Fast Food Nation Research Paper

Knowing what is in your fast food might make you think twice the next time you devour it. As the rise of the fast food nation in America has increased to an all-time high, so has the weight and waists of Americans all around the country. Not only has the United States grown to love the acquired taste of greasy golden fries and juicy burgers, it has also grown ignorant to the way their food is prepared. In the novel, “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal”(2002), by Eric Schlosser, he makes compelling points in his position against the fast food industry. In “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal” (2002), Eric Schlosser argues that “… Fast food is solely responsible for every social problem now haunting the United States”(9). Schlosser analyzes this conflict by setting side by side the positive and negative affects and outcomes of the industry growing so rapidly. He reports evidence and eye-opening facts about the multinational corporation in order to prove the dangers and aftermath of the increased success in fast food. Schlosser conveys that “too much fast food can cause serious risks”(65) due to the fact that “Hundreds of people buy fast food everyday”(10) as a convenience, and are unaware of the harm they are causing themselves. He elucidates and sighs at the fact that the business is made to attract young, innocent children when they are ignorant to the process and makings of their cravings. Schlosser presumably addresses the United States (as in “manifestation of American popular culture.”) in his novel because he openly discusses the need for Americans to become in touch with the reality of Fast food. Since 1965, the amount of fast food joints opening have increased nationally, along with the safety issues concerning the consumption and preparation of their cooking. The preparation process is not what Americans make it out to be. For example, many bacteria and infections have been found in the meat of the everyday

Cited: Abboud, Ingrid. “Scary Facts about Fast Food.” , 2010. Gray, Thomas. “Fast Food Effects on Child Obesity. , 2011. Schlosser, Eric. "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side to the All-American Meal." New York, 2002. Quinn, Myrtle. “An Inside Look At Slaughter Houses.” < http://www.all- creatures.org/articles/ar-aninsidelook.html>, 2009.