| 17 april 2001 new review! this one's important, i think. yep, definitely important. | want it your way? you sure about that? Most of the time when I read a nonfiction book, I'm too aware of the fact that its author really wants to make a point. They do so by either being extremist, alarmist, or just plain trashy. And then there are those rare cases in which the guy is just being honest. The final sixth of the book is comprised of footnotes and supporting research documentation. That's when I start to pay attention. Now, you have to know that I've never been much of a fast food hound. Having followed an essentially vegetarian lifestyle for years, I never cared for burgers too much even as a kid. The texture of ground meat never did it for me, and (thankfully) I grew up in the rural Midwest, where there was plenty of good whole food for Mom to prepare each day. I was, it turns out, an exceptionally lucky kid. You know those kids who were indulged each time they whined I wanna go to McDonalds!!! ? Okay, not so lucky. I first heard about Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation during his NPR interview a few weeks ago. Intrigued by his calm, factual, unaccusatory manner, I purchased the book later that day. Let's just say that now, I won't even indulge the occasional McDonalds french fry craving. Yarg. The book begins inocuously enough, with an interesting history of how many of the most popular chains got their start. From Hardee's to the McDonald brothers' Speedee Service (which implemented assembly-line principles to food preparation), to Burger King's "roto broiled" hamburgers in miracle insta-machines--a handful of Californians were poised to serve America in their new favorite place: their cars. This history is what grabbed me about Schlosser's book. By portraying the founding fathers honestly--as decent, hard-working guys with new ideas--he doesn't immediately demonize the restaurants' creation, and therefore didn't alienate me. When you fast-forward to the 70's and beyond, however, you see an industry run awry. And the thing is, we asked for it. Sort of. By now, you've probably read a review or two of this book. You've heard a grodie tidbit here and there. And I found them as horrifying as anyone did. You've got about an 80 percent chance of having cow poop in your meat. Most chain hamburgers contain the meat of at least one dozen cows. Don't like the idea of illegal aliens in this country? Well, don't think they're all chomping at the bit to get here--many of the meatpacking workers are driven here in vans by huge processing plants who make enormous promises, then drop them off at community homeless shelters. The information that really stuck with me, however, is how thoroughly we are manipulated from childhood onward. Child-based marketing groups are training us literally from infanthood to believe that their food tastes good, that they are our friends, that they like to see us smile, and that we will get toys if we eat there. McDonalds is the second-largest toy distributor in the country. "Leverage", "pester power", and the "nudge factor" are analyzed and then implemented in books like Kids as Customers: A Handbook of Marketing to Children If you don't believe how thoroughly these places have contributed to the ill health of America, Schlosser will give you a glimpse of China or Japan, who are quickly abandoning primarily-vegetarian diets to integrate Western crap. There, a whole new generation is emerging--a fat one, with previously unheard-of "diseases of affluence"--heart disease, colon cancer, and late-onset diabetes. Don't believe everyone when they say it's in their genes. Very likely, it's in their burgers. As far as the manipulation once you're in the restaurant, you know why a Whopper always tastes the same? That taste is manufactured in a perfume plant on the New Jersey Turnpike. They're the same people who make, among other things, deoderant and Estee Lauder perfume. Hungry yet? Fast Food Nation is an alarming, but not alarmist, book. If it makes one thing very clear, it is the fact that we are ultimately responsible for the fate of our increasingly-obese society, as well as the fate of these chain restaurants. I, for one, am certainly not opposed to the fact that they exist. Obviously, people like the stuff they serve. But just here in Winston-Salem, I can name a few other places that are way yummier, only smaller. Like Cook Out, where they make milkshakes with real milk. Or in Greensboro, there's Beef Burger and Yum-Yums, community institutions from way back. In fact, if you have read or decide to read this book and think similarly to me, let me know. Send me the name of your local community joint, and I'll mention it here. I'm sending Fast Food Nation to Mom today. Something tells me that Nurse Janie is going to need some Tums just to get through it. Fast Food Nation |
