Fast Food Nation Summary

Fast Food Nation Book Review Eric Schlosser, in his book Fast Food Nation, goes behind the scenes to investigate the processes behind growing and producing food, selling it to the fast food restaurants, and the consumption of that food among millions of people. His goal in writing this book is to inform the audience what happens behind the counters of chain restaurants and how the industry has developed and produced a homogeneous society, affecting the ways we live and eat and fueling high obesity rates both stateside and internationally. California, the home of some of the largest food chains, was an important economic region in the west after WWII. The car-based communities had brought in new people and new ideas that took part in the

Because of the growing fast food industry, an abundance of these inexpensive meals containing empty calories, little fiber, and high amounts of fat are now easily accessible to adults and children. According to Fast Food Nation, “the rate of obesity among American adults is twice as high today as it was in the early 1960s. The rate of obesity among American children is twice as high as it was in the late 1970s” (240), and according to a nutritionist at the University of Colorado, James O. Hill, “we’ve got the fattest, least fit generation of kids ever” (240). A failed number of attempts to reduce the possibility of obesity in customers by introducing healthier dishes on their menus demonstrates how much the fast food industry has changed the way we live and eat.

Another major theme discussed in Fast Food Nation is manipulative advertising. Walt Disney was the first to pioneer the market strategy known as “synergy”. By making agreements with many firms, he gave them the right to use Mickey Mouse in their advertisements and on

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Although I already practice healthy eating habits, Schlosser provides more reasons to not eat fast food when he discusses the processes that go through slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants. The treatment of the livestock, the working conditions for the employees, and the health risks that take place are unbelievable yet true, and I do not support these aspects of the fast food industry. The advertising targeted at children is deceiving and I do understand the benefits the companies have when using this method of advertising, but it can lead to greed and lower the quality of the products being sold. I admire the businessmen’s dreams and successes of becoming widely recognized for their products, but now that I have read the book and noticed what my eyes hadn’t seen before, chain restaurants have had a much larger impact on our world than I had originally