Chapter 1: The Founding Fathers
The chapter provides a historical backdrop of Schlosser’s discussion and provides a rather nostalgic look into the post-World War II era, a time when the economy was good and citizens were achieving their dreams. The founding of the Taco Bell is used as a reference point to discuss how the white Americans conjured up the images of Mexico. Suggestions are made on a leadership conspiracy to put the Mexican-American youths in jail in the mid-1940s for a false murder accusation.
Websites
- www.whistleblower.org – reports on corporate ethics
- www.hsus.org – Humane Society that defend animal welfare.
- www.hrw.org/reports/2005/usa0105 – watches the safety operations of the meat packing industries
Book: Richard, White. (1991). It’s Your Misfortune and None of My Own: A New History of the American West. Norman: Oklahoma University Press- Provided a clear overview of the time when free enterprises thrived.
Software: Fitday.com, software program that emphasizes on a continuous and daily fitness program.
Chapter 2: Your Trusted Friends
Here a comparison is made between the rise of the Walt Disney Company and McDonald with a depiction of Ray Kroc as a wise businessperson who was primarily concerned with the expansion of his empire. Schlosser’s main emphasis is to highlight on the machination and growth of the contemporary fast-food nation. He effectively demonstrates how young minds are manipulated into fast-food companies that offer little nutrition to sell their products. The companies disguise themselves as trusted friends only to prey on school systems that record a decline in their revenue. Parents should be responsible for the decision making of the food intake of their children. There is furthermore a class-element of fast-food consumption at stake that significantly applies to the low-wage workers assigned to kitchen-less hotel rooms who eventually have limited food options.
Websites
- www.commercialexploitation.com – Campaigns against fast-food commercialization to children.
- www.prwatch.org – Exposes corporate and government disinformation.
- www.whistleblower.org – reveals unethical corporate behavior.
Book: Barbara, Ehrenreich Nickel, and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America (2001) - Highlights more on the relationship between the fast food industry and the low-wage workers.
Software: Sparkspeople.com – Online community program for motivation on daily workout.
Chapter 3: Behind the Counter
The work force keeping the operations of the fast-food industry running is given pre-eminence in this section. This is particularly because it is dominated by teens. Schlosser therefore emphasizes on the topic addressing the work conditions of the teens and how they manage to balance between their schoolwork and part time jobs together with their spending habits. The unionization in fast-food restaurants and its history is also highlighted and the perceptions of the teens in Colorado Springs on the same who would rather quit their jobs and wastefully spend their money on status-oriented items.
Websites
- www.safetables.org - an activist group that battles for proper food safety measures.
- www.hrw.org/reports/2005/usa0105 – watches the safety operations of the meat packing industries and workers welfare and rights.
- www.whistleblower.org – reveals unethical corporate behavior.
Report: Institute of the Medicine Committee on the Health and Safety Implications on Child Labor. (1998). Protecting Youth at Work: Health, Safety, and Development of Working Children and Adolescents. Washington D. C: National Academic Press. The report gives a vivid outline of the social consequences of a teenage labor workforce.
Software: FitnessAssistant.com- Guides through exercise workout and regimes.
Chapter 4: Success
A comparison between the new and old franchises in the industry is explored in chapter four. Schlosser hails on the old golden days when franchising was a boom and the average guy could easily become a millionaire including his secretary. As time flew however, so did the opportunities and the 1990s for instance, started to become an unlikely time for investment in franchises. Franchises are recognized as a route to self-employment that is however associated with lower profits and a higher rate of business failures.
Websites:
- www.whistleblower.org – reports on corporate ethics
- www.hsus.org – Humane Society that defend animal welfare.
- www.hrw.org/reports/2005/usa0105 – watches the safety operations of the meat packing industries
Article: Francine, Lafontaine. (1995). Pricing Decisions in Franchised Chains: A Look at the Restaurant and Fast Food Industry. Working Paper 5247, National Bureau of Economic Research- Gives the finer details on the success of franchising in the fast food industry.
Sofware: Protrack.com- Offers evaluation and guidance on fitness activities.
Chapter 6: On the Range
Chapter 6 is introduced in a metaphorically adept style on a comparison between the different Colorado landscapes with the natural and freshly green land on one side and the dirty and noisy development on the other. Schlosser’s description of this encroachment by the “machine” to the “garden” is a common and recognizable topical cover in literary history of America. Livestock ranging is skillfully covered in this section and considered a high end business that is financed by meat packing companies who cannot set up their own ranches.
Websites
- www.farmaid.org – Defends family farms.
- www.soilassociation.org – Advocates for sustainable organic agriculture.
- www. lasatergrasslandsbeef.com – Online platform for grass-fed beef.
Book: Charles. F. Wilkinson. (1992). Crossing the Next Meridian. Washington D. C: Island Press.
Software: FitnessCyberLog.com health related software for healthy food choices and living.
Chapter 7: Cogs in the Great Machine
An initial case of a human worker who accidentally fell in a vat and got turned into lard that was sold to unsuspecting consumers sets the stage for the main argument of the chapter. The role of the revolution in changing lives is the main message in the chapter. Schlosser relates this change to confusion within a beef industry. The IBP had become successful with its new system that depended upon a powerless workforce and attempts to improve the working conditions were interfering, the outcomes as a concrete example. Greeley, CO here is significant not because of its extraordinary foundation but due to its close relationship with the role of IBP revolution in changing lives.
Websites
- www.safetables.org - An activist group that battles for proper food safety measures.
- www.hsus.org – Humane Society that defend animal welfare.
- www.hrw.org/reports/2005/usa0105 – watches the safety operations of the meat packing industries
Book: Upton Sinclair. (1906; 1981). Reprint. New York: Bantam Books - Covers the brutal working conditions found in the meat packaging industries including amputations, lacerations, and exposure to dangerous chemicals among others and a press for reforms.
Software: Protrack.com- Offers evaluation and guidance on fitness activities.
Chapter 9: What’s in the Meat?
In “What’s in the Meat?” Schlosser takes an interest in closely examining the component of the meat consumed by many Americans. The presence and horrors of E coli and other viruses like Salmonella are thus explained and validated. He interestingly heightens the dangers of E coli with a rather extreme comparison with AIDS, which is beneficial in some way. Schlosser’s relies on the foreknowledge of an audience fairly well informed about the AIDS pandemic. Both were discovered to be disastrous yet preventable.
Websites
- www.safetables.org - an activist group that battles for proper food safety measures.
- www.hrw.org/reports/2005/usa0105 – watches the safety operations of the meat packing industries
- www.whistleblower.org – reveals unethical corporate behavior.
Article: Robert, V. Tauxe. Emerging Foodborne Diseases: An Evolving Public Heath Challenge. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 3 (4) – Has a detailed cover on the rising cases of food contamination and its implication on the public health of meat consumers.
Software: Supertracker.com – Used for tracking fitness levels and progress.
Chapter 10: Global Realization.
A recount of how the fast food industry has grown in the United States is elaborated. The big corporations like Mac Donald’s were therefore considering foreign conquests and hence the topic “Global Realization”. U. S is considered a hot spot for fast food consumption that attracts millions of consumers. Oversees restaurants are therefore a significant component of the growth as almost five new restaurants are opened each day. This explains the concern of the American studies scholars on how the U. S engages the world. Fast food is a certain example in the global perspective because it of its lead role as a chief exporter.
Websites
- www. mcspotlight.org – A controversial website on Mc Donald’s.
- www.competitivemarkets.com – Organization supporting independent ranchers and farmers.
- www.safetables.org - An activist group that battles for proper food safety measures.
Book: Greg, Critser. (2000). Let them Eat Fat: The Truth about American Obesity. Harper’s – Recounts on the unhealthy diet of Americans and the increase of an obese population.
Software: Fitday.com – Offers nutrition and fitness facts to guide on healthy living.
Afterword: The Meaning of the Mad Cow.
Highlights the significance of the book, which was published at a time when governments in Europe were at the prime of slaughtering herds of cattle that had been infected with the mad cow disease. A month later on the outbreak of foot and mouth disease sparked criticism of the industrialized agriculture. The episodes and cases of meat contamination are given a keen emphasis in the section.
Websites
- www.safetables.org - Activist group that battles for proper food safety measures.
- www.slowfood.com – Movement promoting sustainable and traditional agriculture.
- www.soilassociation.org – Advocate association for organic agriculture.
Book: Jose, Bove. (2001). The World is not for Sale: Farmers Against Junk Food. New York: Verso – Emphasis the significance of personal choice on healthy food consumption.
Software: Sparkspeople.com- Program with a community of healthy individuals that motives on the significance of daily fitness.
The Dietary Habits of Mexican- Americans
References
Eric, Schlosser. (2004). Fast Food Nation. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Warrix, M.(2007). Cultural diversity: Eating in America. Ohio State University Extension.
Retrieved from: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hygfact/5000/5255.html
