The Fireside Book Chat

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. Print.

Schlosser’s main point through out the entire book it that the fast food chains have changed the United States in a negative way. He begins by talking about the founders of the fast food restaurants and the start of the fast food way of life. Schlosser gives many examples in Fast Food Nation about how the owners created their fortunes. Schlosser shows the change in the American lifestyle by the quote "What had begun as a series of small, regional businesses became a fast food industry, a major component of the American economy” (Schlosser 25). He adds details about every aspect of the fast food chain like how the food is made, how the chains are expanded, and all of the illnesses that are caused through fast food. A section of Fast Food Nation describes the negative effects the fast food chains have on the workforce. It describes the working conditions and the salaries in the restaurants and also in the slaughterhouses and factories that start the process of making fast food.

Fast Food Nation was an informational book that really describes the hidden details of the growth of the fast food chains. Schlosser is very one sided and he does not really talk about the positive impacts the chains have on the United States. The book was easy to read and it was interesting for the most part. Fast Food Nation did get a little boring and almost repetitive in some parts. This is a good source to use to describe the effects it has on the workforce all over the world. Schlosser really changes the way I feel about fast food. It points at problems that are important but that were never addressed before.

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