Review: Fast Food Nation, the dark side of the American meal.
"Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled 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."
That was the blurb on the back of Fast Food Nation that captured my interest and caused me to purchase it at the MSP airport before we flew to Israel in November. [If you want a report of our trip, be in touch.] If you think that exchanging our nine years of a plant-based diet for a more balanced one means that we are now frequenting the local McDonald's, think again. Or if you go there, you need to read this book. Here are some highlights:
"Chicken McNuggets were introduced nationwide in 1983. Within a month of their launch, the McDonald's Corporation became the second largest purchaser of chicken in the US, surpassed only by KFC. McNuggets tasted good, they were easy to chew, and they appeared to be healthier than other items on the menu....
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But their health benefits were illusory. A chemical analysis of their fatty acid profile more closely resembled beef than poultry. They were cooked in beef tallow, like McDonald's fries. The chain soon switched to vegetable oil, adding 'beef extract' to retain their familiar taste. Today Chicken McNuggets are wildly popular among children-and contain twice as much fat per ounce as a hamburger."
The McNugget changed not only the American diet but also its system for raising and processing poultry. Twenty years ago, most chicken was sold whole; today about 90% of it has been cut into pieces. Gaining the McNugget contract turned Tyson Foods into the world's largest chicken producer. Tyson breeds, slaughters, and processes chicken; It does not raise the birds.
Tyson supplies its growers with one-day-old chicks. The grower neither owns them nor the poultry houses. The birds spend their entire lives on their property, but they belong to Tyson. The company determines feeding schedules, demands equipment upgrades, and employs "flock supervisors" to be sure that its directives are followed. In 7 weeks the full-grown chickens are picked up and ready for slaughter. Tyson employees count and weigh the birds. A grower's income is determined by a formula: count, weight, and amount of feed used.
Most growers borrow money to build the houses, which cost about $150,000 each and hold about 25,000 birds. A 1995 Louisiana Tech University study found that a typical grower had been raising chickens for 15 years, owned three poultry houses, remained deeply in debt, and earned $12,000 per year. About half leave the business in three years, losing everything. The back roads of rural Arkansas are littered with abandoned poultry houses.
I cannot support a system that is worse than serfdom. Lawbreaking and safety violations at processing plants are even worse. Besides chicken, other fast foods are addressed. Please read this book.
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