Eric Schlossers Fast Food Nation Fast Foods Impact on...

â€Å"Fast food is popular because its convenient, its cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu.† – Eric Schlosser -- Eric Schlossers book Fast Food Nation is not only an expose of the fast food industry but also shows how the fast food industry has shaped and defined society in America and other nations as the fast food culture spreads globally. He connects the social order of society to the kind of food it eats and the way it eats that food, and relates fast food to other social processes and institutions. His facts are based on years of research and study, and are presented in and easy to follow narrative. Schlosser is so thorough and convincing in his argument, its impossible to†¦show more content†¦The needs of this industry shape a number of social institutions and also have a direct effect on local communities by bringing in people who require more social services than would otherwise be the norm. Its interesting to note that labor unions were created to give a voice to those who have none. With only one third of employees supported by a union, I wish Schlosser had expanded on why these other employees are not union members. Schlosser describes the environment of the meat packing plants serving fast food companies in a startling straightforward narrative of his visit through a meat packing plant. He describes a brutal, and sometimes unsanitary environment. The rights of animals are a very broad and complex subject, but Schlosser touches on this as he describes the slaughterhouse floor. He describes animals in various states of disembowelment. Sometimes the animals were dead or stunned; sometimes they were thrashing about wildly in the last throws of death. The slaughter room floor was described as being covered with blood and feces. Employees worked at a furious pace to meet the days quota. What bothered me most was the fact that this meat is not only prepared for fast food companies but also contracted out to serve our childrens schools. The quality of the meat that is fed to children in school and at the fast food restaurants is, in some cases, horrendous. The animals used to make about one quarter of theShow MoreRelatedGlobalization of the Fast Food Industry Essay1802 Words   |  8 PagesEnglish 120 11-22-09 Globalization of the Fast Food Industry Imagine a world where almost everyone is overweight, and cultural and family traditions do not exist. Eric Schlossers book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal explores the effects of the spread of fast-food companies like McDonalds to other countries. In his chapter â€Å"Global Realization† Eric Schlosser claims that â€Å"The global expansion of American fast food is homogenizing cultural identities; like Las Vegas