We live in the fast food nation that Eric Schlosser writes about so it is interesting to read about the very things we have deemed as "life" since we were conscious. Most of Schlosser's points I find to be true and find myself to be the victim of.
Intro
"Americans spend more money on fast food then on higher education, presonal computers, computer software, or new cars...movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, and recorded music - combined."
If this statement is true, it alone explains (maybe subconciously) the way of life for most Americans. Like I always say, I believe the downfalls of this nation cannot be pinned to one failure but are all of the failing and temporarily fit systems working together, everyday, in each of our lives. Although fast food is not singularly to blame for the poor education most Americans receive today, I think it indeed plays a part. More money is spent on fast food than on college, computers, books, newspapers...and all of these things are pertinent for a student to have the sufficient foundation and resources and successfully learn to apply their knowledge to the world around them.
The American Way: McTeachers and Coke Dudes
Initally, I was reading about the school/education advertisments thinking, "Wow, that's horrible. That's crazy.....". Then I realized, I was a victim of these advertisements! I have always felt that the intended effect of ads didn't work on me; I could watch a commercial or see a banner and see right through whatever it was trying to sell me.
The Pizza Hut Book It! Program was active in my elementary and middle school. I even remember going to get a few free personal pan pizzas, actually. I didn't realize it was advertising then (and it didn't necessarily work because I have never bought a pizza from Pizza Hut) and I don't think it made me read more/more efficiently than I already was, but I definitely didn't turn down a free pizza!
Also, the "special lunch days" the readings referred to were active at my middle school. I believe it was on Tuesdays and Thursdays; the cafeteria would serve Pizza Hut and Subway and they would often run out of pizza before some even got the chance to get a slice because who wouldn't want pizza instead of (who knows what's in) school lunch?
Meat and Potatoes: Food Product Design
"You'll find "natural flavor" and "artificial flavor" in just about every list of ingredients. The similarities between these two broad categories of flavor are far more significant than their differences.
I found the facts of food additives, both scent and taste, to be extremely disturbing. This is not even something that I haven't heard before, but the disconnect between the food and the consumer is so huge that hearing it had no lasting effect on me.
Today, all-natural and organic mean little to nothing. Products with both of these labels have been watered down by the almost always unheard of change of USDA regulations and most of these products still contain the food additives that are in all other products.
Afterword: The Meaning of Mad Cow
What I already knew and confirmed while reading Fast Food Nation was reconfirmed by this foreword: The FDA's regulations simply do not look out for our best interest and care little about true nutrition and health. Their "approval" basically means nothing and the fact that "what the FDA had failed to achieve -- after nearly five years of industry consultation and halfhearted regulation -- the McDonald's Corporation accomplished in a matter of weeks" says a lot about who and what leads our world.
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In high school, I was a vegetarian for about two years after a bad Chili's boneless buffalo wing experience (that topped off crazy-woman research and realizations about our nation's food). This was until I tried to give blood and my iron level was less than half of what was required. Mind you, this was AFTER I spent a couple months eating "leafy greens", beans, and other foods that were said to surely boost my iron levels. Today, I still don't eat much meat, I still get my favorite vegetarian dishes if I eat at a restaurant, and I absolutely do not eat "fast-food." I use that term very loosely because some of the same companies and same methods that distribute potatoes, chicken and beef to McDonalds also supply America's favorite chain restaurants. All this to say that reading Fast Food Nation has not only made me not want to eat meat but eat very little to nothing....
I have a love/hate relationship with food. I love it so much, but I probably hate it even more. I have always been really interested and aware of the food I eat, but reading about it again always reignites my hate and disgust for a lot of today's food.
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