food. mediaweek, . Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213645495?accountid=35084 Young, Lisa, L. R. Y. (2007). Portion sizes and obesity: Responses of fast food companies. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4498959
Fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society. Everywhere you turn you can see a fast food restaurant. An industry that modestly began with very few hot dog and hamburger vendors now has become a multi-international industry selling its products to paying customers. Fast food can be found anywhere imaginable. Fast food is now served at restaurants and drive-through, at stadiums, airports, schools all over the nation. Surprisingly fast food can even be found at hospital cafeterias. In the past, people in the United States used to eat healthier and prepared food with their families. Today, many young people prefer to eat fast food such as high fat hamburgers, French-fries, fried chicken, or pizza in fast
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...
Franchises often have others running their own restaurants and charge them for their products. This ensures the franchise makes revenue with little risk because they are not the ones investing in building the new location instead it would be a third party. It’s a symbiotic relationship because the third party makes money because of the brand behind them and the company makes money from the location with minimal responsibility. The book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser in the chapter “Success” touches upon the subject and indirectly or unintentionally he brings up other topics that are of much debate in the United States.
In writing, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser’s overall purpose was to inform the reader of what actually goes into the food they eat. He worked to bring to the light all that the fast food industry does in the dark. Whether it be the unsanitary slaughterhouses, as described on page 203, “The pathogens from infected cattle are spread not only in feedlots, but also at slaughterhouses and hamburger grinders. The slaughterhouse tasks most likely to contaminate meat are the removal of an animal’s hide and the removal of its digestive system . . . if a hide has been inadequately cleaned, chunks of dirt and manure may fall from it onto the meat”, or the horrific treatment of laborers, depicted on page 170, “The kill floor is hot and humid. It stinks of manure. Cattle have a body
In the Fast Food Nation introduction, Eric Schlosser establishes his credibility and helps the audience trust him in order to show them the importance of his investigation of the fast food industry. Schlosser does this by beginning the introduction with imagery of what will happen in the event of a nuclear strike and what will remain. He states that, “future archaeologists may find other clues to the nature of our civilization- Big King wrappers, hardened crusts of Cheesy Bread, Barbeque Wing bones, and the red, white, and blue of a Domino’s pizza box” (Schlosser 2). In other words, the remains of our civilization will highlight our unhealthy diet. He even uses the words, “red, white, and blue,” implying that fast food is a major part of the United States.
Chapter one of Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, a novel on the dark side of the “All-American Meal”, is about the rising of a fast food chain and how it revolutionized the food industry. The story opens with discussion of Carl N. Karcher, one of fast food’s pioneers. He quit school after eighth grade and moved out to California, where he began his own family. Carl bought a hotdog cart; and his wife Margaret sold hot dogs across the street from where Carl worked at a bakery. Carl eventually opened a Drive-In Barbeque restaurant. The McDonald brothers were also running their own restaurant, “McDonald’s Famous Hamburgers.” It was the McDonald brothers who began the Speedee Service System, “After visiting San Bernardino and seeing the long lines at McDonald’s, Carl Karcher went home to Anaheim and decided to open his own self-service restaurant.” ( 21). During this period many other fast-food places were started, such as: Dunkin’ Donuts, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s. According to Eric Schlosser, when asked about the changes in time Carl, who had grown up on a farm without running water or electricity, responded that he did not miss the old days. “I believe in progress” (28).
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York: Perennial, 2002.
In fast food nation the author, Eric Schlosser, claims the atrocious conditions plaguing the meatpacking industry is inhumane towards the animals, and grotesquely unsanitary and hazardous towards employees. Schlosser informed the reader of all the abominations afflicting the meatpacking industry in chapter eight. (170) Schlosser gives examples of horrible stories of illegal immigrants receiving horrible lacerations and not being able to seek medical treatment. (174) Schlosser tells stories of workers called a “sticker” who all day does “nothing but stand in a river of blood being drenched in blood, slitting the neck of steer every ten seconds” (171) the author claims the most common meatpacking injuries are lacerations, tendonitis, and cumulative
The world is rapidly changing and fast-paced. Along with this change, the invention of fast food restaurants shaped societies worldwide and revolutionized the food industry by means of providing humans with cheap and convenient meals. Eric Schlosser’s book, Fast Food Nation, presents a variety of issues with inside and outside fast food industries and continues still present in American society today. Each chapter of this book focuses on one aspect of the fast food industry and shows strong parallels to current events such as the dangers of working in the meatpacking industry, the negative effects of food additives, and the significant increase in suicidal rates among farmers.
Every month, at least ninety percent of Americans visit a fast food restaurant and about forty- five percent of them make it a weekly occurrence. These statistics make it safe to say Americans are obsessed with fast food, but why are Americans addicted to these restaurants? Is it the low prices, quick service or the taste of the food? According to Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side off the All-American Meal, he believes “It’s easy, it's filling, and it's convenient and inexpensive.” Therefore, the consumption of fast food is now directly correlated to the obesity epidemic in America. Consequently, the recent obesity increase in the United States has labeled America the fattest country.
From a study completed by Chicago-based Research International USA completed a study called “Fast Food Nation 2008. The panel consisted of 1,000 respondents of ages 16-65 who provided their inputs with an online survey which was conducted between March 13 through 2008. Which was based on results on fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s are gaining popularity even through the economic hardship and recession. Marketing strategy has become more of influence on kids and young American’s. As population grows and the demand increases of fast food restaurants are expanding their stores to capturing more consumers. Fast food chains are also willing to change their menus to continue to gain and retain repeating customers. With each generation that passes, brings fast food chains into more homes and continues impacting lives.
The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, a work examining the country’s fast food industry (Gale). Schlosser sets off chapter 5: “Why the Fries Taste Good,” in Aberdeen,
One out of every three Americans is obese and the majority of these obese people in the United States have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food became a big necessity. However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension” (May, Kuklina, Yoon). The food that they provide is made to be eaten quickly, causing problems for the digestive system. Also, the health problems lead to the use for health insurance, which adds to the costs of Medicare. Health care costs will only worsen an already failing economy. Therefore, the government should regulate fast food restaurants in the United States in order to repair the deteriorating health and economy in America.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
Over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society and has become nothing less than a revolutionary force in American life. Fast food has gained a great popularity among different age groups in different parts of the globe, becoming a favorite delicacy of both adults and children.