Anyone read this one? If you haven’t heard of it, it’s about the fast food industry in the United States, focusing mainly on its role in shaping our culture. I’m only through the first chapter so far (just picked it up on a whim last night at Border’s), but it looks very interesting and remarkably well researched so far.
Only one problem - I love fast food! This book isn’t going to scare me off is it? 
Dammit, that’s what I get when I start a post, answer the phone, and finish it. I meant to add a few more “so fars” in there. Oh well.
I enjoyed it immensely. I still eat fast food, if far more occasionally, but the chapter on food poisoning and hygiene scares is certainly worth thinking about.
I’ve read most of it. I come from a public health background so sanitation issues interest me. Stuff about food poisoning and hygiene doesn’t scare me. To my way of thinking, it happens infrequently plus I don’t eat out much, so the chances of me getting salmonella or e.coli aren’t that great. What disturbed me (and I skipped this part) was the descriptions of how the animals are slaughtered. I found the history of the different franchises fascinating–I really like “social history”–how events, etc., have influenced and shaped our culture. It’s not exactly a casual read; some might find chapters too technical. But it was enjoyable.
I finished it last month. I found it well-written, informative, and clear (I’m not sure what you mean by “too technical”, peedin; which part are you talking about?).
Just wait until you get to the slaughterhouse/meatpackers chapter. 
The salmonella/e.coli chapter didn’t so much scare me off from fast food as it did make me more careful (read: paranoid) about proper food preparation and handling in general. However, the chapter that left the biggest impression on me was the chapter on employees, labor and safety laws, and the relevant industry practices. It’s amazing how far companies will go to keep expenses at a minimum.
As AudreyK says, the most interesting part of the book (IMO) is about labor and business practices. No, it won’t scare you away from fast food, I don’t think. I also was fascinated by the chapter on artificial flavoring. But, if you already understand that your fast food is processed meat stuffs, and are okay with that, you should be ok.
This book was great. I’m a vegan, so I don’t eat fast food, so I wasn’t scared away from it. I have a few more good reasons for being a vegan now, though.
The most interesting part for me was the discussion of food-borne pathogens. I took a few epidemiology courses in college, and I’ve always been fascinated by microbial life and its effects on all the other life on earth. But it didn’t scare me; I guess it depends on how much of a germophobe you are. If you’re the type of person who’s very concerned with what they put in their body, this might well turn you way from fast food. But like Eonwe said, if you know that fast food is processed meat products, and you are comfortable with that, you’ll be okay.
When I was reading it, I at first was kind of grossed out by the hygiene/sanitation part. But then I realized that if I shunned everything that had ever had any sort of contamination or disease associated with it, I’d never eat again.
There’s a certain level of risk I think you just have to accept, and I’m willing to run it if it means I can grab a meal on the go when I need to.
I enjoyed this book very much, and felt like I learned quite a bit about the industry - particularly the history of it.
An excellent read.
It’s really eye-opening the effect fast food restaurants have had on the landscape. More than just the littering of it.
I also liked the way these chains gobble up federal funds for setting up job training programs, then turn around and brag how they have to provide zero job training to their new employees.
It really paints a broad picture of the industry. By all means read it!
This book was fascinating. I thought that I’d be so scarred by the parts about the cows in the slaughterhouses, but what really got to me was the description of the lives that the workers in the slaughterhouses have. Instead of sobbing over cows dying, I ended up crying about these poor people’s lives.
If you don’t eat fast food too much, you probably won’t be bothered. If you do, well, then this both is food for thought.
Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
This book was an NPR darling (at least on Pasadena’s KPCC), and deserved it. They had Schloss on a couple of times to discuss it–he recommends In-N-Out, as it is the restaurant that avoids most of the issues he raises in the book.
As for the the book itself, it is well-researched and a fairly fast read. The hygiene stuff can be a bit creepy, but on the whole, I’m with scout. It makes you think, but don’t get carried away. And the labor practices stuff is incredible (in the bad way).
If you did want to read something that might give you the hygiene/disease willies, go for Deadly Feasts by Richard Rhodes.
Some of the book was interesting, but much of it struck me as shrill, hysterical and hopelessly outdated.
An example of the “outdated” part? Well, Schlosser spends a fair amount of time decrying the fast food industry for exploiting teenage laborers. He says teenagers spend hours slaving away at fast food restaurants, and come home exhausted, unable to do their homework or enjoy their lives.
Um… I don’t know where he lives, but I can tell you this: I haven’t seen a teenager working at a fast food restaurant in YEARS! I see lots of Latino and Asian immigrants, lots of elderly people, even lots of mentally handicapped people… but I honestly can’t remember when I was last waited on by a teen at McDonald’s, Burger King, or any other fast food joint.
I’m 41, and when I was a teen, I had many friends who took jobs in the fast food industry. But today’s American teens look down on that sort of job, and won’t have anything to do with burger flipping for chump change. Even with the current economy in the doldrums, I don’t see any sign that American teenagers are ready to work at fast food jobs they deem beneath them. They’ll work hard at retail jobs, “real” restaurants, or even at places like Starbuck’s. But not at the places Eric Schlosser writes about.
It was a great book, and I haven’t eaten at McDonald’s since I finished it. Didn’t eat there much anyway, but I’m not sure I could stomach it now…
I agree that the slaughterhouse portion of the book was the most interesting, and especially poor, dumb Kenny. I wonder what happened to him.
Well, astorian, around here, many of my friends (I’m 16) work in fast food joints. I’m the weirdo working at the museum.
I just did a skim through the Notes section (which takes about 70 of the book’s 364 + index pages) and the dates of his citations are all fairly recent. Most of the material was published within the last five to ten years. The oldest date I saw was 1986, which makes it 16 years old. That’s old, but certainly not “hopelessly outdated”.
Schlosser researched for about 4 years (I think) and travelled throughout the US and Europe, so I don’t think he can be accused of slacking in the research department.
I believe the bulk of the interviews he did for the section on teenage employees was done in Colorado Springs. Perhaps your neck of the woods is different, astorian.
Around here, fast-food employees are nearly all Hispanic immigrants.
From what I’ve seen, large urban areas tend to have fast food restaurants staffed by Hispanic/Asian immigrants. Smaller towns (like the one I grew up in) still have mostly teenagers.
The abuses he talked about, where the managers have the employees clock out but then still continue to work, so that they don’t violate federal laws about how long you can work without a break, or how late you can work on a schoolnight if you’re a minor, still occur quite frequently.
My siblings are still teenagers and while they don’t work at fast food restaurants (my aunt owns a family-based restaurant, so they both work there instead), most of their friends do. I think this is something that really varies by location.
Also, I have to point out that minimum wage jobs aren’t “chump change” when you work there 40+ hours a week and have no bills of your own to pay. (Except maybe a car payment or something.)
“Also, I have to point out that minimum wage jobs aren’t “chump change” when you work there 40+ hours a week and have no bills of your own to pay. (Except maybe a car payment or something.)”
Yea, that is true. But, I think the “chump change” is for those who are trying to make a living without much support. To me, minimum wage works for those with no bills to pay, but it doesn’t quite work for those who do.
And yes, I work for the department of the redundancy department. Eheheh
The slaughterhouse stuff really got me, then again I’ve been a veg for about 20 years.