Analysis Of Eric Schlosser's 'Fast Food Nation'

The Secret of Tasty Fries In Eric Schlosser’s “Fast Food Nation: Why the Fries Taste Good”, Schlosser reveals the secret behind the tasty fries from fast food chains and let readers know how the fries are actually made. To give readers a sense of perspective, Schlosser includes history, market supply, science and production of the fries in his investigative piece. In the beginning of his writing, Schlosser writes about the history of the fries. He begins with introducing a prominent potato supplier in the country, J.R. Simplot who started his business venture in the age of fifteen. Simplot was a successful entrepreneur who owned a lot of agricultural land and he grew potatoes in most of his lands. Having had so many potato farms and food processing factories, the farsighted entrepreneur invested heavily in frozen food technology and hoped to commercialize a low cost frozen fry that tasted the same as the fresh one. Initially the sales of the fries were low, because the preparing work to cook the fries was not convenient for housewives. However, Simplot did not cease his business idea and continued to seek for potential customers. All of his hard work had finally paid off when he got the deal to manufacture McDonald’s French
fries. “McDonald’s began to sell J. R. Simplot’s frozen french fries the following year. Customers didn’t notice any difference in taste.” Simplot continued to sell more fries to other fast food chains, causing the industry to grow and change the people’s eating habits. After Simplot legendary story, Schlosser continues with the market supply of potatoes.
Paul Patterson describes the current market for potatoes as an “oligopsony” because potatoes farmers barely get any profit from the few processing companies that operate near their farming area. A lot of potato farmers in Idaho have lost their job because of the low income. In addition, refraining to join PGI alliance also contributes to the failure of family farms and it has helped corporate farms to expand. Patterson describes, “You increasingly find two classes of people in rural Idaho: the people who run the farms and the people who own them.” With all kind of competitions, it has caused most of the potato farmers live a harsh life in
America. Schlosser further discusses the science behind the tasty fries. He explains how the cooking oil, flavors, aromas, color and mouthfeel of the fries can largely impact the taste of the fries. He also points out that the techniques used for manufacturing process food might destroy the flavor of the foods. Therefore, processing companies need to add the specific artificial flavors from flavor companies to maintain the taste of the food. Schlosser pays a visit to a flavor manufacturing factory and he describes how the artificial flavors can be made. A wide range of products, from cosmetic products to the fries, is using artificial flavors from flavor companies. In the last part of his article, he explains the production of the fries in Lamb Weston plant. He describes how the potatoes enters the processing factory and comes out in packs of frozen fries. The factory uses sophisticated machines to increase the production speed and ensure the quality of the fries. Different techniques have been used to maintain the consistency taste of the fries. Everyday, dozen of trucks from McDonald come to collect the frozen fries and send it to their restaurants in different area. That is the reason why McDonald can serve its customers fresh and delicious fries everyday. “In 1960, the typical American ate eighty-one pounds of fresh potatoes and about four pounds of frozen french fries. Today the typical American eats about forty-nine pounds of fresh potatoes every year—and more than thirty pounds of frozen french fries.” This shows that Americans’ eating habit has changed after the commercializing of frozen fries. It is important for the consumer to know where their food comes from and how are they made. Everyone loves McDonald’s french fries but not many people including myself know it actually takes a lot of steps to process before it can be served in the restaurants. Schlosser article actually helps bringing the awareness of food and encourage people to know more about their food. In fact, a lot of people don’t know the fries are artificially flavored. Food is the daily need in our life, therefore ignoring the nutrients and ingredients in the food can negatively impact our health. In short, paying attention to the nutrients of the food is very important, especially when we are surrounded with frozen foods.

Schlosser, E. (2010). Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: Why the Fries Taste Good (Excerpt). PBS. Retrieved June 18, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/pov/foodinc/fastfoodnation_01.php