Fast Food Nation

Fast Food Nation talks about fast food, and a lot of negative aspects of its production and cultural impacts.

Given that the intent of the narrative implies the negative impacts, I found some of the discussion on the various entrepreneurs to be politically charged.  While it doesn't bother me, it makes me wonder if there is a political slant to the information provided, and if conservatives would be turned off to this book.  There also seems to be a presentation of fact as negative, when perhaps some of the connections or implications are tenuous.

Regardless, a lot of the information is very interesting and revealing to the uninitiated.

Update 3/1 - I finished the book, and I take back most of what I said above.  As the author states at the end, he is just stating the facts and allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusion.

The subject matter was very interesting.  He started by writing about how McDonalds started and changed the way food was made and marketed.  He wrote about fast food workers' rights and wages, and the political lobbying to maximize profits at the top while keeping costs low.  Next he tackled the subject of the science behind the mass production and standardization of the food, primarily the beef and fries, and then the consolidation of the meat cutters industry and the dangerous conditions in the slaughterhouses, and how the translate to foodborne pathogens that become widely dispersed through mass distribution.  He concluded with the globalization of McDonalds and other fast food chains, and the resistance that some countries have to McDonalds, as McDonalds represents American imperialism.

I thought it was a good book that touched upon how a free market society can go bad when left unchecked, the political lobbying and corruption of politicians by large corporate interests, how agribusiness destroys small, more environmentally friendly food production, the potential for public health outbreaks attributed to cost cutting, and the resistance of other countries to McDonalds, while the American public (literally and figuratively) eats up McDonalds.

Regarding the last subject, the popularity of this book does give me some hope for America.