Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
Book Review: A thoroughly enjoyable read! But could be a little less end of the world in its tone.
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is an expose into the seedy underworld of the American food system. It takes the reader throughout the massive infrastructure that is present in the United States and how the political clout that it wields is unnecessarily putting our health at risk. The message is an important one to cast and we as Americans should be absolutely apalled that things have gotten this bad. That being said I felt that his tone was to dreary and at times he focused to much attention on minute details that took away from his key message. I definately recommend that you pick it up. Don't be surprised if you have to walk away at times because of being overwhelmed by both the nature of the subject as well as his slow and meandering writing style.Book Review: A thought provoking read. Definite muckraking, but possibly life changing.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've taught FFN a few times, sometimes switching it out with Cadillac Desert. FFN has a lot of information, most of which may be new to readers. It has become an industry of its own, and since Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me, more people have become aware of these issues. While Supersize me is a rock 'n roll, fast-paced, in-your-face romp through issues of nutrition, Schlosser's book is a much more thoroughly researched and encyclopedic take on all aspects of fast food, from the agricultural practices that support fast food, to the nutrition, to the advertising, to the impacts on children (obesity and brainwashing), to the impact on the landscape and architecture, to the globalization of the American lifestyle. It is an easier read that it may seem from this review because most all of the references are in end notes, so his research never gets in the way of the story. This is good and bad. It makes it an easy read, but it makes it hard to evaluate his copious research. As an academic, I do have bones to pick with some of his sources, but these are relatively few, and I have a few more sources I would suggest in support.
If anyone is thinking it, the book is not a novelization of the film. The film is a fictionalized narrative based on the research in this book. An interesting note is that the slaughterhouse scenes in the film were taken in an actual slaughterhouse, in Mexico, if I remember correctly.
Book Review: A well written and researched wake-up call.
Summary: 5 Stars
I learned of this title from an AP Geography recommended reading list. It is a real page turner! Schlosser delivers hamburger history, business acumen and labor issues with great finesse. Putting the meat packing business in the reader's face is best. Now, if I need a burger, I always look for the manager's picture before buying. This is a great read for all.Book Review: After reading this you won't eat those cheap cherry pies anymore!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book one day at the Cookeville, Tennessee Goodwill store. The cover art was what caught my eye and I flipped through it. It's one of those books that you can't put down if you've ever worked at a restaurant or a grocery store and really wondered where the food comes from and how it gets there.
Very interesting history of the t.v. dinner and frozen foods in here (I'm not joking!) If you are easily grossed out this is not for you but this is not a gross out kind of book either. It's very well researched. A whole lot of stuff about McDonald's in here.
After reading this book I will never eat one of those cheap cherry pies you see in the grocery stores. I used to love those! I can never eat one again after I found out how they made that artificial cherry flavor smell and taste.
I didn't need to eat anymore cheap cherry pies for the rest of my life anyway so I'd like to thank Eric Schlosser for writing Fast Food Nation. I'd also like to ask him to never investigate, report on or write anything about Shoney's Hot Fudge Cake.
Book Review: Alarming in the style of "The Jungle"
Summary: 5 Stars
Just a couple of weeks ago, there was a recall of ground beef tainted with E. Coli bacteria. I never really paid attention to these recalls before, as I did not understand or care what caused the contamination. But reading this worthwhile book opened my eyes to the fact that E. Coli O157:H7 is caused by feces from cattle getting into the meat when it is slaughtered. It is still there in plenty of meat products that we eat. I used to love a very rare steak (bleu as they say in France), but I cannot eat meat the same way now. The runoff from the industrial cattle farms has also contaminated vegetables such as spinach in the past. Wash everything! It angers me that countries such as Sweden and Holland take food contamination much more seriously and have significantly lower E. Coli contamination rates than we do.