Rating: 
Summary: It's Filet Mignon, with some gristly bits
Review: This book should be read especially by teenagers, who have been raised on fast food. This book was a nutritious and wholesome dose of the reality behind our ever-sprawling ever more isolating suburban world. But, like an E. coli infection in an undercooked burger, there were small pockets of slanted writing where it was more important what he wasn't telling you than what he was. Examples of the pathogens: In the chapter "Why the Fries Taste So Good", on p. 126, he writes "Ethyl-2-methyl butyrate, for example, smells just like an apple." The rest of the paragraph makes it sound like this is just some random man-made chemical that happens to smell like apples. But, let's ask the question, what is it in pure, wholesome, 100% organic apples that gives them their smell? Ethyl-2-methyl butyrate. Eric fell into the trap of being unable, or unwilling to differentiate between "chemicals" and "food". News flash: Food is naturally made of chemicals. In "What's in the Meat", the section "Our Friend The Atom" talks about food irradiation. It is true that the meatpacking industry shouldn't be trusted to use this technology properly, since they would see it as a means to cut back on sanitation in other areas. But, there's nothing wrong with irradiation itself. It's like shining a flashlight on food, only with shorter wavelengths. It's a very intelligent way to handle food-born bugs. There was another sentence, or two, I can't recall where, which mentioned genetically modified foods, with the unstated assumption that they were bad. There's actually nothing wrong with GM foods, at the level practiced so far. And, for all the E. coli out there in our meat, there wasn't one sentence that stated how E. coli is killed: by thorough cooking. The rest of the book is great reading. I've always been curious about the early history of McDonalds. And the story of J.R. Simplot is truly remarkable. The meat packing industry/USDA/Congress relationship is farcical in a sad, depressing way. And marketing to kids is genuinely bad. I'm raising my two-year-old son to be McDonalds-free for as long as I can, mostly so he doesn't develop an early taste for it, like I did. As far as I'm concerned, fast food is an addictive drug, and I don't want to get him hooked, like I was.
Rating: 
Summary: Reading this book has changed my life
Review: Like everyone else, I used to go to McDonalds, Burger King etc without even thinking about it. So, i'm not a vegetarian/liberal/greenpeace anarchist type - i'm just your average Joe Soap. Not until I read this book, and it has had a profound effect on me - needless to say, I'll never eat another Big Mac for the rest of my life, and neither will my children. Just to show you how profound this book has been on me, i'm going to purchase several copies of it to post to my relatives and friends - it's THAT good. If you are concerned about the big issues of today, such as the environment, animal welfare and your children, then read this book - you'll never believe just how much suffering and pure evil goes into "Happy Meal". You will rage and be angry after reading this. But the author suggests a simple, effective thing for you to do - don't buy fast food.
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Summary: Fast Food or the meatpacking industry
Review: I expected Schlossers work to be more focused on the fast food industry, and with out a doubt it was, until the many pages on the meat packing industry. While a fine analyzation of the that specific industry, the links back to the fast food industry are weak, and possibly limited by both industries refusal to release information. None the less, an excellent, well written, and impressively researched piece of work that is as eye opening as Jeremy Rifkins Beyond Beef, Rachel Carson and Upton Sinclair. It is a must read for anyone with a concern for the economics of our environment.
Rating:
Summary: What an eye opener!
Review: Like everyone else in the world, I've popped into McDonalds or any number of other fast food places, without a second thought. After reading this book, I do think twice about it. I had no idea the food we eat is processed by unskilled,under paid workers. I had no idea, the meat tasted so good because of the chemicals that were put in it. How many people are going to become seriously ill or die from eating infected beef before the government will do something about this? No more "Happy meal" nights for my family.
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Summary: "Happy Meal" is the biggest misnomer in history!
Review: This book is a stunning indictment not only of fast food, but of our entire economic and political system--a system which has many excellent qualities, but which also encourages the exploitation of our natural and human resources in the interests of short-term profit. What really disgusted me--even more than the meatpacking industry or how fast food targets children in their advertising--was the fact that the US government not only allows them to do all this, it HELPS THEM. Schlosser does a fairly good job of illustrating that most of the Republican party is in the pocket of the industry--so his book alone stands as an excellent argument for campaign finance reform. The abuses of the Small Business Administration and the futile efforts of the FDA, USDA, and OSHA to regulate the industry will continue as long as this country makes money its number one priority.Regardless of your political views, I urge you to read this book, for your own sake and the sake of your family.Then tell all your friends--a Happy Meal is probably the biggest misnomer of all time: it stands for exploited and injured workers, farmers reduced to sharecropping, a lifetime addicted to high-fat, high-sugar foods, environmental irresponsibility, and GREED. Beaucoup thanks to Eric Schlosser for writing this book: it questions not only the practices of an industry, but the practices (and values) of a nation.
Rating: 
Summary: reality check
Review: OK people, let's get a grip. I know that a lot of you self-righteous reviewers out there are in your late thirties and early forties and have been brought up on fast food and probably still occasionally indulge, mainly for convenience. What do you estimate over your lifetime? 1000 burgers? 5000 nuggets? Ever had E-coli? Ever found a finger in your quarter pounder? I admit that this industry is a far cry from an ideal working model but for years they have been giving the American people exactly what we wanted. Fast, cheap, hot food handed to them in a bag so they could drive down the road and spare us all from actually having to cook and clean the kitchen. Yes, the chapter on the meat-packing industry is unsettling, but don't blame the fast food industry for this. Before you write an indignant review about how this book opened your eyes to the evil fast food empire, ask yourself this question. Are you really prepared to give up fast food forever? Next time you're driving down the highway in Podunk, Neb., with a car full of hungry kids at 10 pm when the ball game lets out and all the "good" mom and pop diners are closing down for the night and you spot those golden arches shining in the distance, are you going to pass them up so you can drive 50 miles to your house and cook a completely nutritious meal? Didn't think so.
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Summary: A Magnificent Achievement
Review: I've read everything from Milton Freidman to Marx, but nothing has effected me like this book. As an investor and a consumer, it has changed the way I interact with the world. A true classic.
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Summary: I haven't eaten fast-food since I read this book
Review: Eric Schlosser writes less about the nutritional "evils" of fast-food than about how the fast-food industry has changed our business and agricultural environments. This book is perfectly timed and will interest anyone with questions or concerns about the current socio-political movements such as WTO, globalization, and genetically-modified foods. ONe of my favorite sections is his description of the beef-packing industry. Eric tours a slaughterhouse backwards - he describes it from the end product (neatly packed, clean plastic-wrapped packages of patties) to herds of cattle lowing before they enter the door. It's chilling in the surgical precision and cool tone; his words are very non-emotional until you realize what he's describing: the grueling labor of slaughtering thousands of animals every minute. Buy this book.
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Summary: You Are What You Eat.
Review: Want to find out why McDonald's french fries taste so good? This book will tell you, along with all sorts of interesting information about the food we eat. The book starts out talking about economics: minimum wage, hiring unskilled workers - whether young or handicapped. Lobbying for a lower minimum wage, how not to unionize, and how to avoid having to pay benefits. The book then talks about what we want to hear - the atrocious conditions of the meat packing plants, and the horrible conditions the cows are kept in. Yes, we learn what it is that really goes in beaf - and it makes rats seem preferable. The book is a fascinating insight into the history of the fast food industry and the economics of these companies. The author spends a great deal of time talking about Colorado, and that seems to be an unnecessary digression, but the majority of the book is a fascinating insight into fast food, and the entire industry that produces it. The book concludes with suggestions for making fast food better - nutritionally, and economically. If you are at all interested in the food you eat, and the history behind it, this is a good book to read.
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Summary: Should be Required Reading for Everyone!
Review: This book, in a simple and straightforward manner, will completely open your eyes. I resented the fast-food industry before I read this book, but would pick up something for convenience every couple of months. After reading Fast Food Nation, just seeing other people eat the food makes me sick. You will read about how the food is made, how workers are treated, and how corporations are targeting you. Another reviewer stated that the author was anti-Republican, anti-capitalist, and therefore anti-American. What's wrong with being anti-America? It's pretty sad that money is the true spirit of our dear country. What is good about giant corporations owning everything? And if Republicans supported the meat-packing industry, why shouldn't he say so? Our "founding fathers" didn't even support political parties. And it's not like there's a significant difference between Democrats and Republicans anyway. Overall, this book will make you angry, and, most importantly, encourage you to question what is fed to you. Buy it at a local bookstore today.
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