Rating: 
Summary: Give me the greasy Big-Mac and don't psychoanalyze it!
Review: Give me the fast food, greasy burgers and forget psychoanalyzing every American! This guy goes on and on ad nauseum about the golden arches and the way they are overtaking our society. Get over it! Capitalism allows freedom to eat or not to eat fattening french fries, the good news is that Americans have the CHOICE to indulge in such fare! This author acts as though starvation would be preferrable to eating a burger at McDonald's. Come on, live a little!
Rating: 
Summary: Ideologically Ambiguous
Review: This book is one of the most informative, non biased and well-researched pieces of journalism i have ever read, one u could find in any page of Time Magazine or Newsweek - it's THAT good!
(Ok: if u haven't spotted the cynicism by now ur either braindead or ur married and have 2 kids.)
Well: actually it IS brilliant. I was particularly fascin8ed by the scientists that put the "cent" in "scents" - witty pun, i know, cheers - and turn a nutritionally dead piece of food into a delicious gourmet delicacy financially fit for the budget conscious.
On the hear-me-puke-stereophonically level, i was aghast @ Greeley, the town that should never have been lying @ the other end of the odour rainbow.
One thing left me queasy and nagged @ my moral strings: Mr Schlosser's love of cowboys and wild open prairies where the sun and raindeer prance around in an all natural st8 like mommy always wanted 2. I must confess that epistemological realism has an aesthetic candour lacking in most contemporary worldviews, but i tend 2 step back from it after realising most people have grown up w/ represent8ions of nature from watching National Geographic on the telly. The journalist has travelled extensively 2 write the book, but the end result of all this natural devotion is a slam on vegetarianism.
As vegan i must confess that Walt Disney had little 2 do w/ my choice: it sprung from awareness that Kreutzfeld-Jacob and BSE were as necessary as the current 2003 war against Iraq, and the gore horror scenes i was witnessing on the daily news were quite self-explanatory for THIS conscious entity. The only reason for broadcasting the images of cows in agony consisted, paradoxically, in our conceptually superior view of humans as moral-rational beings and non-human animals as lesser creatures whose suffering and thinking processes are not as ontologically relevant as ours, therefore fit for national viewing as opposed, for instance, 2 the tortured and humili8ed people of Iraq, whose horrid images of suffering would be (ironically) degrading for human dignity if watched by all.
I regret such a well written book by such an intelligent person fails where it should not: vegetarianism makes sense, even though cows will be prey 2 predators, and insects will kill each other and thousands of tendentially aggressive species will have members biting each other till they bleed for territorial control.
Capacity for cruelty has been witnessed in dolphins, spiders and chimps. In humans, obviously, 2. That some of us choose 2 cut ourselves off from that chain of suffering and empathise w/ another living being's emotions is a testament 2 what human animals can do: choose responsibly. Non-human animals have a smaller capacity for this since their conceptual and communicational skills seems 2 be far more reduced - unless they r not and we, victims of epistemological anthropomorphism, r unable 2 perceive and understand their complexity.
Although traditional ways of raising cattle and producing meat - as described by Schlosser and enacted by cowboys - r infinitely far more preferable 2 the industrial fascism we have 2 endure, a vegan diet is not a cuddly-wuddly fetish fit for people who identify more w/ Bambi than w/ fellow humans. Neither is it a way 2 prove our superiority as a species - if it were, then all herbivores would deserve a higher rank in the moral podium. It is a sound choice, a mere result of what thinking beings w/ capacity for critical judgement and a concern for suffering can do. I am sure not all animals in this globe can choose 2 do what we do. But since we have been given the tools and the possibility 2 do so, and since this choice is valid and diminishes pain on a global scale, it is to be taken seriously and not warded off like some fashion conscious preference of the mental-representationally challenged.
I repeat: human animals r not ontologically superior 2 non-human animals and neither r vegans 2 meat-eating humans. We must find out what is good and bad about our lives and experiences and then make commitments based on empathy and concern for another's feelings, needs and space. Inducing non-consensual pain seems hardly justifiable, whether other non-human animals do it or not. The past may have been better than the present in the food industry, but the future can be better than the past and history can be more than a number of nightmarish clichés of exploit8ion, greed, poor management of resources and cheesy sophistry justifying our wasted palates.
Rating:
Summary: Great research and rich depictions of an industry
Review: I was told that when I read this book I would never eat at a fast food restaurant again. Well, the book was excellent, well written and fascinating, which is remarkable for the subject matter. However, fast food itself is changing and often is not the processed nightmare of the past, and even after reading the book I will still partake in an occasional McDonalds hamburger and fries.The book itself is simply outstanding. The depictions of the slaughterhouses are enough to make one a vegetarian immediately. The details into the background of the various industries that supply fast food restaurants were remarkably well researched and written in a very readable fashion. I especially enjoyed the roots of the fast food business - California of course -and how this "American" industry came into being so quickly. The sections on potatoes were also gripping and, perhaps not what the author intended, made me quite hungry for a big plate of fires while reading. The one complaint I had about the book were the sections on the employee standards and union avoidance tactics of the industry. I feel the author had a liberal agenda that missed a critical element of how our economy works. The days of labor unions protecting jobs or improving working conditions are nearly completely over, and in reality were never as effective as they were portrayed to be. Rather, it is the free market economy and the supply/demand curve of available workers that drives working conditions and pay. When fast food restaurants have to compete with other industries for talent, the wages are driven up far faster than the added cost of unions ever could. Other than this section and agenda, the descriptions of personal glimpses into this razor thin margin business were great. I did admit feeling for the "little guy", the franchise owners, as opposed to the corporations that run them. One almost can correlate the tactics of some of these corporations as being like a "family". Overall, a great book and a very enjoyable and interesting read. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Fast Food Nation Review
Review: What started out as a 500-dollar hot dog cart became the staple of American cuisine. Today, millions of people are digesting hamburgers from McDonalds, Burger King, and other chains. But when you order a Big Mac Combo, what actually did the burger and the fries start out as, and how did they get there? What are the many sources corruption that create two small meat patties, frozen, fried potatoes, and hunks of tender chicken that you are dining on? Eric Schlosser answers your many questions about the fast food industry in his first book, Fast Food Nation. Schlosser goes into the underworld of the burger corporations to find out what is put in and what comes out of an "All-American Meal." His research leaves no patties un-flipped and investigates cattle ranches, artificial flavor companies, meat packing industries, and many more places while seeking an answer.
One of the main strengths of the book are the constant references to the companies succeeding because of kids. One chapter explains how McDonalds employs teenagers as its main work force. Schlosser explains how companies can pay their teen workforce below minimum wage since most of them live with their parents and can work long hours with little benefits. Another chapter discusses how Ray Kroc, the founder of the McDonalds Corporation, used a form of marketing called "synergy" or marketing to kids. Kroc figured that if he marketed to kids, he would receive their parents/guardians as customers as well. The chapter discusses toy giveaways, commercials, and Ronald McDonald as well as other tactics. Other chapters mention kids as most vulnerable to the E coli 0157:H7 bacterium, or the utilization of school districts for product placement.
The darkest set of chapters makes up the main course of this book. Those chapters focus on the dreaded meat packing plants and the people who work there. Schlosser does an excellent job describing the brutal assembly lines, the tormented workers, and the overall danger of packing plants such as ConAgra, IBP, and Greeley. One chapter describes many of the risks employees take. Schlosser talks about deadly hydrogen sulfide fumes and the machines that cause people to throw out shoulders, lose arms, and even die when working. He describes how one of the largest-paying jobs operated by skilled professionals became a near minimum wage job operated by unskilled illegal immigrants with the addition of IBP's assembly line system. This book does a great job mentioning the poor condition of cattle at the plant and how E coli 0157:H7 gets into the burgers. Contaminated meat fails inspections while little is done to recall the it. These chapters also mention the horrible meat school cafeterias get from corporations such as Bauer and Cattle King, their continued use of contaminated meat, and how packing companies can get away with having salmonella in their meat.
Overall, I would score this book about five out of five stars. Every chapter is incredibly interesting as Schlosser pieces together the mysteries of fast food with descriptive language and personal experiences. This book has no major flaws even though certain parts of every chapter seem a bit dull compared to the rest. But that flaw is not enough to penalize such a great piece of literature. I recommend this book specifically to young adults for them to learn how they are targeted as key components of McDonalds' success, and I recommend this book generally to people of that age and above.
Rating:
Summary: Fast Food Nation
Review: I learned a lot about what is wrong with fast food. But I would still Eat it. Ididn't Know there was so much wrong with fast food. Even their natural ingredients are artificial. It was very informative.
Rating:
Summary: Hungry For Knowledge
Review: Fast Food Nation...
The book gives the reader a harsh hit of reality; Fast food will not be appealing after reading this book. Although the book talks about the fast food industry it also talks about other industries. Anyone who hasn't read this book definitely needs to read it... Be prepared!
Rating:
Summary: You are what you eat
Review: I picked this book up on impulse, recalling a book review and several friends' comments, thinking it would be a easy read about low wages and obesity. I was surprised to discover that it was a careful, precise and objective examination of not only the history of the fast food industry, but the forces that lead to (and away) from it. Fast Food Nation is organized around the thesis that we pay a number of hidden costs for our low-priced fast food. It takes the broadest view possible and examines not just the mechanics of the industry, but the ripple effects on our society. This is the rare exposé that is both wide-ranging and deep, including: --The New Jersey flavorists who add "natural" or "artificial" flavors to almost all processed foods (and why there's almost no difference between the two; that last ingredient on the label comes from a glass vial near Newark) --McDonald's pioneering of intense marketing to children (and how other industries followed suit) --The leveraging of the SBA by the fast food giants to experiment with new store openings (should the government be subsidizing the franchisor or the franchisee, or either?) --The foot-dragging tactics used by meatpackers after outbreaks of E coli infections to wait for the evidence to vanish (i.e., be eaten) and how if they voluntarily undertake a recall, it need not be publicized (!) --How the USDA chose the lowest-price meat for school lunch programs in the 80s and 90s, and how that led to E coli outbreaks among children, who are more susceptible than adults --How smaller, traditionally independent ranchers and potato farmers have become powerless and poor because of an economic "hourglass" (many producers at top, many consumers at bottom, and a handful of multinational companies in the middle) --How meatpacking went from being a high-paying, desirable job after WWII to America's most dangerous, low-paying job with 100% annual turnover, requiring active recruitment of not just legal and illegal Mexican immigrants, but other third-world refugees and the homeless. Quote: "If they've got a pulse, we'll take an application." --How, because of the cost of grain: cattle were fed to cattle; pigs, horses and other animals were fed to cattle; chicken manure was fed to cattle; chickens are fed to cattle; cattle are fed to chickens; and what the consequences of doing so are for spreading disease. --And much, much more. Some sections are dense litanies of appalling behavior, both in industry and in oversight. While all the meatpackers come off badly, as a Colorado native who grew up 20 miles downwind from Greeley's pungent stockyards, the author's description of Monfort's villainous behavior was particularly compelling to me. This is a book that has provoked vehement denials, both from its targets and by reviewers. Unfortunately for them, Fast Food Nation is old-fashioned journalism: every incendiary revelation (there are a lot of them, even if you think you already know about the food industry) is backed by 70 pages of footnotes, providing line-for-line sources. Schlosser obviously cared enough to gather his information directly when possible (trip to the slaughterhouse, interview with Carl's Jr. founder Carl Karcher, interview with spud king J.R. Simplot, a night delivering pizzas, etc.). I strongly disagree with the reviewers here who have called this a "left-wing diatribe", "anti-Republican", "communist propaganda", etc. No one is taking issue with the author's facts, and slurring and blurring won't hide what is presented. He goes to great pains to be neutral and respectful of his sources, and doesn't pretend to argue with fast food's wide success. His examination of the men who founded the fast food dynasties and their capitalist drive is admiring; he describes the food as "delicious". Any polemics you get from this book will be put there by you first. Eric Schlosser lays the data on the table, but offers little editorializing, except when analyzing what to do at the conclusion. The book was written before the scale of mad cow disease was understood, but it is discussed in the afterword. It's left to the reader to connect the dots. To those who still like the picture that emerges (or who are prepared to close their eyes), two words: Eat hearty.
Rating:
Summary: Better to be Aware
Review: I enjoyed the book very much, and although I am upset that I can never truly enjoy the taste of a Big Mac ever again, I think it is more important to know the truth about the food i am consuming--especially if it may be lethal one day. I think the public needs to be informed of the dangers of such industries, so as a society we can work to become more health conscious and fit. I didn't really favor the style of the writing, and I thought it was somewhat choppy the way each chapter resembled a different article, but I'm not sure if it could have been done a better way. Overall, I thought it was a very important book for every fast food-obsessed teenager to read at some point.
Rating:
Summary: The truth about the "fast food"
Review: I recommend this book becuase it's an easy read for the curious about the real fast food nation. If you have ever questioned any fast food meal you've eaten, this book is for you. Schlosser looks into the darkness to uncover the truth about fast food companies and their practices. The reader will learn about the problems with disease in poultry plants and how the fast food companies have power. Most big fast food companies once had a founder; like McDonalds and Wendy's both started by simple working people but then grew to kill working people. How do you know what's in your fast food meat when you eat it? Upton Sinclair was responsible for changing the meat packing industry in 1906. Now the government regulates the meat processed and makes sure its top quality. The fries and the rest of the food tastes good because it's pre-manufactured and frozen until ready to make. French fries or "freedom fries" (thanks to McDonalds, which now has a political stand) are now being made in a factory. It's simply cheaper to buy frozen fries then to make them at a fast food place. McDonalds was responsible for making a new breed of chicken for their McNuggets. It's a tuff job to work in a slaughterhouse. You have to wear a metal suit and cut up meat all day long. Meat in the last several decades has been affected by many diseases like E.coli 0157:H7. Schlosser doesn't leave the reader scared of eating fast food next time they are out and need a quick lunch, but offer suggestions of what can be done and what government can do to improve the standards of our meat. Things need to change in this country about fast food. Our standards of food are lower than most European countries and this has led our country to be obese and unhealthy.
Rating:
Summary: Schlosser sweeps this fast food nation!!
Review: I was truly fascinated by Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation." Beyond the horror stories of why we really love certain fast food restaurants' french fries, are the stories of the many young entrepreneurs behind the fast food restaurants that are so familiar to us. Schlosser gives a humanistic perspective, giving life to not only the corporate heads of large franchise fast food restaurants, but to the little guys, working the drive-thru window, and behind the counter. He draws sympathy and compassion for these workers, a fact that makes me ashamed that I may have ever looked down on them--after all, they're people struggling to make a living just like anyone else, as Schlosser points out. Schlosser's novel should be required reading for all economics and business classes, and I highly recommend it.
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