Fast Food Nation

Photo: wikipedia

I read Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, about a month ago, so I'm forgetting all of the gritty details, but it's a very informative book and is absolutely worth reading. Before I read the book, I actually ended up buying a second copy of the book because I forgot that I already had it on my shelf, but that worked out, because Andrew and I were able to read through it at the same time, and I was able to pass on both copies of the book to other people.

Let me begin with the fact that I stopped eating fast food a long time ago, even before I became a vegetarian, because I started to get disgusted with just how frequently my mom would stop off to grab some fast food for dinner on the way home. How glad I am that I stopped then.

Fast Food Nation takes you through the history of the development of fast food, to the economical powerhouse that it is today. It discusses the potato and meat industry (including a difficult-to-read section on slaughterhouses). I'm very squeamish, so I read through certain parts of the book half squinting, but I felt better for having read through the interviews about the treatment and injuries of the workers and the politics behind a lot of realities of the fast food industry.

The book isn't written to expose truths about the fast food industry, but it doesn't just villify the fast food industry. It reminds the readers that we have power to change some of these situations. One of my favorite lines comes towards the end, when the author reminds the reader that fast food CEOs aren't evil. They're just businessmen. If we demand grass-fed, organic beef, we can get it. Fast food companies have that kind of power, and it won't affect our pocketbooks, either.

You'll be better off having read the book, and I guarantee you'll rethink your eating habits. Go read it now.