Fast Soul Food Junkie Nation

Soul Food Junkies

•  I really enjoyed this documentary. It's very interesting and has a good flow to it. I did find fault, though, with one thing. While I do agree that slaves were given the the food that wasn't good enough for their "owners" to eat, I don't believe that that's the reason that we have soul food nowadays. The United States wasn't the only country to have African slaves - all of the Americas and even parts of Europe participated in the slave trade. I know most about the slave conditions in Brazil, the country with the highest slave population in the world. Brazil's national dish, feijoada, a plate full of rice and black beans stewed with meats, has a history that dates back to the slave days of Brazil. Brazilian slaves were given the parts of the pig that the "owners" didn't want - the ears, the tongue, the intestines, the snout, etc. - and mixed it into a pot of black beans to be served with rice. Nowadays, feijoada is still served (albeit with better meat ingredients), complete with rice, of course, as well as diced oranges and cooked collard greens. My point is that Brazilian slaves had to deal with similar conditions that American slaves had to, and they didn't end up with this problem of obesity and/or weight-related health conditions. The soul food revolution is very Americanized and can't be blamed solely on the American institution of slavery.

Fast Food Nation Introduction

• "Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars. They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music - combined."
• That's crazy... If only it could be the reverse, we'd be citizens of such a great country.
• "The entry of so many women into the workforce (2/3 of mothers) has greatly increased demand for the types of services that housewives traditionally perform: cooking, cleaning, and child care."
• So it's all our fault, is it? Just because some of us aspire to be more than incubators and/or domestic slaves, we are to blame for the nation's growing waistline? There may be some truth to it, but it just perpetuates sexism, and I don't buy it. Men must shoulder some of the blame, too.
• "The company annually hires about one million people, more than any other American organization, public or private."
• There's always a tradeoff. McDonald's gives such fuel to our economy, but the food is slowing us down.
• "A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald. The only fictional character with a higher degree of recognition was Santa Claus."
• Whoa. The main fictional figures of American children's childhood are Santa Claus, a fat man that gives out toys, and Ronald McDonald, a clown who represents obesity and also gives out toys. Sad, isn't it?
• "The Golden Arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian cross."
• I think that's stretching it a little...
• "In many respects, the fast food industry embodies the best and the worst of American capitalism at the start of the twenty-first century - its constant stream of new products and innovations, its widening gulf between rich and poor."
• This, and the fact that it's created a nation full of overweight and obese people, are reasons why those golden arches are a symbol of the country as a whole.
• "The current methods for preparing fast food are less likely to be found in cookbooks than in trade journals such as Food Technologist and Food Engineering."
• I've read/seen pictures of/watched videos of various studies and/or personal experiences with years-old McDonald's food. Here's a website with such a study. It's very revealing on how the "food" isn't really food at all, but more like a science experiment.
• "Subdivisions, shopping malls, and chain restaurants..."
• Even more symbols of the American lifestyle.
• "The United States now has more prison inmates than full-time farmers."
• This isn't only because the amount of farmers has decreased, though. Prisons are multiplying and getting fuller.
• "These changes have made meatpacking - once a highly skilled, highly paid occupation - into the most dangerous job in the United States, performed by armies of poor, transient immigrants whose injuries often go unrecorded and uncompnesated."
• So they're America's version of sweatshops.
• "That is one of the main reasons people buy fast food; it has been carefully designed to taste good. It's also inexpensive and convenient."
• Have I mentioned that at this very moment, I am eating some cold, leftover Little Caesar's $5 Hot-and-Ready pizza? Oops.

Fast Food Nation Ch. 2

•   "Hoping that nostalgic childhood memories of a brand will lead to a lifetime of purchases, companies now plan "cradle-to-grave" advertising strategies."
• Advertising is just evil. It represents all that is wrong with the world. (Might be a hyperbolic statement, but it is truly evil.
• "Market research has found that children often recognize a brand logo before they can recognize their own name."
• Not a comforting find.
• "Children as 'surrogate salesmen...'"
• The industry is sick, I tell you!
• "The chains often distribute numerous versions of a toy, encouraging repeat visits by small children and adult collectors who hope to obtain complete sets."
• And, as even more of an incentive, consumers can make money off of those collections like this kid did. He got over $11,000 for his collection of about 7,000 Happy Meal toys!
• "Now you can buy a Happy Meal at the Happiest Place on Earth."
• All this talk of the "kid kustomer" almost makes me not want to have children. I don't to bring a child into the world, only for it to be part of the "Man's" ploy for more money.
• "'The challenge of the campaign,' wrote Ray Bergold, the Chain's top marketing executive, 'is to make customers believe that McDonald's is their 'Trusted Friend.''"
• But it's not!! Advertisers are so frustrating! Stop trying to make us "want" what we shouldn't have!
• McDonald's as the "official restaurant" of the Olympics DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.
• "In 1993 District 11 in Colorado Spring started a nationwide trend, becoming the first public school district in the United States to place ads for Burger King in its hallways and on the sides of its school buses."
• That will never be seen again. Especially with Michelle Obama leading the way to healthy living.
• "Children spend about seven hours a day... in school. Those hours have in the past been largely free of advertising, promotion, and market research - a source of frustration to many companies."
• Let the children learn, gosh darn it!
• "He [DeRose] doesn't think that advertising in the schools will corrupt the nation's children."
• Are you kidding me?? Ugh, I just can't handle this.
• "The nation's three major beverage manufacturers are now spending large sums to increase the amount of soda that American children consume."
• Just stop! Do they not have a conscience? How on Earth could they think this is okay?
• My roommate and I were just talking about what people drink the other day. We were talking about how we need to drink so much water just to not feel dehydrated, yet some people are constantly dehydrating themselves by drinking less than a bottle of water per day, and replacing the rest with sodas. My little brother, for instance, hardly drinks water, and instead prefers to drink milk and/or Sprite. It's not as bad as drinking Mountain Dew all day, every day, but it's still not great.
• "Celebration [Florida], a planned community run by The Celebration Company, a subsidiary of Disney."
• This exists?! What is happening...