About this title: To a degree both engrossing and alarming, the story of fast food is the story of postwar America. Schlosser, a National Magazine Award-winning journalist, charts the fast food industry's enormous impact on our health, landscape, economy, politics and culture as he transforms the way America thinks about what it eats.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 288 p. Contains: Illustrations. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780965188388ISBN:0965188388
Description: Very Good. Cover has some edge wear and rubbing. Light soiling on sides of book. Slight corner wear. Pages are clean and unmarked. read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
"This book tells me averything about the fastfood industry. So amazing. I couldn't imazine eating KFC everyday without knowing about the process behind my meals."
"I started reading this book after having lunch at a fast food restaurant....
Have you ever been bored of cooking, would like to get away from stressful problem, trying to find a place where you can eat while your children can play, or trying to find a fast testable tasteful food? .....
I grew up in a country where rice is the staple food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My first acquaintance with fast food was in mid 80's. School and work have brought me to different culture and different countries which forced me to survive to various tastes and culinary culture. But this first touch of fast food has sometimes become a 'get-away' path for me.
After long hours of studying (or dance practice), I still remember of having late supper at "three letters" fast food restaurant down at College Station Road, Athens (GA) with friends. Years after that during Eid, some friends and I were having dinner again at this 'three letters' restaurant in Newcastle, UK., because we were too busy and couldn't find time to have a proper Eid meals. I also recalled couple of visits in this restaurant chain in Menado or Kendari after long weeks of hiking and staying in remote places of Talaud or Buton.
This book was not just about the food, but the whole industry related to fast food, the franchise, the packaging, the workers and their welfare, and the lethal E.coli !!!. Ouch! How lucky I was surviving from the possibility of facing the impact of this industry, at least to my health. Trend is like virus, very contagious. I am wondering if we're having the similar problems in my country. Malls are everywhere, face-to-face. When one food vendor becomes popular, everyone wants to be in the first queue of tasting it and the others build similar types of stores or sell similar types of food. The use of borax in meatballs or tofu has drawn our attention to be more careful in selecting or buying our food.
Indonesian meals particularly home-made meals are still my preference these days. It is healthier but is time consuming to prepare especially like me who put the same seriousness in cooking as in studying. One thing I could not avoid, the potato products... Chips and fries... sigh!"
"I expected this story to be the written version of Supersize Me, but it is actually much more comprehensive. Schlosser provdes a pretty in-depth history of the development of the cattlle, poultry, and potato industries and also fast-food chains. Schlosser has his moments of leftist, Republican-bashing arguments, but for the most part he tells a balanced story. The meatpacking industry comes off looking very malicious, but surprisingly Schlosser is somewhat light on his criticism fast food chains. He does not talk extensively on the obesity epidemic that is fueled by Big Fast Food.
I think the pertinent themes that resonate in this book are: 1) The drive for smaller government is far less benign than it sounds. Regulation of industries is an undertaking that only governments (and not individuals or self-policing businesses) are equipped to do. When governments are regulating effectively, OSHA is able to ensure safe work environments, small businesses are able to stay competitive thanks to anti-trust regulations, and food products are relatively uncontaminated. When budgets get slashed, all the above (and also apparently the financial markets) are compromised. 2) Some will argue that the ends justify the means and that our food is as cheap as it is only because of the objectionable practices of the meat and fast food corporations. Schlosser argues that in fact fast food chains like In-And-Out and other companies making organic products provide decently priced foods without squeezing workers to death or being lacksadaisical with safety. A point is also made that cheap food should not be our blind end goal. 3) Turnover and low skill sounds bad for employers, but in the meatpacking and fast food industries, quick turnover and low-skilled workers are ideal in order to prevent having to provide benefits and also to prevent successful unionization.
The writing style was very smooth and easy to fly through.
All in all, this is an exemplary work of investigative reporting that will hopefully one day be regarded similarly to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
