Free Fast Food Nation Essay Sample

An overview of the book and a reading reaction.

The book “Fast Food Nation” is dedicated to one of the most touching problems of contemporary American and global society – the incorrect eating habits formed by the fast food industry that has developing the united States after the end of the World War II. Schlosser divided the book into two main sections: The American Way and Meat and Potatoes. In the first part of the book observes the roots of the fast food industry development of the post-war American society and the author starts with the interviews of McDonald brothers and Carl N. Karcher that founded the biggest set of fast food restaurants in the world. The important contrast to the stories of success of the great businessmen is made with the journey to Colorado Springs Co and to one of the fast food restaurants where Schlosser observes terrifying working conditions of the ordinary employee that is extremely low-waged, uneducated and at risk of getting injured or dismissed. The second part of the book is dedicated to the specific mechanisms that function within the fast food production industry and what the food is actually made of. This starts with the observation of specific flavors created to make fast food tasty and attractive. The difficulties that emerged together with the new production system make farming extremely tough for ordinary ranchos. At the same time, the enormous numbers of new slaughterhouses and the provocative truth about the meatpacking process is one of the most impressive parts of the book as here Schlosser opens the awful truth of this process.

Answers on the Questions Considering “Fast Food Nation”.

Although Schlosser seems to be frivolous when depicting the awful truth of fast food industry, the book is extremely revelatory and that is what makes it really impressive and interesting. This is a non-fiction book that includes real data and interviews with ordinary, as well as famous people that are connected with the fast food industry. It can also be regarded as the high quality tradition to journalism as Schlosser collects a lot of historical facts, real citations, interviews and researches within the sphere and the whole work appears to be the systematized report on the current topic. The book represents special importance for the development of healthy global society and therefore it has to be regarded as an important piece of information and the serious motivation for change on the government level. The multiple calls to Congress and government authorities to ban mass advertising of fast food is supported by numerous facts that show how the situation can develop if society will ignore this issue. This has a serious meaning for the future of the global nation as the rapid growth of obesity among people of all ages is an important signal for action.

Chapter 10 “Global Realization”.

Schlosser in his final chapter concentrates on the expansion of fast food industry to the other parts of the planet on the example of McDonalds that called the process “Global realization”. The author shows the connection between the opening McDonalds restaurants and the increased rates of obesity in Western Europe, Japan, Indian and China. This statement is supported by the series of reliable resources, such as scientific research studied, interviews and historical facts. Together with the attention towards the growing popularity of fast food, Schlosser pays attention to the people that still try to oppose it. One of the most significant examples of this process the longest judiciary process in the history of Great Britain that emerged after two activists distributed leaflets “What Wrong whit McDonalds?” that revealed the awful truth of this industry followed by the growing number of illnesses connected with obesity, low level of product quality, poverty and employees exploitation. Although McDonalds has serious financial resources and were sure in the victory, Morris and Steel succeeded in proving the trustworthiness of the series of statements within this leaflet and the public attention towards the complicated argument made this process the greatest failure for this corporation. This chapter begins and ends up in small German town Plauen that was know to be the first one after Bavaria to subscribe to Nazism many years ago, and it was also the first town to host McDonald’s restaurant in the country. During the celebration of Reunification day all other restaurants are closed and McDonalds’ is full with clients. Local Neo-Nazis are searching for foreigners, although they are unaggressive towards the restaurant because they do not consider it as something foreign.