a picture is worth a thousand words...
images from Adbusters
an interesting McDonalds related website is McSpotlight
This is a review of Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. The book is a fascinating expose of the way the fast food business has shaped modern America and the world.
Fast Food Nation
by Eric Schlosser
Penguin Books, London, 2002
ISBN 0141006870
Reviewed by David Reid
You are what you eat, as the old saying goes. However, the links between the food a nation eats and its culture are probably less appreciated. What would France be without wine and Italy without pizza? and what would America be without McDonalds?
In Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser does not set out simply to critique McDonalds. In a thoroughly researched book Schlosser looks at how an industry has shaped an entire nation and is increasingly trying to shape the world. The book should be read more as a critique of the food and agribusiness industries than just a critique of McDonalds.
The fast food industry had humble beginnings in Southern California. It is interesting to note that Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds was a contemporary of Walt Disney. From its early days the fast food industry has not just changed eating habits, but the way people live, work and do business. Urban sprawl, the rights of young workers and franchising are all examined and shown to be intertwined with the rise of the fast food industry.
What makes this book compelling is that the author has obviously spent a lot of time on the road doing research. Rather than just burying himself in books, he has engaged with people everywhere to understand the role that fast food plays in our lives. From franchisees to farmers and meat workers he puts a human face on this industry. For an industry that prides itself on uniformity the experiences of those behind the scenes are far from uniform.
The first part of the book looks at the business side of fast food. Franchising and labour are the two major issues examined. The second part of the book looks at food. It begins at the farm and carefully examines the processes from the farm to the finished product. It is this part of the book that is probably the most frightening. It is the details of the conditions in the meat works that are the thing most likely to put readers of this book off eating fast food.
The author's interviews with meat workers reveal an industry where workers are regarded as disposable. The employment of illegal foreign workers is commonplace and turnover is high. Workers are put under tremendous pressure to achieve high rates of throughput and many are (often horrifically) injured, yet they have little chance of receiving compensation.
Another problem with having a poorly trained and treated workforce is that they take little care in their work leading to contamination of the meat with potentially deadly bacteria. Although Schlosser rightly points out the occurrence of bacterial contamination his treatment of the topic is at times a little too anecdotal. Some more real numbers about the number of people hopsitalised by food poisoning would have served to put the problem in better perspective.
Anyone who reads this book will never look at a hamburger in the same way again (and perhaps never eat one again either). It challenges everybody to think about food from its origins on the farm all the way to the plate (or paper wrapper). It is a wake up call that increasing the power of a few food and agribusiness corporations does not benefit society in anyway. The book finishes on a slightly positive note when Schlosser suggests that the real power lies with consumers. If consumers stop buying fast food then the corporations that make it will be forced to change. Last year McDonalds closed down a number of restaurants around the world, perhaps the tide is already turning.
a picture is worth a thousand words...
images from Adbusters
an interesting McDonalds related website is McSpotlight