Preview

Fast Food Nation

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
884 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Fast Food Nation
You walk into a fast food restaurant - let’s say McDonalds for example – and you order yourself a salad. You made the conscious decision on ordering that salad because you wanted to eat something that was considered healthy instead of the order of large fries that were calling your name. In Eric Schlosser’s book, “Fast food nation”, and Mark Bittman’s TED Talk: “What’s wrong with what we eat”, the issue of overeating is brought up and a question arises. We must eat to survive and we enjoy eating food that tastes good, but what happens when the world begins eating too much and we stop cooking just to get that quick cheap meal?
In the excerpt titled, “Why the fries taste good”, the author Eric Schlosser provides a detailed summary of a man named J.R. Simplot and how he made billions off of potatoes, but in his book, “Fast food nation”, – which the excerpt is from – we read about a much bigger picture at hand. The fast food industry has altered America and is fueling the ever growing numbers of obesity, even at this exact moment.
The problems with what we eat are linked to a thousand other problems as well. In a TED talk filmed in December 2007, Mark Bittman1 describes multiple issues with our food industry as a whole. He opens his talk addressing
…show more content…
He spent a fair amount of time – more than two years – researching for his book and he points out that one of the main reasons people buy fast food is because “it has been carefully designed to taste good. It’s also inexpensive and convenient.” (Schlosser 2001). Both journalists believe that with unhealthy food becoming so convenient, people are ditching cooking at home for a quick and cheap meal. Mark Bittman goes into great detail with this and provides us with a look at the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Outline: Fast Food Nation

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I) Introduction: Fast Food Nation is a book in which Eric Schlosser did not hold any detail back. His ideas are very much similar to Hank Cardello who expressed his feelings in his best seller Stuffed and a article labeled Bacon as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. All of these topics touch upon the problem of obesity, low wages, and unethical issues.…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fast Food Nation Summary

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages

    There are fast-food restaurant advertisements on almost every street corner, trying to grab attention by billboards, commercials, sign spinning, and more. In the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser he begins to describe how the first two major individuals invented their now multibillion dollar companies which who were Carl Karcher and the McDonald’s brothers. First with Carl N. Karcher, who is the founder of what is now called Carl’s Jr. He was born in 1917 near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, where he grew up and eventually moved to California at twenty years old to start a new job out there.…

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the essay “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zincezenko talk about how fast food has contributed to the increasing amount of obese and unhealthy children in the U.S. Over the years many people has tried to sue these fast food restaurants like McDonalds, KFC, and Taco Bell for making them fat. David uses his own personal experience growing up to help bring perspective to everyone of how easy it is for people to choose unhealthy eating habits. He talk about how his mom worked and didn’t really have time to cook, so to make sure he ate she would have him choose something to eat that would be quick and not the most expensive. If you are looking for something that is inexpensive and a “quick buy” then fast food would be the most convenient. He also…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eric Schlosser clearly is no fan of fast food. Schlosser argues that fast food chains are a major factor in causing obesity and ill health of Americans. To support his arguments against the fast food industry, the author, Mr. Eric Schlosser, spent over two years traveling around the world researching. Schlosser's main point throughout the book would be that fast food giants have negatively impacted American culture, and has contributed to urban sprawl. With his careful analysis and his effective writing styles using ethos, logos, and pathos he convinces you about fast food industry’s negative impact on the economy and society as we know it. Although there are many different writing styles you can use to affect the text, Schlosser's uses of all 3 main rhetoric devices helps you understand the amount to research that went into creating this book and his views on fast food…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fast food. It is definitely fast, and that is seen as a positive in most people’s eyes. It is convenient, cheap, and the average American is willing to accept it as food. What’s not to love, right? In his informational book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser promises to tell the dark side of the all-American meal. And he keeps his promise. Schlosser may not be the first to write about the subject, but he presents a thorough, easy-to-read report. Given the insane amount of fast food eaten by people throughout the country (and people all over the world), this is information that needs to be read by everyone.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Old McDonald had a farm. We all know that childhood song our parents used to sing to us growing up. Unfortunately, we (the American people) were on that farm acting as their livestock. They made millions off of our need for their fast convenient food. But who’s really to Blame? David Zinczenko tries to answer this question in his article called “Don’t Blame the Eater”, by comparing the rise in childhood heath issues with the popularity and convenience of the fast food industry.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Whether we like it or not, fast food and its detrimental effects have become an epidemic. For many years, people have been oblivious to the growth of the fast food industry. However, over the past three decades, the fast food industry has nearly taken over our American society; almost anywhere, one can see its vast influence. As a result, in his book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser portrays the influence of the industry. By implementing pathetic appeals for injustice and disgust, statistics from reputable sources, and fear of the consequences of fast food, Schlosser shows the average adult how the fast food industry is ruining American culture as a way to reform its problems.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages

    David Zinczenko is the editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine and the author of numerous best-selling books. Zinczenko is a man known for his work; his work and credibility shines bright because he has contributed op-ed essays to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. He has also appeared on Oprah, Ellen, 20/20, and Good Morning America. The fact that he is so accomplished in the area of eating healthy shows just how credible he is when it comes to discussing fast food vs. the eater. Zinczenko believes that the fast food industry is partly at fault for the growing rate of obesity. Although Zinczenko’s background and accomplishments gives us the evidence we need to know in order to trust his judgments, his emotional way of getting his points across make a difference as well. In the beginning of the essay, Zinczenko tells us about himself and how he grew up with troubled parents who weren’t together, and with very little options of what to eat for lunch and dinner every day. He explains that his options were mainly fast food, which caused him to be an overweight teenager. In other words, he uses his story of himself as a teenager growing up with family problems to draw people in and get them to sympathize with the overweight teenagers and get them to see that it is not all their fault and that it is, in fact, partly the fast food industry’s fault. One of his final arguments is that without warning labels on fast food industry products, we will see more sick, obese children and more angry parents.…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dunkin Research Paper

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages

    We are living in a fast world and it’s almost like we can’t find the time to at least breathe. It is now more common to see that in every corner is a fast food restaurant, why? because we are consuming more fast foods. The more time and money we put into something, the more it becomes a demand and producers will give it to us by any means necessary. Most fast food restaurants has absolutely no types of nutrients, it’s like we are eating them just to keep our bellies full. For example, why won’t Mcdonalds burgers go bad? According to Noms and Sciunce, “75 percent water, 19 percent protein, 2.5 percent intramuscular fat, 1.2 percent carbohydrates and 2.3 percent other soluble non-protein substances. These include nitrogenous compounds, such as amino acids, and inorganic substances such as minerals” This is what we are indulging into and the saddest part is that we give this to our children for dinner. We sometimes even award our children with fast foods if they did a good job but what we don’t realize is that we are killing them softly. Today not only do we see lots of fast food on each corner, they have made that middle of the nights craving easier to get with the 24 hours fast foods drive thru. A faster way of getting obese and living an unhealthy…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Michael Pollan’s, The Omnivore’s Dilemma crosses paths with, “Fast Food Nation: The True Cost of America’s Diet.” Both works share similar ideas, themes, and lessons. “Fast Food Nation: The True Cost of America’s Diet” focuses on the average American diet, containing processed foods, fast foods, and more unhealthy products. Pollan, rather, wants to show the cycle from the farm to the food on the table.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As consumers and inactive participants, “...we have neglected to understand that we cannot be free if our food and its sources are controlled by someone else” (Berry 2). People find themselves in such a rush with a limited amount of time to eat because we have other responsibilities to take care of such as work or school and then once again we rush through those responsibilities trying to make time for other activities. This rush that people often find themselves in has lead to consuming more fast food due to the lack of time for cooking healthy, homemade…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fast Food Nation

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The book starts of by saying that fast food started with hot dog and hamburger stands in California, and now is spread all over the world and fills every single available space. It also says that fast food restaurants were created by businessmen that did not attend college. This was surprising considering that these restaurants make millions of dollars every week and are well known throughout the world. The book also said that fast food restaurants like McDonald’s target children through T.V. and that they watch about thirty thousand T.V. commercials and that almost half of these are fast food restaurant commercials.…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fast Food Nation

    • 2285 Words
    • 10 Pages

    1. Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. There are 270 pages including the epilogue.…

    • 2285 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dont Blame the Eater

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In his article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko argues that today’s fast food chains fill the nutritional void in children’s lives left by their overtaxed working parents. With many parents working long hours and unable to supervise what their children eat, Zinczenko claims, children today regularly turn to low-cost, calorie-laden foods that the fast food chains are too eager to supply. When Zinczenko himself was a young boy, for example, and his single mother was away at work, he ate at Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and other chains on a regular basis, and ended up overweight. Zinzenko’s hope is that with the new spate of lawsuits against the food industry, other children with working parents will have healthier choices available to them, and that they will not, like him, become obese.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    When it comes to keeping the human body, nutrition is the most essential part of everyone’s life. If people do not have full control, it will affect the way they will be in the future. Any change to someone's diet will change their body in the long run, whether it be positive or negative. It is quite apparent, especially in America, that the common person’s nutrition has gone down hill. Since the 1980s, the rate of obesity has inflated double the amount for adults and triple for children (“Obesity” p. 1). Shockingly, America spends more on fast food than on college education, computers, software and cars combined. In fact, in 2005, Americans spent one hundred thirty four billion dollars on fast food alone. In the ‘70s, America only spent six billion (Schlosser p. 10). I am not one to blame McDonalds for the drastic rise of poor nutrition. There are obviously other reasons why. I mainly blame the misinformation and myths that the general public has been told. The reason why that people are more unhealthy now than in the past is…

    • 1532 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays