Paperback, 399 pages
English language
Published Jan. 6, 2006 by Harper Perennial.
Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list of charges, but Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning. Along the way, he shatters myths and unearths a trove of fascinating, unsettling truths--from the unholy alliance between fast food and Hollywood to the seismic changes the industry has wrought in food production and popular culture. (back cover)
It's not the most enjoyable reading experience, but it's a powerful one. Schlosser rips off the curtain covering America's fast food industry and reveals the ugly truths behind it. It's The Jungle (1906) of it's day. After reading it, I stopped eating fast food. It has been decades since I've eaten MacDonald's, Burger King or their equivalents.
Borrowed this copy from the UHD Library. It is one of 5 copies we ordered given the book is popular, and it is a required reading in some classes.
See my note on the book:
[http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/08/i-finally-finished-reading-fast-food.html]
There is an amazing amount of information in this book, all very eye-opening. It MAY put you off your feed--just a warning, towards the end, especially. Schlosser mentions Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle quite a bit during the chapters about meatpacking. I haven't read it, but certainly will.
If I'd have underlined everything I'd wanted to remember, the whole book would be marked up--it's all absorbing stuff. (The book is unscathed--resisted the temptation) The link below mentions ConAgra's Greeley Plant, one of the subjects of Schlosser's research.
