Gaya penulisan seorang jurnalis iaitu menyuguhkan maklumat yang agak banyak dan padat dalam setiap perenggan bukanlah satu bentuk penulisan yang menarik perhatianku. Mujur, Eric Schlosser berjaya mengadun topik yang hangat mengenai industri makanan segera ini menurut perspektif sejarah, budaya dan sains dengan cukup baik.

Secara keseluruhannya, penulis ingin membawa pembaca melihat sejarah perkembangan industri makanan (KFC, Buger King dan khususnya McDonald's) yang bertambah bilangannya bagai cendawan tumbuh selepas hujan, diikuti dengan proses pembuatan daging-daging burger tersebut yang mengorbankan ramai orang dan banyak perkara serta kesan-kesan industri ini terhadap pekerja, pelanggan dan masyarakat yang menggunakannya.

Saya menyarankan anda untuk menonton filem Modern Times lakonan dan arahan Charlie Chaplin mengenai kesan Revolusi Industri terhadap pekerjanya. Walaupun ianya agak klasik dengan warna hitam putih dan dialog yang amat tipis, ia berjaya melakarkan secara kreatif dan sinis akan kesan Revolusi Perindustrian di Barat terhadap buruh-buruh di kilang. Dengan kewujudan mesin-mesin dan teknologi canggih, nilai-nilai kemanusiaan sedikit demi sedikit terhakis dan manusia mula menjadi robot. Keselamatan pekerja banyak dikorbankan demi melunaskan sesetengah pekerjaan yang berada di luar batasan kemampuan pekerja tersebut.

Ini jugalah yang turut digambarkan oleh penulis apabila beliau menceritakan dengan cukup ngeri akan penyembelih-penyembelih yang terluka jarinya setiap tiga saat, pekerja-pekerja yang dibancuh oleh mesin pengisar, penggunaan pisau tumpul yang memberi kesan kepada tulang belakang mereka dan seumpamanya. Di sini, penulis sangat bijak dalam mencipta hiperbola walaupun ianya benar.

Daripada sudut sains, penulis menggambarkan bahawa sesetengah syarikat makanan meletakkan rasa ramuan yang terkandung dalam pewarna lebih daripada rasa daging atau makanan itu sendiri kerana deria bau pada hidung manusia sangat sensitif dan kompleks. Manusia normal biasanya mampu menghidu ribuan bahan kimia yang berbeza-beza ketika menghidu bau kopi dan daging panggang. Begitu juga dengan bau strawberi yang datang daripada interaksi lebih daripada 350 bahan kimia.

Daripada sudut sosiologi pula, bagaimana syarikat-syarikat ini mampu mereka menarik pelanggan untuk melariskan jualan mereka sehingga menjadi cukup terkenal di seluruh dunia? Di sinilah fungsi media massa khususnya televisyen dalam mengiklankan produk-produk mereka walaupun ianya tidak baik untuk kesihatan sehinggakan sesetengah iklan mereka diharamkan daripada penyiarannya di kaca televisyen.

Apabila kanak-kanak tertarik dengan produk mereka, maka banyak cara yang akan kanak-kanak ini gunakan untuk mendapatkan makanan yang mereka hajati sama ada dengan cara:

1. Memujuk (pleading)
2. Kekal bertanya dan meminta (persistent)
3. Memaksa (forceful)
4. Protes dengan cara menangis, tidak mahu meninggalkan kedai tersebut (demonstrative)
5. Memuji atau mengampu (sugar-coated)
6. Mengancam ibu bapanya (threatening)
7. Merajuk (pity)

Cara-cara ini mungkin berlaku serentak tetapi kebiasaannya kanak-kanak ini akan menggunakan satu cara sama yang diyakini berkesan kepada ibu bapa mereka. Bukankah kita semua pernah mengalaminya?

Hal ini tidak terhenti di situ. Apabila hati kanak-kanak tersebut berjaya ditaut, secara automatik syarikat tersebut mendapat dua lagi pelanggannya iaitu ibu dan bapa kanak-kanak tersebut.

Ini terbukti sejak awal pengasasan McDonald's (sekitar 1920) itu sendiri apabila Ray Kroc yang merupakan pengurus syarikat tersebut menyasarkan kanak-kanak sebagai salah satu sumber pelanggan mereka apabila melihatkan kadar kelahiran bayi di Amerika yang mencanak naik pasca Perang Dunia Kedua. Selain itu, dia juga turut mengupah freelancer untuk menulis di dada-dada akhbar. Ketika itu sebagaimana kelazatan rasa makanan itu begitu signifikan bagi sesebuah syarikat, begitu jugalah pengkomersialan terhadap kanak-kanak itu begitu signifikan. Katanya,

"A child who love our TV commercials and brings her grandparents to a McDonald's gives us two more customers."

Dan seperti yang dijangka, penulis menyeru pembaca untuk memboikot industri-industri yang berasaskan keuntungan ini - sebagai langkah paling minimum kerana kuasa beli akhirnya terletak kepada pelanggan - dengan mengajak pembaca memikirkan semula sisi-sisi gelap industri tersebut. Kongres yang membantah pengiklanan produk-produk yang tinggi kandungan gula dan lemak terhadap kanak-kanak juga harus digiatkan kerana pada setiap bulan, 90% daripada kanak-kanak di Amerika bertandang ke McDonald's.

Kongres yang membantah pengiklanan rokok di corong-corong radio dan skrin-skrin televisyen pernah diadakan dan membawa keputusan yang positif terhadap statistik rakyat yang merokok di negara mereka.

Akhir sekali, piawaian keselamatan terhadap makanan harus diperketatkan dan pekerja-pekerja perlu mendapat kawalan keselamatan dan perlindungan daripada kerja-kerja bahaya dan melibatkan kecederaan serius.

After reading this book, I gave up all fast food in the likes of McDonalds, Wendy's, etc.
TONS of info that can be quite difficult and boring to get through, but still very eye-opening. The author goes into extensive detail about the workers in the meatpacking industry. He presents the inhumane treatment of animals as a parallel to the degrading, dangerous, unhealthy jobs of the humans who are slaughtering and processing these animals.
Overall, this is a worthy read if you are leery of anything involving the American food industry.

O livro dá uma boa esmiuçada na industria do fast food, desde a origem dos alimentos, até a produção e comercialização. Também trata das condições precárias dos trabalhadores, dos lobbys do setor e da forma imperialista como tem se alastrado pelo mundo. Apesar de alguns ítens não prenderem muito minha atenção, condiz com o que esperava da leitura.

Eric Schlosser is an investigative reporter, who really did his research. This book is about the history of the fast food industry. There are two parts. The first part is called, "The American Way." Schlosser goes into how the franchise grew. I love rags to riches stories. The author talks about the McDonalds brothers idea of fast food and how Ray Kroc helped to expand their restaurants. He goes into Walt Disney's influence, making McDonald's more marketable toward children. He talks about the factory equipment, making assembly lines for these restaurants. I was surprised by the robberies that took place in different McDonald's restaurants, that were committed by former employees. I was saddened to read about the nine year old girl who was shot and killed. This was in the late 90s. Then the author goes into more detail of franchising the business.
The second part of the book is called, "Meat and Potatoes." I didn't enjoy this part of the book. It was really difficult for me to read content wise. Schlosser talks about the McDonalds product, how everything is flavored. I didn't know that animal fat was used in their french fries and that beef flavoring was added to their chicken nuggets.The author goes into what the lives of farmers and meatpackers are like. This was disturbing to me. I had a hard time reading about the mistreatment and abuse of migrant workers/people who work in meatpacking facilities. Reading about the passing of so many lives that could have been prevented. The way the meat is handled, makes me want to be vegan. Reading about E. choli was just gross. How rancid meat was packaged and sold. I'm not going into any more detail about that. Overall, this was an interesting read and something that I never really gave a lot of pause to. I personally don't go out to eat and cook at home. Fast food is really impactful in our culture, in our life.

I am currently on page 79 of this book, and so far, I'm not liking it. As I started to read, I thought to myself, "I think this book is going to be like 'The Two Income Trap'--a book whose premises I agree with, but not their solutions." I was wrong. So far, the author has not talked one bit about the food part, but more about the industry. For pages, he covers the rise of Carl's Jr. and it's founder Carl Karcher, pointing out that he grew up without running water or electricity, but then seems disappointed that Karcher was okay with the changes in Anaheim CA from "progress." So far, the author seems anti-progress, pro-labor unions and nostalgic to a fault.

I'll admit, there is romanticism in thinking of days gone by, with family farms, rural communities, etc., but I think we live in a much better world today with nearly every American having running water, electricity, telephones, refrigerators and air conditioning.

He decries the marketing done to children, and while I admit that marketing to children is borderline evil, I worry that later he'll propose more government laws against it. Do you know what I did about it? I cancelled my cable/satellite... years ago. My children rarely watch commercials. Heck, they don't even go to public school where he complains that, now, fast food or other less-than-healthy food companies are advertising at schools to help school districts close budget gaps.

But what made me get up and write a review at this point in the book (to be added to when I finish the book) is his portrayal of the industry as anti-union. Frankly, I don't like unions myself (twice in my college career, I wrote research papers on the pros and cons of unions and their history/impact). I don't think that an industry that gives low-skilled workers the skills and experience to move into another (probably) better paying job needs to be unionized! Besides, the author himself on page 78 says, "Almost every fast food restaurant in Colorado Springs has a banner or sign that says 'Now Hiring.' The fast food chains have become victims of their own success, as one business after another tries to poach their teenage workers. Teenagers now sit behind the front desks at hotels, make calls for telemarketers, sell running shoes at mall. The low unemployment rate in Colorado Springs has made the task of finding inexpensive workers even more difficult." Well, look at that, other business are COMPETING to get those low-skilled, young, low-paid workers. The fast food chains are either going to have to improve working conditions, or pay more, or keep their high turnover rates as people use a McJob as a stepping stone to something better. Sounds like the free labor market is working just fine.

Okay, I've finished the book now, and I'm sticking with what I said above and my 1-star rating. It wasn't until the second to the last page that he finally said the obvious: "The first step toward meaningful change is by far the easiest: stop buying it." I think that more government is rarely the answer. The private sector already has the UL and the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for many products, so that consumers know that an independent company has tested the product and found it safe/trustworthy. Why can't an independent meat certification company rise up and stake its reputation on meat being clean/uncontaminated/etc. Why? Because whenever there is a problem, everyone runs to the government first. The USDA (and all the spread out agencies that are supposed to keep the food supply safe) suck because they are government run. The author basically calls for more rules and increased government efficiency. Sorry, that's an oxymoron. The meat for the fast food industry has improved (the author admits that) because they demanded it of their suppliers... McDonalds doesn't want it's customers getting sick... it ruins their reputations. As more consumers demand it, the same will happen for grocery stores. It just takes some time--more so if people keep looking toward the government to save them.

Oh, I should also say, that I expected to really like this book from the little I knew about it. I'm very into healthy eating (less processed foods, more whole foods, water instead of soda, more fruits and veggies, less meat), so I thought it would be right up my alley. I guess I was wrong.

Also, I think one major factor that led to the decline of the "family farm" way of life--which the author mentions in passing on one page of the entire book--is the estate tax (aka "death tax") that unduly harms those who make their living off of the land. After each generation, the tax would come due, but without liquid assets, the way to pay the tax is to sell some or all of the land in order to pay the tax. Not enacting the death tax in 1916 would have made a world of difference for the All American family farm.

I may be a sucker for propoganda (I'm not questioning the authenticity of anything inparticular), but I really enjoyed how this book put things out there. Vegetarianism is so sexy.

Fantastic book. Why did I take so long to read it? Published in 2001. What has happened in the last 20 years. Do food producers care so little about people that they allow these things to happen? The processing is so fast in meat packing plants that 1 of 3 workers get injured every year? That the producers fight laws that make food safe to eat? That the government allows bad meat to be delivered to schools? That proper training is not given to workers? This book is an eye opener to me and should be a must read. I knew that Fast Food eating leads to obesity. But it is ridiculous what some fast food chains are putting on their menus now. Let's pile on the calories. Hope there will be a sequel giving us an update on this situation.

There's a witty and disturbing satire by Stanislaw Lem called The Futurological Congress. It's one of those books where the hero gradually comes to understand that the world isn't as it seems. He's ended up in this future utopia, but there are some puzzling details that don't quite fit. For example, why do people often appear out of breath when they get out of the elevator?

In the end, all is revealed. He's sitting with a friend in a fancy restaurant, and the guy says that yes, much of their life is an illusion. This is well known, though people prefer not to talk about it. But if he's so curious, there's a thing he might want to try. It's a chemical that will strip off all the multiple illusions that are projected in order to make life look pleasanter than it really is.

So the hero hesitates a moment, and then he takes the red pill. (In this book, it's a preparation based on very intense smelling salts, a touch I liked). The real world appears. He suddenly sees why you're breathless when you get out of the elevator. There are no elevators: people are swarming up and down the grillwork of the shafts like climbing apes. His friend, who a moment ago looked like a healthy, successful, middle-aged scientist type, is revealed as a hideously deformed cripple. The cordon bleu meal in front of them turns out to be a ghastly pile of chemical slop.

His friend looks at him in alarm.

"Was I... much changed?" he whispers.

Well, it's not quite as bad as that with Fast Food Nation, but, as Gulla says in the comment below, you won't want to eat a hamburger again. It will be much changed.

I actually thought I read this already ...

Pink-grapefruit juice gets its color from puréed Peruvian bugs!! Gobsmacked.

“Cochineal extract (also known as carmine or carminic acid) is made from the desiccated bodies of female Dactylopius coccus Costa, a small insect harvested mainly in Peru and the Canary Islands. The bug feeds on red cactus berries, and color from the berries accumulates in the females and their unhatched larvae. The insects are collected, dried, and ground into a pigment. It takes about 70,000 of them to produce a pound of carmine, which is used to make processed foods look pink, red, or purple. Dannon strawberry yogurt gets its color from carmine, and so do many frozen fruit bars, candies, and fruit fillings, and Ocean Spray pink-grapefruit juice drink.”


This and other fascinating facts made many chapters unexpectedly fun to read. Great investigative journalism.

Worth it just for the enthusiastic and riveting section on french fries, and the incredible machine that makes them (part of it is like a fire hose that shoots potatoes instead of water, shoots them projectile style into razor sharp blades, cutting into fries....fascinating!) as well as the section on flavor and smell, and the scientists, volatile fluid chemists.

I did skim some bits or skip ... anything on animals has become too difficult for me.

But overall informative, at times mind boggling and reading was more fun, and less horrifying then I would have expected. (But I’ve read some pretty tense books on vegan ethics.)

Overall fairly fascinating read, must have info for all.


4 french fries.

"Откройте стеклянную дверь, почувствуйте поток холодного воздуха, зайдите внутрь и оглянитесь вокруг. Посмотрите на детей, работающих на кухне; посетителей, сидящих за столом; рекламу игрушек; цветные фотографии над прилавком. Подумайте о том, откуда появилась эта еда, как она производилась, что именно значит каждая покупка фастфуда, представьте себе этот «волновой эффект». Подумайте об этом. Или повернитесь и уйдите. Еще не поздно. Даже в стране фастфуда вы можете выбрать свой путь."

A horrifying and entertaining travelogue, indictment, and sermon against the evils and spoils of fast-food, and the American quick fix. Somewhat preachy, and problematic (you just can't tell a whole population of people, especially those who are impoverished to eat healthier), it's full of pathos that makes this text move like the latest potboiler, yet it truly is insightful and affecting.