Fast Food Nation

This is perhaps the most significant theme of Schlosser’s book. In most cases, the actions of fast food corporations examined in the text reveal an industry that maintains a laser focus on its bottom line. The same can be said for the meatpacking industry and produce processing corporations. Government agencies that have the authority to regulate these industries often fail to do so, and Schlosser highlights the ways these large corporations wield their influence on politicians who have been elected to serve the people. Generally, when industry-friendly politicians have been elected, regulatory controls and oversight are softened and become less stringent. This is not a book about campaign finance, but one might see the food industry as portrayed in this text as an example of how corporate influence in government policy can have negative consequences for the rest of the population.

In some ways, there are parallels between the fast food and tobacco industries, in that both intentionally market their product despite knowing the potential for negative consequences to people’s health. In his introduction, Schlosser mentions many alarming statistics that reveal how fast food has intertwined itself with modern American culture. As an example, Schlosser says, “On any given day in the United States about one-quarter of the adult population visits a fast food restaurant” (4). The number is staggering and helps provide context for such devastating public health challenges as the dramatic rise in obesity rates in the 20th century. This phenomenon is not limited to the United States. Schlosser mentions how in China, once that country was targeted by McDonald’s and other American fast food companies, “the proportion of overweight teenagers has roughly tripled in the past decade” (242). While Schlosser does not investigate the causal link between fast food and obesity, the correlation is there, and it is generally recognized that fast food is not good for people’s health. Yet, there are seemingly no limitations to the ways the fast food industry will try to market their products to the population.

A robust social conscience is not what drives the fast food industry or the industries that provide it with meat and produce. In a particularly gruesome chapter in which Schlosser visits a slaughterhouse, it is clear that protecting the bottom-line matters more than the quality of life for those working at the plant. Schlosser mentions how working at a slaughterhouse is the most dangerous job in America, and this is due in large part to the emphasis on production speed. Considering that much of the work done in these facilities is somewhat outdated, and the tools of the trade, such as knives and saws, are also not especially advanced, the pressure created by production quotas puts many in direct jeopardy of injury and even death. Schlosser provides a few examples of the kinds of catastrophic injuries suffered at these plants, and in almost all cases, the injuries did not lead to change. Instead, the large corporations sought to move on as quickly as possible to avoid disruptions to production. The corporations would apply some kind of Band-Aid measure with limited impact on safety to give the appearance of social concern; however, the true root cause—the speed of production—is never adequately addressed. The text explores many instances in which the health and safety of the public at large is not adequately considered by those in the fast food and mass food production industries when compared to profit.