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=__﻿Plot__= __Fast Food Nation__ by Eric Schlosser, is all about uncovering what we really eat at the countries most famous fast food joints. In this epic book, Eric exposes the hideous world behind the counter and McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, and many other restaurants. He even goes so far as to explore the meat processing plants themselves; nasty as they are. Looking into employers logs, interviewing farmers and employees alike, Mr. Schlosser digs down to the very bottom until he can find what he's searching for: the truth. Journey with him to Idaho, California, and all over the nation as he uncovers what fast food is REALLY made of. =__**Author's Goal**__= I believe that Eric Schlosser is trying to simply warn the public about what they are eating. Why would a man go through so many disturbing tasks unless there was a valuable outcome? By visiting the meat factories, interviewing the workers, and studying how "fresh" the food really is, he discovered some upsetting things. This book is very imprtant in today's society because of the busy schedules and tired public, eating fast food is a daily ritual for some people. By writing this, Eric is giving millions he opportunity to find out what goes into the food they may be consuming multiple times a week. =__﻿Theme Connection__= In order for Mr. Schlosser to uncover what he wanted, it took a lot of time and travel. To figure out what the working conditions were like, he simply interviewed some workers from McDonalds and Taco Bell. Those interviews lead to very valuable information about the low payment, slim promotion opportunities, and how managers tried to keep workers from being paid overtime. (Now we know how McDonalds can afford the Dollar Menue.) ALong with interviews, he chose to visit a meat processing plant. There he realized how many workers get injured due to the heavy machinery and dangerous equipment they handle everyday. Not only that, but managers assigned to keep injury logs make two; one real, one fake. The fake is a list of only the most serious injuries, which helps the company look good because it appears that only a few members got spliced. And do you know what a french fry at McDonalds is made of? Poatatoe and "beef flavoring". Yes, "beef flavoring". That's what gives them their unique taste and trademark greasiness. Do you know what you eat when you get some McNuggets and fries or a Whopper? I do, and trust me, its beyond distgusting. =__Chapter Descriptions and Predictions__=

**﻿Chapter 1: The Founding Fathers**
Carl Karcher, an entreprenuer from Ohio, moved to Anaheim, California. There he set up a small hot dog stand with his wife Margaret. It was an instant success and eventually he branched out and formed a restaurant. Carl's restaurants were called "curbside service". (AKA: a drive-thru.) Around that same time, Richard and Maurice McDonald, from San Bernardino, were improving Carl's idea by creating an assembly line food production system. This creation was not only inovative, but cheap and quick. Later, Carl karcher started his own chain of Carl's Jr. Later though, he was fired and lost his company. During this time period, many common restaurants appeared; including Taco Bell, McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, and (of course) Carl's Jr. The title of chapter 2 is "Your Trusted Friends" and I think it'll be about how fast food places reel in customers by gaining trust and acceptance without question.

**Chapter 2: Your Trusted Friends**
In this capter, Eric wrote about Ray Croc and Walt Disney. Two friends with the same goal; success in life. Ray discovered that McDonald's could be a major hit nation wide. So, he convinced the McDonald brothers to sell it to him. Shortly after doing so, he expanded the small business and sure enough, it was instantly a hit! Meanwhile, Walt was in the midst of his own little project that we call Disneyland, today. He opened Disneyland around the same time McDonald's started expanding. Ray thought of the idea to put McDonald's into Disneyland but the men couldn't agree on selling prices and such. No McDonald's appeared in a Disney park until after Walt's death in '66. The next chapter is named "Behind The Counter" and I think it'll be about what happens "behind the scenes" where we cannot see what goes on.

**Chapter 3: Behind The Counter**
In this chapter, we learned almost everything there is to know about working at a fast food restaurant. Many of the workers explained that promotion is nearly impossible because the managers fire and hire people in a cycle. Also, they get paid barely minimum wage and rarely get paid for overtime. Nearly 2/3 of all fast food workers are teenagers. the other 1/3 is made up of mostly immigrants and handicapable people. The fast food industry is one of the scariest places to be employed. No other industry gets robbed more and many people have been killed while working there. There are quite a few tragic tales from the fast food establishments. The next chapter is titled "Success" and I believe it'll be about how so many common fast food places today have become so successful over the years.

**Chapter 4: Success**
What was discovered in this chapter was the type of stragtegies fast food joints use to get more people to come to the restaurants. One of he most important being expansion accrossed the U.S. and other parts of the world. McDonald's has gained the most credit for this feat, but KFC and Dunkin' Donuts have boh also had a bit of luck with this. By spreading out worldwide, McDonald's is creating a much larger list of potential customers. If they had stayed partial to the West Coast, they wouldn't be as successful or well known at all. The next chapter is called "Why The Fries Taste So Good" and I think Eric will explore what makes the french fries so delectable.

**Chapter 5: Why The Fries Taste So Good**
Chapter 5 was about J.R. Simplot and the processes of making the fries. J.R. Simplot is the founder of the Simplot plant in Aberdeen, Idaho. His potatoes are the most popular potatoes for fast food fries. In addition, they sell fries in grocery stores. The french fries at McDonald's are so greasy due to the fact that they use a special "beef flavoring" to make them, not only taste, but smell good. Around 90% of taste is smell. Thus, an appealing smell will make a food taste better most of the time. This theory was developed by the International flavors and Fragrances company. Chapter 6 is named, "On The Range" an dI think it will be all about the farmers that begin the process of getting meat for hamburgers, chicken, etc.

**﻿Chapter 6: On The Range**
In this areaa of the book, we figure out that people eat much more chicken than beef. Which is part of the reason ranchers go bankrupt. Also, the Chicken McNuggets were invented because he owner was looking for a "boneless chicken finger about the size of a thumb". It made an easy and seemingly low fat snack. The reality is that, while it is portable, the Chicken McNugget has twice as much fat per ounce as a hamburger does. Within one month McDonald's earned the title of the world's second largest chicken purchaser in the U.S. Tayson supplies them with the chicken. In fact, Tyson supplies 90/100 restaurants with their chicken. Tyson also produces nearly half of the McNuggets produced. It's the world's largest chicken processor. The next chapter is called "Cogs In The Great Machine" and I think it will be talking about how there are always flaws in every major business.

**Chapter 7: Cogs In The Great Machine**
The IBP Revolution was a big turning point for the fast food industry. It moved two entreprenuers from a large meat-packing company named Currier J. Holman and A.D. Anderson. Together they started their own meat-packing company that they called Iowa Beef Packers. (AKA: IBP) A very successful meat-packing business. Often times they would try to bribe other companies to work in a similar way. This forced multiple companies to move farther west or completely go outta business. The treatment in slaughter-houses is awful. Thousands of people every year are killed by the machines and their deaths and/or injuries are not recorded most of the time. Many of these people were illegal immigrants. The 8th chapter is titled "The Most Dangerous Job" and I believe it's about how tough it is working in the slaughterhouses.

**Chapter 8: The Most Dangerous Job**
In these slaughterhouses, many of the workers were illegal immgrants. Not only that, but the injury and death rates were very high; nearly 3 times higher than the average American factory. A lot of those injuries that were severe were not put in the record books. Floor managers would try to create a fake injury log to show to the inspectors. This way their factory looked efficient and very well managed. Easy promotion, and no stress. Innocent people were being killed every corner you turned. Workers were wading in blood because nobody bothered to help make it a disease free enviornment.The workers were often just people wanting to make a decent living in a new country. Chapter 9 is named "What's In The Meat" and I think it'll be about how factories put together the final product for fast food establishments.

**Chapter 9: What's In The Meat**

 * //E. coli 0157:H7//** is very common in raw meat. This can cause many food borne illnesses which kill an average of 14 people a year. Another 200,000 are sickened and 900 are placed into hospitals. **//E. coli//** comes from other flaws in the meat including diseased cows, rats getting mixed up in machinery, and even feces from other animals. Jack In The Box had a huge epidemic with that and the meat entered at least 25 states. One little boy in particular was tortured by a disease that literally crippled him and eventually he did die from internal bleeding. Things like this need to be stopped once and for all. Fast food industries don't care though, as long as they get profit, they are satisfied. The final chapter is titled "Global Realization" and I predict it'll be about the world finally getting to the point where we open our eyes to these horrors.

**Chapter 10: Global Realization**
In the last chapter, Eric reviews what he previously talked about. He also discusses how the fast food industry is similar to Hitler's Youth Group. Hitler tried to conince everyone that there was one lifestyle: his. Ray Croc and other owners are trying to tell us that we have one choice: fast food. Both are wrong. Eric summed it up very well when he stated, "Have It Your Way". Part of the American freedom is being able to choose. So, choose a healthier lifestyle. __Fast Food Nation__ by Eric Schlosser has made me more aware and alert to he dangers in the fast food nation.