With his first book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser confirms his place among writers-who-bad-people-don't-like. A long-time journalist who focuses on marijuana use and the war on drugs, Schlosser turns to an industry that is just as open to criticism but lacks the issue of illegality -- that clearly draws the line between "right" and "wrong" in issues of drug use. He sets his findings about the fast food culture apart from the common misgivings ("I hear they use rat meat!" "They chopped down the rain forest so their cows can graze!") by offering a thesis with a new perspective: fast food restaurants, both directly and indirectly, have permanently altered the American landscape and culture.
The book begins with a few informative chapters about the early days of fast food restaurants and the American love affair with them. With the mass-appeal of the convenience of cars came the mass-appeal of the convenience of fast food. Americans got lazier and restaurant numbers grew. With so many fast food restaurants came the concept of a strip mall, and the neighborhoods that surround them. Thus, the American landscape and culture are shaped by the industry. These first chapters successfully suck you in as he offers an anecdotal narrative that puts a face and a history where elsewhere one would simply find statistics.
The tone is maintained throughout the book, but the focus quickly strays. For the remainder of the book, Schlosser concentrates on the meatpacking and potato-growing industries, the natural ally of any productive franchise owner. The idea he conveys with his stories about the industry is poignant and relevant. The executives are monstrous money-mongers who exploit immigrant workers under conditions fit for a sweatshop. It is a human rights issue that is rarely publicized and, moreover, the influence of the top executives is much more far-reaching than the regular consumer could even imagine. However, this no longer coincides with his original goal of showing how the fast food industry affected the American landscape.
Specifically because of the reporting on the meatpacking and potato-growing industries, regardless of his original thesis, Fast Food Nation is an important and fascinating book to read. Schlosser did his homework and the facts are there. I felt like I accepted these facts too easily, however, because I had no background on the issue and his one-sided argument is wholly convincing. Luckily, he closes the book with a new epilogue that explains and responds to the criticism that he received (mostly from the Right). I am not now a vegetarian (who could give up cheesesteaks?) but the book pried my eyes open on a subject I didn't even know I was avoiding.
- Erica Frenkel
