Product Description

On any given day, one out of four Americans opts for a quick and cheap meal at a fast-food restaurant, without giving either its speed or its thriftiness a second thought. Fast food is so ubiquitous that it now seems as American, and harmless, as apple pie. But the industry's drive for consolidation, homogenization, and speed has radically transformed America's diet, landscape, economy, and workforce, often in insidiously destructive ways. Eric Schlosser, an award-winning journalist, opens his ambitious and ultimately devastating exposé with an introduction to the iconoclasts and high school dropouts, such as Harlan Sanders and the McDonald brothers, who first applied the principles of a factory assembly line to a commercial kitchen. Quickly, however, he moves behind the counter with the overworked and underpaid teenage workers, onto the factory farms where the potatoes and beef are grown, and into the slaughterhouses run by giant meatpacking corporations. Schlosser wants you to know why those French fries taste so good (with a visit to the world's largest flavor company) and "what really lurks between those sesame-seed buns." Eater beware: forget your concerns about cholesterol, there is--literally--feces in your meat.

Schlosser's investigation reaches its frightening peak in the meatpacking plants as he reveals the almost complete lack of federal oversight of a seemingly lawless industry. His searing portrayal of the industry is disturbingly similar to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, written in 1906: nightmare working conditions, union busting, and unsanitary practices that introduce E. coli and other pathogens into restaurants, public schools, and homes. Almost as disturbing is his description of how the industry "both feeds and feeds off the young," insinuating itself into all aspects of children's lives, even the pages of their school books, while leaving them prone to obesity and disease. Fortunately, Schlosser offers some eminently practical remedies. "Eating in the United States should no longer be a form of high-risk behavior," he writes. Where to begin? Ask yourself, is the true cost of having it "your way" really worth it? --Lesley Reed

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Product Details

Publisher	Harper Perennial
ISBN	0060838582
Features	ISBN13: 9780060838584 Condition: USED - Very Good Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Format	Paperback
Author	Eric Schlosser
EAN	9780060838584
Label	Harper Perennial
Dewey Decimal Number	394.10973
Studio	Harper Perennial
Number Of Pages	416
Title	Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
Release Date	2005-07-05
Publication Date	2005-07-01
Manufacturer	Harper Perennial

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Customer Reviews

Well Researched

Review by J. Carbone, 2010-09-08

I found this book to be well researched and can tell the author did his homework when writing this book. I do feel this book is a bit outdated but I knew that going in some of the information would be from 10 years ago. It is still a worthwhile read because even the the cases, laws, regulations etc the author discusses happend almost a decade ago they are still pertinent to the topic and giving the reader an understanding of what the meat industry was up to, as well as the government.

After reading this book you will be hesitant to eat meat. You will feel much more knowledgable about the meat industry, fast food industry and all the stuff that can go wrong with meat in general. I found it interesting to read how many of the fast food chains we know today came to be.

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time worthy

Review by Nancy, 2010-09-02

The book arrived in a timely manner and in good condition. I bought it for my daughter who found the book informative and worth her time.

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Terrifying--but necessary

Review by Rachel E. Gray, 2010-09-01

After reading this book, I didn't eat fast food at all for seven years, and then only to taste something at a friend's insistence. I honestly don't think I will ever consume fast food from a chain restaurant ever again, because of what I found out about the food in this book. But Fast Food Nation exposed horrors about more than just the food--it showed us how hideously the employees of these establishments are routinely treated, the unpleasantness in almost every aspect of the wide reach of the industry, and how the major fast food chains came into being and into their positions on top, usually by screwing people over. This is an even bigger reason not spend money there. But that's not the point of a book review.

The point of this book review is to tell potential readers how eye-opening and fascinating--and sometimes horrifying--this book is, and to recommend to them all that they read it. They will learn a lot, and they will be gratified to have learned it. There is much more to this book than just the expose on bad food that people are expecting, and a lot of it is really interesting reading.

I was reluctant to read it after I heard that I'd hear horrible things about the food I liked to sometimes eat, but I'm definitely happy I read it (and that I stopped eating the food, but that was a personal choice and is not obligatory upon reading the book). I think everyone else who reads it will be glad they did too.

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great timing!

Review by Lorenzo A. Crumbie, 2010-08-30

Really happy that the book came in waaayyy before the estimated delivery time! And it's in great condition.

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Glued to the book from beginning to end

Review by W.K., 2010-08-09

Schlosser could not have done a better job describing Americas's fast food industries and meat-packing plants. A must read for all ages. This is one of the best non-fictions I've ever read.

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