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FAST FOOD NATION ESSAY
FAST FOOD NATION ESSAY
An analysis of American fast food
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The inception of the Slow Food Movement was in 1986 by a man named Carlo Petrini in response to the invasive fast food chain Mcdonalds making its way to the historic Italian capital city, Rome. Rome is notable internationally for it’s great food, culture and traditions. Carlo Petrini worries the fast food chain would threaten the local traditions and ostracise ,the local dining establishments of the working class (Slow Food History). Therefore Petrini created his own form of backlash, refraining from conventional protesting tactics and strategies such as picketing, marching and boycotting. Instead he armed his people with a bowl of penne pasta. Declaring,“ we don’t want fast food … we want slow food!” This was the beginning of the Slow Food idea/movement which was then born. Carlo could not stand to sit back and watch the destruction brought by global industrialization of food, along with the cultural culinary and social cost brought on by homogenized eating (Slow Food History).
Carlo Petrini realized that it was essential to start an “eco-gastronomic” movement in order to preserve the alternative food choices available. This movement aims for environmental sustainability, and the study of culture and food, in order to draw the connection between the food you eat and the earth that provided it (Slow Food USA).
The emergence of Mcdonalds in Rome would inevitably change the Italian Roman food Culture’s integrity; and this is exactly what Carlo Petrini an Italian journalist did not want to happen. Once the first Mcdonalds was built in Rome adjacent to the Spanish Steps Piazza di Spagna. Carlo Petrini was appalled by the emergence of this infectious fast food chain in his home country's capital. So he started The “Slow Food” Movem...
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...such as “ supporting farmers markets and CSAs, creating school and community gardens, and joining members from disparate ends of the food system in debate and common cause”
Works Cited
"Carlo Petrini: The Slow Food Gourmet Who Started a Revolution." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
POPHAM, PETER. "Slow Food’s Carlo Petrini on Biodiversity, Food Politics and Home-cooking." Colorado Table Web. N.p., 10 Dec. 2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
"Slow Food USA." : About Us. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
WHere it is going (http://blogs.denverpost.com/food/2013/05/02/petrini/18793/)
(Cuisine and culture A history of Food and People)
(http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/carlo-petrini-the-slow-food-gourmet-who-started-a-revolution-1837223.html)
(http://www.slowfoodusa.org/what-we-do)
The book The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food, by Wayne Roberts introduces us to the concept of “food system”, which has been neglected by many people in today’s fast-changing and fast-developing global food scene. Roberts points out that rather than food system, more people tend to recognize food as a problem or an opportunity. And he believes that instead of considering food as a “problem”, we should think first and foremost about food as an “opportunity”.
Steindom, Joel. “My Food Manifesto, Part One: The Bad News.” Steidom.com. Ed. Joel Steindom, Heather Steindom. 2007. 24 July 2008. .
The New York Times bestseller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is one of the most riveting books to come out about fast food restaurants to date (Schlosser, 2004). Fast food consumption has become a way of life for many in the United States as well as many other countries in the world. The author Eric Schlosser an investigative reporter whose impeccable researching and bold interviewing captures the true essence of the immense impact that fast food restaurants are having in America (2004). Beginning with McDonald’s, the first fast food restaurant, which opened on April 15, 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois to current trends of making fast food a global realization McDonald’s has paved the way for many fast food restaurants following the same basic ideal that is tasty foods served fast at a minimal cost (2011). Schlosser explains how fast food restaurants have gained substantial market share of the consumers; he also shows that by marketing to children and offering less unhealthful fare, that are purchased from mega-companies which are often camouflaged with added ingredients and cooked unhealthful ways, that these companies are indeed causing irreparable harm to our country (2004).
Michael Pollan’s essay “Escape from the Western Diet”, excerpted from Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto” (1 Jan 2008).
Since Michael Pollan received his Master’s Degree in English (“Michael Pollan: Biography”), he has written top shelf extraordinary books, some of which are New York Times Best Sellers: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A History of Four Meals, and many others (“About Michael Pollan”). Michael’s writing has won awards such as the World Conservation Union Global Award and the Genesis Award from the American Humane Association for his writing on animal agriculture (“About Michael Pollan”); therefor is credible enough to be writing about food and animals because he has been awarded in this subject. Moreover, Pollan is named one of Time’...
Prentice, Jessica, Sage V. Wing, Dede Sampson, and Jennifer Maiser. "Foodshed for Thought." Locavores. Siennese Designs, 2 Dec. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
In the article “The End of Food,” Lizzie Widdicombe describes an advancement of our food culture through a new product developed by three young men living in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. After failing to produce new inexpensive cellphone towers on a hundred seventy thousand dollar investment, the three men went on to try and develop software with their remaining funding. While trying to maximize their funding’s longevity, they realized that their biggest budget impediment was food. In fact, it reached the point where their diet comprised of mostly fast food, and eventually they despised the fact that they had to spend so much time and money on eating. Due to this hardship, Rob Rhinehart, one of the entrepreneurs, came up with the
Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson’s Chew On This explores the dark secrets of fast food. The authors first describe the background of fast food and their tactics with customers, and then elaborate on the impact of fast food on society today. Their view on fast food is a negative one: through describing various aspects of fast food, the authors ultimately reveal how the greediness of businessmen has caused the loss of individuality and the growth in power of corporations. They explain the effects of fast food on health, traditions, and animals, clearly showing fast food’s negative impact.
Subway has just become the biggest fast food franchise in the United States. They advertise a healthy menu full of all natural ingredients. However a recent experiment by the Journal of Adolescent Health found people consume almost the same amount of calories at Subway as McDonalds (Lesser). Subway is not the only fast food advertising healthy options however. Despite the unhealthiness of fast food, these chains do offer some benefits. Natalie Stein,a writer for the live strong foundation, who focuses on weight loss and sports nutrition points out some crucial benefits of fast food. Stein acknowledges the convince of fast food in her article “What Are the Benefits of Fast Food?” She believes that having fast food restaurants on almost every corner is a good thing. This might be a good thing to some people, but what is too much? The conveyance of fast food chains has driven out grocery stores and ruined a chance at a healthy diet. With obesity growing in the United States maybe it’s time to rethink the actual conveyance of fast
In “Called Home”, the first chapter of the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year in Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver presents her concerns about America's lack of food knowledge, sustainable practices, and food culture. Kingsolver introduces her argument for the benefits of adopting a local food culture by using statistics, witty anecdotal evidence, and logic to appeal to a wide casual reading audience. Her friendly tone and trenchant criticism of America's current food practices combine to deliver a convincing argument that a food culture would improve conditions concerning health and sustainability. I agree with Kingsolver that knowing the origin of food is an important and healthy benefit of developing a true food culture, but it is impractical to maintain that everyone is able to buy more expensive food. Kingsolver presents a compelling argument for developing a food culture, however this lifestyle change may not be practical or even possible for a poverty-level citizen. The following essay will summarize and respond to Kingsolver’s argument to demonstrate how “Called Home” is a model for novice social scientists.
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.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
Rachel Lauden’s essay In Praise of Fast Food presents a fresh point of view by taking a look at the way the poor fed themselves throughout history and comparing it with the reality of today’s fast food industry. The current thinking about fast food is that it is unhealthy and leads to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, when it is eaten without moderation.
Imagine Italian cuisine without tomato as an ingredient or your favorite pasta without any tomato sauce. It sounds extraordinary to think that at one point in history Italian cuisine didn’t have tomato as a staple food. After the European exploration of the Americas, numerous amounts food we introduced into Europe, Eurasia and Africa. This helped evolve the Mediterranean diet as well as traditional Italian cuisine (MacLennan and Zhang, 131.) What makes Italian cuisine popular around the world today is that most dishes are made with a small number of ingredients; cooking methods are simple and the recipes are healthy. This is a perfect mix for the food lover, and the upcoming cook with hopes to become a chef. This is why traditional Italian cuisine has influence my pursuit into the culinary field. (”Italian Food Made Easy; Traditional Fare Just Like Mama Used to Make,” par. 1-11.)
In 1987 Carlo Petrini started a coalition dedicated to the politics and pleasures of slowness and the opposition of fast food. (Leitch 439) He describes one of his goals by saying: