Fast Food Nation

I just finished reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. I've spoken to many people previously who have read it. Interestingly, I seem to have taken away a different message than most of those people did. Many of the people that have read it seem to think Schlosser is simply describing to us how disgusting fast food is, and that we should stop eating it. At least that's what they imply when they say things like, "I just read Fast Food Nation (or saw the movie) and I'll never eat fast food again."

I would argue that that is really not the purpose of Schlosser's work at all. I found the book to be a very interesting account of how the fast food industry came to be, as well as the unexpected, and often unintentional, effects the rise of fast food brought about. I think many people are missing the big picture, which is vastly more important than simply "fast food is bad": The issues Schlosser discusses are not limited to the fast food industry. They apply to all industries that are controlled by a handful of mega-corporations. The problem lies at the heart of America: The American government is controlled by big business. In reality how you vote is vastly less important than how you spend your money. Your vote is basically meaningless in our current government. Real change will occur based on how you spend your money. Schlosser highlights this fact when he discusses the powerful and quick changes that occurred in the meat packing industry when McDonald's was afraid of bad press. Changes that the FDA and the USDA had been trying unsuccessfully to institute for years. Changes that were opposed by every big business in the food producing industry. McDonald's made those changes happen basically instantly, simply because they willed it. They feared losing their customers and so they demanded changes, and those changes were made because the big businesses of meat packing feared losing their contracts with McDonald's.

Schlosser isn't saying fast food is bad, although one could easily believe that's the message he's trying to send. The unpleasant things Schlosser discusses are simply a result of our capitalistic system that focuses on the bottom line. Workers are mistreated in slaughterhouses because it's cheaper (even if marginally so, as Schlosser contends). I'm not saying it's a good thing at all that worker and food safety is ignored in favor or saving a few cents per pound of beef. It's simply the natural market response. If you want to change it, make your voice heard. Write a letter to the corporations telling them that you will no longer be purchasing their products unless X changes are made. Also explain that you will be discusses these issues with your friends and families and encouraging them to do the same. The only thing these companies really fear is losing their customers. They have enough government officials in their pockets that the government agencies designed to regulate their industry are powerless.

The problems Schlosser brings up aren't restricted to fast food. They affect the entire food supply of the country. You think that the beef bought by your mid-range restaurants is slaughtered in some fundamentally different way? Unlikely.

Overall I enjoyed the book. I learned some very interesting things about the industrialization of the food industry. I can't say I was particularly shocked by anything Schlosser said, probably because I more or less new it beforehand. I am in no way surprised that McDonald's lied to customers about the animal product content of their foods. One thing I learned long ago is that big corporations are not truthful. It's not in their financial interest to be truthful. Nor was I surprised by the amount of governmental control these businesses wield.

I was annoyed to find even more reason to despise the Republican party and wannabe-dictator Bush. Particularly on this point:

"One of President George W. Bush's first acts in office was to rescind a new OSHA ergonomics standard that would have protected millions of workers from cumulative trauma injuries.... The newly appointed chairman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, which oversees all legislation pertaining to OSHA, is Representative Charles Norwood, a Republican from Georgia. During the 1990s Norwood sponsored legislation that would have prevented OSHA from inspecting unsafe workplaces or fining negligent employers. He has publicly suggest that some workers may actually be getting their repetitive stress injuries from skiing and playing too much tennis, not from their jobs." -Fast Food Nation pg. 277

I hate to break it to you, Norwood, but generally the types of jobs that people acquire repetitive stress injuries at are not the types of jobs that have employees skiing and playing tennis in their free time. The Republican party simply continues to prove itself to be a bunch of spoiled rich kids who've never known what it means to work for a living.

Sorry, I didn't mean for this to turn into a political rant. As I've often expressed, I'm a political independent. It just so happens that the Republican party provides abundant opportunity to make me unhappy. I will probably feel the same way about the Democratic party after the next election (there is no chance that a Republican candidate will be getting elected this year (I hope)).