The main reason that we were all interested in this book is because we all have seen the movie "Supersize Me." We were shocked by the effect that fast food chains have on society, and we were all interested in learning more, especially about the history of fast food. We believe that this book will teach us about the working class because fast food coorporations employ millions of people for extremely low wages. Fast food restaurants are also a main food source for millions of Americans, especially lower class people, because of their low prices. By reading this book, we hope to gain insight into just how much of an effect fast food chains have on our culture and society.
The first 150 pages of Fast Food Nation were not at all what I had expected. I heard that this book was filled with grimy and gross details about making hamburgers and french fries. I was dissapointed that these pages told of no such things. Instead of talking about grease the author spoke about the founding fathers, McDonalds in relation to other public corporations, the employees, and of course regulations and standards that these corporations should follow. Although I have not yet learned why the fries taste good, I have recieved an in depth history of fast food corporations which I found to be very intersting. Solo Post.
As of October 30, our group has completed most of the book, but we mainly discussed our thoughts on the beginning chapters, pages 1-107. Before we began reading we thought it would be quite similar to the movie "Supersize Me" as Melanie said. To our surprise, the first few chapters had nothing to do with that. Although it did not quite meet our expectations, it was kind of interesting. We were fascinated with how people with little money or fame could come up with a small idea and turn it into a million dollar business. We decided the themes for Part I of the book were luck and intelligence. We chose the first theme, luck, because it seemed that many modern fast food restaurant chains such as KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's, etc., were started by someone who was willing to give everything they had to start over and be successful. We chose intelligence because all the founders needed it to advertise and please the consumers, mainly children. The people hired to work also needed intelligence in specific tasks. So far, the book has been a little boring and repetitive with the success stories, facts, and statistics, but hopefully once we get furthur into the book, it will become more intriguing.
My first impression after starting the introduction to this book was that it was going to be very boring, despite everyone who read it telling me it was interesting. As i got further in Part I, it was still progressing slowly, but I found some facts interesting. The fact that fast food companies target the kid audience never dawned on me until I read this and realized how much of the advertising today is for the kids' meals (and toys), Ronald McDonald and other cartoonish characters, and "Fun Places," or playgrounds located inside the buildings themselves. Another fact I found interesting was that McDonald's was the model for the other chains. I knew that it was a big influence but I had no idea to what extent. So this book has gotten better, but I'm still waiting to figure out what crazy ingredients are put into the food, and the parts all the great reviews of this book are coming from.
The issues that struck me the most in the first few chapters of this book are low wages, long hours, and young workers. Many cities and towns in America are being taken over by fast food resturants. McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's etc., are the main source of jobs for many people in our society today. These corporations focus on cheap labor and often hire the young and unexperienced, such as immigrants and teenagers. The corporations train these people and use them as their puppets, sometimes paying them in food rather than in money. They are taking advantage of our economy and truly making America a Fast Food Nation. I'm looking forward to getting farther in the book and learning gross secrets about the fast food industry. (solo post)
Fast Food Nation really got off to a slow start, but the second half of the book is definatly meeting our expectations. We are all seeing how this book relates to the working class and we are finally learning about the gross details which were the main factor for us in choosing this book. The book relates to working class because it is talking alot about the people who are paid to work in the slaughterhouses and the feedlots. All of the people who work directly with the meat and potatoes in these massive factories are all members of the working class because they are paid so little for such dangerous jobs. It was appaling to learn that a few of the men and women responsible for late night cleans in the slaughter houses are often being slaughtered themselves by the heavy machienery. This book is very well written. It has kept us captivated with its details. There are so many secrets behind the food that we eat and we are all glad to have learned some of them. (group post)
The second half of the book really made me think about how much I do not know about what is really going on in our country. I can honestly say that I will never go to a fast food resturant ever again, not only because of the gruesome tales behind their meat, but because I do not want to fund their corporations because of how they treat their employees. This book has reached my expectations and helped me to open my eyes to the treachery behind these companies who will do anything just to make some money. Honestly, the mindset behind these companies makes me sick. This book is amazing. The quality is great and it is very well written and I'm so glad that I chose it. It has really changed my perspective on what I am putting into my body. (solo post)
(solo post) I agree with Becca and Alex when they said that this book got off to a really slow start. I too thought that it was going to be a slow read. With all the hisotry facts, I felt like I was reading the script to a boring documentary. However, as I read into the parts about the food itself and where it comes from, I was immediately pulled in and able to finish the book quickly. It then became clear to me why a backround of the fast food business was necessary. Everything was able to click for me easily.
(solo post) I am really glad that I read this book, because it opened my eyes to a lot of working class jobs that I had never even thought of. I don't really know why, but I always just thought that the fast food employees made all the food. I now know about the potato companies and salughter houses that give restaurants like McDonalds its products. Reading the chapter "The Most Dangerous Job," I felt sick to my stomach thinking about the people that work in meat houses. From slicing the necks of cows open to cutting the fat off of their bodies, I can defintely see how this would be a dangerous, disgusting job. The last part of this chapter talks about the people that have to clean the slaughter houses at night. People must ride on the conveyor belts and climb up on the roof. I could never imagaine going to a job where everytime there is a chance for serious injury. The other reason that this book has to deal with the working class is because it talks about all the people that our employed at fast food restaurants. I thought it was really interesting how mostly young people are hired because they can be easily disciplined and work for lower wages. The payroll from a fast food restaurant is extremely low, and some people have a very difficult time supporting a family from these, so they have to get more than one job and work many hours a day.
I think Eric Schlosser is a very persuasive writer. Although he presents cold hard facts, it is pretty obvious that he is againt fast food chains. If I could talk to him in person, I would ask him if the people he talked to knew what type of book he was writing. I would also like to know if the amount of people that eat at fast food restaurants since when he wrote the book have increased or decreased. I was really grossed out by the book, but I still think that I will eat fast food. America is continuosly changing, but I do not think that it is completely the fault of fast food restaurants. People need to eat, and with their busy schedules, they want to be able to eat fast. Everything in today's society seems to feel the need to be faster and cheaper, and fast food restaurants are just trying to keep up.
The second part of the book really got my attention. It begins talking about the awful ingredients put into the fries, and how the mass production of this crop, not to mention the excessive production of meat, is seriously afftecting the economy of our country. I felt heartbroken to hear that so many working class farmers and ranchers out west are losing everything they have to these companies, who make everything quicker and cheaper. The book is definately meeting my expectations, but in a way I didn't expect. I thought I would only be learning about the stuff put into the food, but actually I am discovering how greedy and manipulative these fast food companies are. Another part I found amazing was when Schlosser describes the conditions in the meat slaughterhouses. As Alex said, it made me sick to read how brutally the cattle are treated, as well as the workers. The workers work manually harder than anyone I know, yet they recieve VERY little pay. The book so far is great and I am glad I am getting so much insite into businesses in America.
After I finished this book I had a lot of thoughts. I felt sad that the current and also future generations of kids would have to life a lifestyle fighting obesity with fast food so convenient, but also yearning for the ideal body type presented in the media. I was also amazed by how much McDonald's and other fast food chains have influenced cultures across the globe. Soon all countries will look, act, and think the same and that really makes me mad. There needs to be some changes made, such as paying their workers more- even treating their workers FAIRLY, being mindful of the sanitation of their factories, respecting the lives of both people and animals, and trying not to globalize the world into a "McWorld." As much as I was discusted by the facts in the book though, I don't believe I can say honestly that I will stop eating it completely, because if everyone stopped eating all the products addressed in the book, there would be nothing left to eat. But I will be more mindful of the way I percieve immigrant, minority, and teenage workers and exactly how much fast food i eat compared to crops and meat grown by traditional workers.
When I read “Fast Food Nation” freshman year for my I-Search project, I was also shocked by the graphic stories Schlosser dished out. I haven’t put meat on my plate since. I agree that the section of the book focused on the business end of the fast food industry read rather slowly, but the second half was worthy of the book’s raving reviews. Our working class unit has inspired me to reconsider the accounts of factory workers not as evidence of the corruption of meat industry, but as examples of workers dedicated to grueling jobs that pay scarcely enough to get by.
14 comments:
The main reason that we were all interested in this book is because we all have seen the movie "Supersize Me." We were shocked by the effect that fast food chains have on society, and we were all interested in learning more, especially about the history of fast food. We believe that this book will teach us about the working class because fast food coorporations employ millions of people for extremely low wages. Fast food restaurants are also a main food source for millions of Americans, especially lower class people, because of their low prices. By reading this book, we hope to gain insight into just how much of an effect fast food chains have on our culture and society.
The first 150 pages of Fast Food Nation were not at all what I had expected. I heard that this book was filled with grimy and gross details about making hamburgers and french fries. I was dissapointed that these pages told of no such things. Instead of talking about grease the author spoke about the founding fathers, McDonalds in relation to other public corporations, the employees, and of course regulations and standards that these corporations should follow. Although I have not yet learned why the fries taste good, I have recieved an in depth history of fast food corporations which I found to be very intersting. Solo Post.
As of October 30, our group has completed most of the book, but we mainly discussed our thoughts on the beginning chapters, pages 1-107. Before we began reading we thought it would be quite similar to the movie "Supersize Me" as Melanie said. To our surprise, the first few chapters had nothing to do with that. Although it did not quite meet our expectations, it was kind of interesting. We were fascinated with how people with little money or fame could come up with a small idea and turn it into a million dollar business. We decided the themes for Part I of the book were luck and intelligence. We chose the first theme, luck, because it seemed that many modern fast food restaurant chains such as KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's, etc., were started by someone who was willing to give everything they had to start over and be successful. We chose intelligence because all the founders needed it to advertise and please the consumers, mainly children. The people hired to work also needed intelligence in specific tasks. So far, the book has been a little boring and repetitive with the success stories, facts, and statistics, but hopefully once we get furthur into the book, it will become more intriguing.
(Solo post)
My first impression after starting the introduction to this book was that it was going to be very boring, despite everyone who read it telling me it was interesting. As i got further in Part I, it was still progressing slowly, but I found some facts interesting. The fact that fast food companies target the kid audience never dawned on me until I read this and realized how much of the advertising today is for the kids' meals (and toys), Ronald McDonald and other cartoonish characters, and "Fun Places," or playgrounds located inside the buildings themselves. Another fact I found interesting was that McDonald's was the model for the other chains. I knew that it was a big influence but I had no idea to what extent. So this book has gotten better, but I'm still waiting to figure out what crazy ingredients are put into the food, and the parts all the great reviews of this book are coming from.
The issues that struck me the most in the first few chapters of this book are low wages, long hours, and young workers. Many cities and towns in America are being taken over by fast food resturants. McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's etc., are the main source of jobs for many people in our society today. These corporations focus on cheap labor and often hire the young and unexperienced, such as immigrants and teenagers. The corporations train these people and use them as their puppets, sometimes paying them in food rather than in money. They are taking advantage of our economy and truly making America a Fast Food Nation. I'm looking forward to getting farther in the book and learning gross secrets about the fast food industry. (solo post)
Fast Food Nation really got off to a slow start, but the second half of the book is definatly meeting our expectations. We are all seeing how this book relates to the working class and we are finally learning about the gross details which were the main factor for us in choosing this book. The book relates to working class because it is talking alot about the people who are paid to work in the slaughterhouses and the feedlots. All of the people who work directly with the meat and potatoes in these massive factories are all members of the working class because they are paid so little for such dangerous jobs. It was appaling to learn that a few of the men and women responsible for late night cleans in the slaughter houses are often being slaughtered themselves by the heavy machienery. This book is very well written. It has kept us captivated with its details. There are so many secrets behind the food that we eat and we are all glad to have learned some of them. (group post)
The second half of the book really made me think about how much I do not know about what is really going on in our country. I can honestly say that I will never go to a fast food resturant ever again, not only because of the gruesome tales behind their meat, but because I do not want to fund their corporations because of how they treat their employees. This book has reached my expectations and helped me to open my eyes to the treachery behind these companies who will do anything just to make some money. Honestly, the mindset behind these companies makes me sick. This book is amazing. The quality is great and it is very well written and I'm so glad that I chose it. It has really changed my perspective on what I am putting into my body. (solo post)
(solo post)
I agree with Becca and Alex when they said that this book got off to a really slow start. I too thought that it was going to be a slow read. With all the hisotry facts, I felt like I was reading the script to a boring documentary. However, as I read into the parts about the food itself and where it comes from, I was immediately pulled in and able to finish the book quickly. It then became clear to me why a backround of the fast food business was necessary. Everything was able to click for me easily.
(solo post)
I am really glad that I read this book, because it opened my eyes to a lot of working class jobs that I had never even thought of. I don't really know why, but I always just thought that the fast food employees made all the food. I now know about the potato companies and salughter houses that give restaurants like McDonalds its products. Reading the chapter "The Most Dangerous Job," I felt sick to my stomach thinking about the people that work in meat houses. From slicing the necks of cows open to cutting the fat off of their bodies, I can defintely see how this would be a dangerous, disgusting job. The last part of this chapter talks about the people that have to clean the slaughter houses at night. People must ride on the conveyor belts and climb up on the roof. I could never imagaine going to a job where everytime there is a chance for serious injury.
The other reason that this book has to deal with the working class is because it talks about all the people that our employed at fast food restaurants. I thought it was really interesting how mostly young people are hired because they can be easily disciplined and work for lower wages. The payroll from a fast food restaurant is extremely low, and some people have a very difficult time supporting a family from these, so they have to get more than one job and work many hours a day.
I think Eric Schlosser is a very persuasive writer. Although he presents cold hard facts, it is pretty obvious that he is againt fast food chains. If I could talk to him in person, I would ask him if the people he talked to knew what type of book he was writing. I would also like to know if the amount of people that eat at fast food restaurants since when he wrote the book have increased or decreased. I was really grossed out by the book, but I still think that I will eat fast food. America is continuosly changing, but I do not think that it is completely the fault of fast food restaurants. People need to eat, and with their busy schedules, they want to be able to eat fast. Everything in today's society seems to feel the need to be faster and cheaper, and fast food restaurants are just trying to keep up.
The second part of the book really got my attention. It begins talking about the awful ingredients put into the fries, and how the mass production of this crop, not to mention the excessive production of meat, is seriously afftecting the economy of our country. I felt heartbroken to hear that so many working class farmers and ranchers out west are losing everything they have to these companies, who make everything quicker and cheaper. The book is definately meeting my expectations, but in a way I didn't expect. I thought I would only be learning about the stuff put into the food, but actually I am discovering how greedy and manipulative these fast food companies are. Another part I found amazing was when Schlosser describes the conditions in the meat slaughterhouses. As Alex said, it made me sick to read how brutally the cattle are treated, as well as the workers. The workers work manually harder than anyone I know, yet they recieve VERY little pay. The book so far is great and I am glad I am getting so much insite into businesses in America.
After I finished this book I had a lot of thoughts. I felt sad that the current and also future generations of kids would have to life a lifestyle fighting obesity with fast food so convenient, but also yearning for the ideal body type presented in the media. I was also amazed by how much McDonald's and other fast food chains have influenced cultures across the globe. Soon all countries will look, act, and think the same and that really makes me mad. There needs to be some changes made, such as paying their workers more- even treating their workers FAIRLY, being mindful of the sanitation of their factories, respecting the lives of both people and animals, and trying not to globalize the world into a "McWorld." As much as I was discusted by the facts in the book though, I don't believe I can say honestly that I will stop eating it completely, because if everyone stopped eating all the products addressed in the book, there would be nothing left to eat. But I will be more mindful of the way I percieve immigrant, minority, and teenage workers and exactly how much fast food i eat compared to crops and meat grown by traditional workers.
When I read “Fast Food Nation” freshman year for my I-Search project, I was also shocked by the graphic stories Schlosser dished out. I haven’t put meat on my plate since. I agree that the section of the book focused on the business end of the fast food industry read rather slowly, but the second half was worthy of the book’s raving reviews. Our working class unit has inspired me to reconsider the accounts of factory workers not as evidence of the corruption of meat industry, but as examples of workers dedicated to grueling jobs that pay scarcely enough to get by.
Post a Comment