Rating: 
Summary: Interesting... but i wish for more...
Review: This book examines the American fast food culture...
However, ala "The Jungle", i expected it to be a little more gross and and little more controversial... and i was a little let down.The beginning of the book discusses the history of fast food - how the idea was concieved and the founding fathers. It was pretty interesting (but a little long-winded.) The next part of the book describes what is IN fast foood and where the meat comes from. He talks about "Natural" vs "Artificial" flavors, which was something i never paid much attention to... and now know to avoid! He talks about the meat packing plants... which was kind of gruesome.... but being a vegetarian, it didn't affect me much. Then he tosses out some surprises... McDonald's fries are flavored with beef! Watch Out Veggies! This middle section was the most interesting part of the book. And the third part is how fast food has affected the whole world. Again, interesting, but LONG-winded. This book was very informative... but i wished for more discussion of the food, and less about the corporations. I expected to never eat fast food again after i read this - but it is a mild book.
Rating: 
Summary: Ultimately an Inspiration
Review: The best of what we read changes us in some fundamental way and Eric Schlosser's book does all that and more. His work is carefully researched -- in addition to his own considerable investigative work (which resonates on every page) he includes 55 pages of notes, a two-page acknowledgement and a six-page bibliography. Schlosser engaged and instructed me with stories of compelling characters that illustrate both the horrors and the heroics in the global fast-food industry. The author doesn't simply beat the anti-establishment drum; he does not question or criticize the basic responsibility of businesses to run at a profit. What Schlosser does, and does very well, is force the reader to think about the line between profit and greed, the balance of efficiency versus exploitation, and the vulnerabilities of the very young and the very poor. Best of all, Eric Schlosser's fabulous and disturbing book reminded me who is really responsible for what happens in business in this country -- me. This book inspired me to exercise my rights as an American and a consumer; there are fast food restaurants in this country that care about health and fairness, I'll eat there (Schlosser highlights two or three in the book). I'll be writing my congressional representatives to emphasize that I am watching the industry that puts contaminated food in school lunches and children's meals at fast food restaurants and they had better be watching too. I will insist on better legislation and enforcement instead of corporate window-dressing and political pay-offs in the form of campaign contributions. If you want to lead an un-examined life -- if you choose to believe what happens in big business doesn't impact your world, if you need to enjoy that Domino's pizza with your must-see-TV, if you hope to have any peace of mind while your child eats a Happy Meal -- do not read this book! This is the best book I've read in years. It inspired me to make some changes and to start thinking about what my mother always said "Don't put that in your mouth! You don't know where it's been!"
Rating:
Summary: The ugly side of conservative driven capitalism.
Review: Unfortunately I spent too many years in the belly of the capitalist beast-er, the good ol' USof A and all the back-filling by conservative business people can never cover all that I saw and therefore know to be true from Schlosser's marvelous book.
Nothing that I read in his book surprised me and everythiong that I read was true-the only problem with his work is that it will not be read by the people that have the most to lose by not accessing its information-the kids.
Here in Western Ausralia I have seen the explosion of American fast food outlets throughout the Nineties and I have seen also the increasing girth of heretofore slim people.
Besides the very apparent health factors at play there is also the terrible impact of cultural imperialism riding the back of ice creams, pizzas and the ubiquitous hamburger.
Please save the world from fast food capitalism!
Rating: 
Summary: Back to "The Jungle."
Review: Don't let the author's uncloaked anti-Republican bias fool you. This book is an exhaustive accusation against food industry giants who work under the radar and behind the scenes to reverse nearly everything Upton Sinclair's muckraking changed for the better in the early part of the last century. This is as much about ConAgra, IBF, Simplot and other names you may not have heard of as it is about McDonald's, Jack In The Box and Wendy's. For all practical purposes, the mass food industry has grown into a self-regulating monster whose tentacles stretch deep into the halls of Congress, the FDA, the FCC, the USDA and even our public schools and children's bedrooms. It has run small farmers and ranchers out of business and replaced them with a handful of virtual monopolies. It aggressively rebukes any effort to allow government interference into safe food handling or labor relations, but lobbies for and accepts huge government handouts to promote those same safety and labor efforts with equal zeal. If you have children who eat fast food, watch television or attend public schools, you really ought to read this book. What has happened over the past fifty years to the food you eat and to the way your public schools are funded -- complete with the blessings of the US and local governments -- will shock you. If you choose to dismiss it as so much liberal druck ... all I can say is "would you like fries with that?"
Rating:
Summary: Solid warning!
Review: I agree with some of the reviewers that state that there is cause for concern. And there is no doubt in my mind that Schlosser is a very good writer-journalist-storyteller. He is. And for the most part this book is riveting reading. But he brow beats us with some parts of the tale, telling them over and over and over and over again, as though we didn't get it the first time. It's as if he doesn't realize that his plain, smart, direct, and often funny narrative style is a true gift, and in using it, he does not need to tell us things repetitively. And the constant berating of members of the Republican party is also unnecessary --- everybody knows that Republican apprently = the devil and Democrat apparently = angel ... though I would be hard pressed to find a major US corporation (on the scale of IBP or ConAgra) that does not donate both ways.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Eat the Meat!
Review: That's what the author would tell you. Fast Food Nation is a wonderful book. I would recommend this to anyone who would like to gain some insight on how the industry works. The things I've learned in this book have changed my thinking on where and what to eat. You'll be amazed to find out about some of the things your food goes through before it actually enters your month. I would have given this book five stars but I thought it was somewhat bias. If you've read other reviews, you'll see a lot of people agree with this point. The author does an excellent job of explaining the ills that plague the fast food industry and it's suppliers. But I often found the arguements too one-sided. We live in a capitalist society. The point is to make money. Sometimes the human cost to that is great. But I bet the same people that complain about these tragedies own mutual funds that have these companies' stocks in them. The bottom line is we as individuals have to make informed decisions on the food we buy and the restuarants we patrinize. This book helps in that process.
Rating:
Summary: A Comprehensive Study of Fast Food
Review: If you're interested in the fast food industry from a economic, sociological or health angle then you will definitely get something out of this book. This book is not simply about why fast food is bad for you, but deals with many aspects of the industry. Schlosser covers the history of the fast food industry and the characters involved in creating these multinationals. He emphasises the nastiness of capitalism by explaining how the companies bully the farmers and exploit their employees. From a Sociological angle he discusses the effect that fast food has had on society and the "McDonaldisation" of day-to-day life,
how teenage-labour has been "exploited" and how the industry has "unethically" gone about targetting children in their marketing campaigns. Schlosser's most shocking revelations are to do with health. He discusses the lack of monitoring and control that the authorities have on what goes into the meat whether it be bacteria (e.g. E-Coli), animal excrament on foreign objects such as glass. He also gives a facinating insite into the artificial additive industry and the role they have played in fast food. On the negative side I would say this book is quite one-sided - little is discussed about the positive role the industry has given to society. Such issues as the role of providing jobs and responsibility to teenagers and the mentally, physically OR socially disadvantaged. He also talks little about the effect of fast food on the body and the rise of obesity in the US and worldwide. The book is also a little long-winded. If you're only looking for a book about the effects of fast food on your health then you will probably end up skipping many chapters of this book or you may be better off reading the abridged version. However Schlosser writes well and if you are particularly interested in all aspects of fast food you will be kept interested while reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Captured the problem beautifully
Review: It's rare that any literature on the fast foot culture of our society is the least bit engaging or entertaining. I picked up this book with low expectations, and was quickly put in my place. This book is so comprehensive, thought-provoking, and interesting that I would recommend it to anyone without hesitation. If you're thinking it's merely another 'The Jungle'... you're wrong. Sanitation is still a problem that's covered, but our nation's food industry has evolved into a much more complicated beast in the last century than Sinclair could have ever imagined. This book helps to unravel it all.
Rating:
Summary: Intersting Facts about the Fsat Food Industry
Review: The book is full of facts that most people will never want to know. Schlosser covers everything from how fast food started to what is in the meat. It starts off explaining about how McDonalds and Walt Disney made a partnership and how they targeted kids to make their parents feel like they aren't spending enough time with them. Then it talks about how they make the fries and how they put certain scents into the ventalation system for people to smell. Probably the most disgusting chapter to read is one about conditions in the slaughterhouse and how much workers get when they chop off limbs and how employers sell their own employees drugs to work faster. After reading what is in the meat you will never want to eat fast food again. This book is very ineteresting to read and with all the horrible facts you may want to read it twice to know you got it all.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but definitely biased
Review: Overall, this was an excellent, informative documentary on the food industry in general - in specific, fast food and where your meat comes from. Some parts will definitely shock you and gross you out. Currently I'm reading "The Jungle," by Upton Sinclair, which examines (in novel format) the meat packing industry in Chicago in the early part of this century, and I'm afraid to say that not everything has changed since then. Regardless of this, this book will scare you away from fast food to a certain degree. However, I think that this author tends to be fairly biased against all the fast food restaurants and the people behind them, making them out as horrible people, which I don't think is entirely true. I believe that there are facts and data out there that could counter a couple of his claims. He does present facts and data, though, that back up his claim, so nothing is false in the book, that I know of. However, overall I believe that his facts do give an extremely fine impression of this disgusting industry. It will make you think twice before picking up a BigMac or heading to Taco Bell. Since reading this, I think it's been quite some time since I've had some fast food. In addition, just the amount of propaganda coming from the corporate world is astounding... how they suck their customers in. After reading this book, it really makes you think twice all of the time, whether you see a McDonald's or listen in disgust at their "We Love to See You Smile" campaign.
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