Completion of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the American Meal--by Eric Schlosser

Having completed the book (over Thanksgiving), I am repulsed by fast food, from the production to the selling of it. Would you eat one of those big macs after reading that employees at meat plants spit on the floor and pick up dropped meat off the floor and return it to the production line? After reading this fact, I almost threw up. This book has 99.9% dissuaded me from eating at fast food restaurants from now on. These chains do not complete yearly health checkups by the federal government. The surveys are so rarely completed that in a span of ten years, a salmonella outbreak could occur and sicken thousands of people. These food chains are the most dishonest and manipulative businesses I have seen; they will do whatever means necessary to make money. They sicken me.

In the future, I hope the government will severely crack down on these corporations and curb the unscrupulous and dirty habits of the businesses and bring the fast food industry into the 21st century.

Writing Styles

What interests me about reading are the different styles I come across. I enjoy historical fiction novels because the facts are weaved into the fictional dialogue. However, I also enjoy contemporary nonfiction novels because once in a while, I will want to be informed about the society I live in. In Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the American Meal, I not only like reading about the repulsive ingredients in my fast food, but also there are secondary facts that remind me of things I learned in school. Reading these bits of information makes me proud that I could relate what I learned in school to life. Nonfiction is actually not as boring as I had once thought; if the facts are woven into real life stories, nonfiction can be quite addicting.

Behind the Scenes of Employment by Fast Food Chains

In Fast Food Nation, I was very surprised at the way fast food kitchens were operated. I walk into a McDonald's and I think that everybody is working very hard. To some degree, yes--but for a different reason. In the kitchen, almost all the equipment is automated and runs independently; all the employees have to do is to stay on schedule and scoop up the cooked food and package it. Also, the food isn't really cooked; it's frozen and just reheated and/or fried. Furthermore, most of those seemingly, happy, polite, and smiling cashiers do not smile for real. They are required to put on a facade to entice customers to spend money at the restaurant. Most of the time, since fast food employees aren't paid a lot of money, the employees may be hiding a depressing side of their personalities from customers. Also, cashiers are required to try to get customers to spend as much as possible by suggesting different foods. So, a word of critical advice: have a tough mind when you walk into a fast food restaurant and remain adamant in your orders.


Reading up to this part so far, I get the picture that fast food restaurants are not a friendly and genuine as I previously thought. Additionally, fast food chains are like the machine-like ward in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest because the kitchens are dominated by machines. This scene portrays a very creepy future in which mankind will be victims of machines, and controlled by them. Unless we have a way of relying less on machines, we'd better be ready for that fateful day when man falls to things.


Now that you have read all about fast food chains, I would suggest reading the whole of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the American Meal in order to repulse you even more, ultimately convincing you never to eat fast food again.