false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157830973m/1097.jpg 1097 31 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. <p> 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 <I>The Jungle</I>, written in 1906: nightmare working conditions, union busting, and unsanitary practices that introduce <I>E. coli</I> 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? <I>--Lesley Reed</I> You are what you eat. But do you really know what you’re eating? Britain eats more fast food than any other country in Europe. Rates of obesity and food poisoning spiral upwards, but it seems we just can’t get enough of those tasty burgers and fries. This myth-shattering book tells the story of America and the world’s infatuation with fast food, from its origins in 1950s southern California to the global triumph of a handful of burger and fried chicken chains. In a meticulously researched and powerfully argued account, Eric Schlosser visits the labs where scientists re-create the smell and taste of everything - from cooked meat to fresh strawberries; talks to the workers at abattoirs with some of the worst safety records in the world; explains exactly where the meat comes from and just why the fries taste so good; and looks at the way the fast food industry is transforming not only our diet but our landscape, economy, workforce and culture. Both funny and terrifying, Fast Food Nation will make you think, but more than that, it might make you realize you don’t want a quick bite after all. ‘Fast Food Nation has lifted the polystyrene lid on the global fast food industry … it could even change the way we eat’ Observer ‘Not only will it make you think twice before eating your next hamburger … it will also make you think about the fallout that the fast food industry has had on the social and cultural landscape’ The New York Times ‘The grisliest description of fast food ever written’ Daily Telegraph ‘If the idea of a three-storey, illuminated Ronald McDonald strikes you as a blight on the landscape, this book is for you’ Globe and Mail 2207547 book 2001 Fast Food Nation total:40045|5:9993|4:15584|3:10394|2:2572|1:1502| 40045 150129 58050 2461 4 22 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Aug 04 12:22:08 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 11 17:07:22 -0700 2007 It's not that this...more...]]> 5 19 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Mon Aug 13 19:56:09 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 13 19:56:45 -0700 2007
I was wrong.

The author barely touches the "fast food is full of fat and fat...more...]]> 2 12 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 06 12:04:32 -0800 2008 Sun May 18 10:35:55 -0700 2008
I started reading with high hopes. I heard so mu...more...]]> 3 7 false false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 19:26:22 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 05:36:58 -0800 2009
Have you ever been bored of cooking, would like to get away from stressful problem, trying to find a place where you can eat while your children can play, or trying to find a fast testable tasteful food? …..
...more...]]> 3 5 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 07 10:42:46 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 12 13:49:43 -0700 2007
By the time you finish reading this book, you will strongly consider becoming either a vegan or a hard-core local eater, or both. I took a tiny bit of comfort in knowing that I eat vegan about half the days in the year; still, the book really scared me. It's hard, factual journ...more...]]> 4 6 false false Sat Mar 08 21:18:38 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 08 21:34:33 -0800 2008
The automobile's destructive force on American life was been well documented in other ...more...]]> 3 2 false false Mon Dec 10 12:20:12 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 10 12:27:06 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 4 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Sat Jun 30 12:22:23 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 07 05:39:17 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 3 false false Sat Jan 24 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon Jan 14 11:29:36 -0800 2008 Sat Apr 12 10:16:06 -0700 2008 Fast Food Nation is a fascinating and very readable book. In some ways it reminds me of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. It's not only a critique of fast food, the chemicals we are ingesting and the health problems we are facing, it is also critical of a system that allows exploitation of young, old an...more...]]> 5 4 false false Fri Aug 01 23:08:12 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 23:19:08 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 16:17:39 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 17:06:34 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Fri Oct 12 13:48:58 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 12 13:51:14 -0700 2007 4 2 false false Sat Apr 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 22:07:08 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 22:08:43 -0700 2009 Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Love your burger?, big fries?, large coke? all served in 2 minutes and tasting the same world over? How did it all happen? Well Eric Schlosser lays it all out starting with the birth of fast food, the first drive thru, and the f...more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Feb 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 15:01:28 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 10:10:35 -0800 2009 The Jungle, has failed to kindle any noticeable change in public policy towards the production of meat in America is a grim reminder that today's meatpacking villains are even more vile, and have much more powerful friends, than Sinclair's. Just like Si...more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Jul 26 14:47:03 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 25 22:12:09 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 14:47:03 -0700 2008 ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Fri Nov 30 08:13:05 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 30 08:20:51 -0800 2007
Magnificent. Investigative journalism packed with facts but still interesting on every level. Not only covers practices of the fast food industry but also their suppliers, meatpacking, chains and franchising in general, globalization, and the detrimental effect all of thi...more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sat Sep 08 20:26:48 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 21:00:41 -0700 2007
The book talks...more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 07:19:54 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 10 07:27:39 -0700 2007
What I really loved about this book was that i...more...]]> 2 2 false false Thu Jul 12 08:24:35 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 12 08:31:50 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sat Dec 13 05:32:57 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 05:44:17 -0800 2008
My real concern about fast food is what it may b...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1097