Eric Schlosser’s novel Fast Food Nation was published on January 17, 2001 (a second edition was later published in 2002) in New York, USA. The novel has 252 pages and continues to page 383 to provide the reader with an epilogue, photo credits, notes, bibliography, acknowledgements, and an index. The novel follows the fast food epidemic from its beginning in the 1950s to its current and future impact on America and the rest of the world.
The first section of the novel, “The American Way”, introduces the reader to the origins of fast food in southern California and how the industry has innovated and changed since then to become an international power. Advances in technology allowed businessmen get cheap labor, cheap ingredients and almost effortlessly control restaurants all over the world. The second section, “Meat and Potatoes”, investigates the factors that are responsible for the popularity and wealth of fast food companies. As the government loses its power over the meatpacking industries, those industries have the authority to determine what quality of meat will be served at millions of franchises. Also, Schlosser investigates why fast food tastes almost identical all over the world. His research results include …show more content…
For that reason, I was not drawn to read on. Aside from being assigned to read the book, I wanted to know how I can make a difference. The only ‘solution’ that Schlosser offered was to stop purchasing fast food, which I haven’t bought in over a decade – so for people like me, Schlosser did not offer a solution. For a 200+ page book, Schlosser should have mentioned his objectives more often because I found myself reading and having difficulty making connections between different points. Overall, this is not a novel I would recommend to my friends as a leisure
The first section of the novel, “The American Way”, introduces the reader to the origins of fast food in southern California and how the industry has innovated and changed since then to become an international power. Advances in technology allowed businessmen get cheap labor, cheap ingredients and almost effortlessly control restaurants all over the world. The second section, “Meat and Potatoes”, investigates the factors that are responsible for the popularity and wealth of fast food companies. As the government loses its power over the meatpacking industries, those industries have the authority to determine what quality of meat will be served at millions of franchises. Also, Schlosser investigates why fast food tastes almost identical all over the world. His research results include …show more content…
For that reason, I was not drawn to read on. Aside from being assigned to read the book, I wanted to know how I can make a difference. The only ‘solution’ that Schlosser offered was to stop purchasing fast food, which I haven’t bought in over a decade – so for people like me, Schlosser did not offer a solution. For a 200+ page book, Schlosser should have mentioned his objectives more often because I found myself reading and having difficulty making connections between different points. Overall, this is not a novel I would recommend to my friends as a leisure