The meat packing industry holds many serious safety and health hazards. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there was an average of 12.6 injuries or illnesses per 100 full time meatpacking employees, twice as high as the average for all U.S. manufacturing jobs. This number is believed to be too low as many workers injuries go unreported due to employee misinformation or intimidation. In novel Fast Food Nation, author Eric Schlosser gives the reader a behind the scenes look at what actually goes on in meatpacking plants in the chapter labeled as “The Most Dangerous Job.” During this experiment Schlosser uncovers the truth about how many injuries truly occur and how unsanitary these plants actually are. Schlosser goes into great detail of the lengths plant mangers will go to allow unsafe working conditions such as cutting in close quarters, exposure to toxic chemicals, slippery floor
Millions of people die each year from diseases caused by unhealthy food and lifestyle choices. Fast food and processed food are very inexpensive and are some of the worst foods for humans from a nutritional view. They can increase the risk for heart disease, diabetes, and heart attacks. Many people discuss these topics, like Michael Moss, a New York Times investigative reporter. “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food” by Michael Moss addresses the effects of processed food.
Weaknesses: 1) - In 2002 most fast food chains were desperately slashing prices in a bid to go increasingly lower. 2) - The lack of an easily recognizable product comparable to McDonald 's big Mac or Burger King 's whopper. 3) - Wendy 's moved into the future without founder Dave Thomas. Strengths: 1) - It reported higher in revenues in 2002. 2) - It had over 9,000 restaurants in 33 countries worldwide.
According to Centres of Disease Control and Prevention more than one-third (34.9% or 76.6 million) of U.S adults are obese. In this fast moving world, may it be people from the corporate world or even students no one really have the time to wait to get their food done. So the only way is that they buy themselves fast food. However, awareness is being created these days about the effects of fast food people are also starting to blame fast food for increasing rate of obesity. Obesity has now become a global issue and it requires serious concentration by the health ministry as well as the consumers.
One of the central problems in the discussion on food waste is that many people throw away food too early. A report co-authored by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic shows that misconceptions about the expiration date on food leads 90% of American consumers to throw away edible food. Consequently, America waste 40% of their food production every year. Many people do not know that freezing meat can make it last longer. When the meat becomes frozen, the growth rate of bacteria drops significantly, enough to make it last for op to nine months after the expiration date.
After World War I, with the construction of White Castle (Wilson). Since then, the whole structure of American culture and landscape has been built on the foundation holding up these businesses which has begun to show up in various cultures. In the novel, Fast Food Nation written by Eric Schlosser, a farmer by the name of Carl Karcher, who eventually is the founder of Carl jr. fast-food restaurant states, “When I first met my wife the roads were gravel, and now it’s blacktop.” (Schlosser 28). He says this with a more positive connotation, which is ironic because the only reason the roads changed was to further benefit the fast food industries. Even in the rural area where Karcher lived, America was adapting to a more convenient and faster way to get to these franchises in a shorter amount of time: highways.
This system is a risk-based system that is the international standard for food manufacturing businesses, but is intricate as it involves a lot of paper work, the need for technical expertise and a large amount of resources to put into service. Consequently, this system for food safety has not achieved a great level of success in the hospitality industry. Moreover, majority of chefs believe that it is too complicated, arduous and nothing more than bureaucratic sledge hammer (Forte,
Literature Review The following literature review looks at various factors which affect the purchasing habits of consumers when it comes to fast food and also considers if the introductions of cheaper meals for poverty-stricken patrons increase the sales of fast food outlets. In an article written by Holly Richmond (2013) (Appendix-Addendum A) she states that 47% of Americans eat fast food on a weekly basis and that 4% never eat at fast food outlets. According to Richmond (2013) the number of Americans who eat fast food regularly has gone down, even though it only went down by one percent. Richmond (2013) states that younger individuals are the biggest customers of fast food, but not because one would expect younger individuals to be more economically challenged. According to Richmond (2013) the opposite occurs: higher income individuals provide much more business to fast food outlets than lower income individuals, 51% of higher income individuals who earn more than $75000 annually eat fast food weekly, whilst only 39% of individuals who earn less than $20000 annually eat fast food weekly.
In the late 1800s, when the food packaging industry became popularized, there were little to no safety regulations put in place. In 1906 American journalist and novelist, Upton Sinclair, wrote a groundbreaking novel telling the public about the horrors that took place in the meat-packing industry in Chicago. The Jungle exposed the tales of rotten, diseased and contaminated meat that people ate every day, which left the public appalled and paved the way for new federal food safety laws. (Onysko) As time went on, more and more regulations have been put in place and people felt at ease. Little did they know, even though the conditions are much better, there are still many issues present.
Previously, when such incidents occurred, the store manager warned the staff. Also, he reprimanded them. This kind of careless behavior has been a common scenario at the store. A few times, the customers have complained about the grocery items being missing from their place and kept at some other corner. This results in wastage of time and irritated customers.