Fast Food Nation

The Dark Side of the All-American Meal

By: Eric Schlosser

Narrated by: Rick Adamson

Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

To a degree both engrossing and alarming, the story of fast food is the story of postwar America. Though created by a handful of mavericks, the fast food industry has triggered the homogenization of our society. Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled the juggernaut of American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list of charges, but Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning.

Schlosser's myth-shattering survey stretches from the California subdivisions where the business was born to the industrial corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike where many of fast food's flavors are concocted. He hangs out with the teenagers who make the restaurants run and communes with those unlucky enough to hold America's most dangerous job - meatpacker. He travels to Las Vegas for a giddily surreal franchisers' convention where Mikhail Gorbachev delivers the keynote address. He even ventures to England and Germany to clock the rate at which those countries are becoming fast food nations.

Fast Food Nation is a groundbreaking work of investigation and cultural history that may change the way America thinks about the way it eats.

©2001 by Eric Schlosser
(P)2001 Random House, Inc.
Random House Audible, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Adult Non-Fiction, 2002

"... a fierce indictment of the fast food industry." (The New York Times)

Ummm....yummy

The book starts off rather calm and collected, but builds, taking the listener through every aspect of the fast food industry -- from hoof to burger. By the end of it, the author is ranting with such force that you want to rise up with him and do your part. Even thought it is abridged, the book is satisfyingly long; after awhile, it becomes like your favorite hobby.

So what is a fast food nation? Apparently it has something to do with the American, homogenized, Disneyfied, McDonalised, oligopoly that we live in today. Drive down any main street in America, and you are likely to see the same retail stores, gas stations, and, yes, eating establishments. Urban sprawl seems to be driven by franchises, which function as military outposts on new suburban frontiers. Once they move in, the rest of the troops follow. And what is the cumulative effect of all of this blase cookie cutter culture on our standard of living here in the good old USA?

Well, something sinister, rest assured.

For example, our food supply is being controlled by huge corporations who have no respect for the American dream...NO respect, mister. Our children are being targeted from birth by an ungodly assortment of scientists, flavorists, and advertisers who will stop at nothing to add another body to the Matrix. Oh, yes, yes, it is all true. But, there is still time. You can walk out of that fast food restaurant before it gets you too -- you, you fat, overweight, obese, typical, American consumer. Put down that french fry! Put it down, I say!

Highly recommended. 4 stars = excellent.

What an eye opener! Disturbing yet enjoyable book

Amazing. I loved the research he put into this, and the stories about the corrupt meat packing industry (some references to the "Jungle"), and the crimes at Fast Food restaurants committed by their own employees. I also learned a lot about 'natural' and 'artificial' flavorings. As obesity is a hot topic these days this book would be a great supplement to understanding its problems. I got a bit tired of hearing about Colorado but it was interesting. I would also check out "Supersize Me" and its DVD bonus feature where you will find the filmmaker's interview with the author. I've been boycotting McD's and other fast food chains after listening to this book.. The narrator was excellent. He read in a good speed and had good energy.

Maybe different edition of the book recorded?

Unfortunately the audio book maybe was not the same edition as my physical copy? It skipped over chapters and paragraphs which was very frustrating. The actual book was very entertaining and informative.

Must Reading About Fast Food Eating

Well written and well read. You'll be sorry when it's over. Every parent who has ever taken a child to a fast food restaurant, needs to listen to (or read) this book, before going again. The worker abuses we thought went out with the early part of the last century, are alive and thriving under the golden arches and at their suppliers. If only 1/2 of what this book reveals is true, then we are fools and hypocrites for supporting this industry with our personal and tax dollars. I travel through factories in China and workers there are paid and treated better, than workers at your local Burger King.

good book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it teaches you a lot about fast food companies, and how they get there food

A must read

If you care about what you eat and how it gets to you - you owe it to yourself to read/listed to this.

All good, except for 1 thing ...

I liked everything about this book except for one thing. I appreciate the information, which is pretty much right on. I enjoyed listening to the narrator - his style, for the most part, made the book a more enjoyable listen. My one exception to the book is apparently the author cares more about what goes in his stomach than what comes out his mouth. Though I enjoyed the book and am glad I purchased it, the F-bombs and other colorful words sprinkled throughout make it something I don't listen to around the children or in public places. If not for this, I'd give it 5 stars.

enjoyable simply because it is so very disturbing

This is a powerfully thought provoking book. It is enjoyable simply because it is so very disturbing. As a high-school teacher I found the information relating to the necessity of a large uneducated workforce enlightening. Also, the detailed examples about food processing and taste are well...thought provoking. And, the information about the aggressive campaigning for ever younger customers has lead my wife and I into many discussions about the amount of television and fast food we are willing to let our children consume.
I am critical of the author's biased approach to the material, but he clearly states his agenda at both the beginning and end of the book; so the material can be read with the knowledge that this book is a prosecution of the industry with no real defense.

Sets Some Facts Out Clearly

The best part of this book is the history of fast food and the growth of big business, often at the expense of society and the consumer. There isn't much most of us don't already know, but the details are set out here clearly. A weakness of the book, which really gets serious in the second half, is the critical tone of the author about everything related to fast food companies and their supply chains. While citing the numbers of those sickened from fast food meat contamination, the "objective" high tone of the book was calling out for some context, such as the numbers of people sickened from traditional Sunday church outings maybe. Overall though, a read that will help you stay away from McDonalds, which you already know you should, but often find hard to do.

Many angles on the fast food industry

I thought this book was going to be mainly about the health issues surrounding fast food, but that is such a minor part of it. We learn about the entire history of the industry, its effects on popular culture, economics, and other related food industries. I knew there was good reason to stay away from certain fast food restaurants based simply on health reasons, but now there are so many others, not the least of which are how they exploit their workers and enable partners in other food industries to exploit their workers. After listening to this book, I pretty much stayed out of fast food restaurants for almost two years. It is really a fascinating and persuasive book!