Off My Reading List
I think I wrote about wanting to read this book sometime back. Now, thanks to a friend of mine, I've gotten a copy of the book. It's called Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and is a New York Times Bestseller. Apparently it's a really good read.
What I've learned so far in the few pages that I have read, is that:
In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2001, they spent more than $110 billion.
Americans now spend more on fast tood than on higher education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars. They spend more on fast tood than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music-combined.
Today, McDonald's has about thirty thousand restaurants worldwide and opens almost two thousand new ones each year.
An estimated one out of every eight workers in the US has at some point been employed by McDonald's.
The company annually hires about one million people, more than any other American organization, private or public.
McDonald's is the nation's largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes - and the second largest purchaser of chicken.
The company earns the majority of its profits not from selling food, but from collecting rent.
McDonald's spends more money on advertising and marketing than any other brand.
As a result, it has replaced Coca-Cola as the world's most famous brand.
McDonald's operates more playgrounds than any other private entity in the US.
A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald. The only fictional character with a higher degree of recognition was Santa Claus.
The Golden Arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian cross.
The roughly 3.5 million fast food workers are by far the largest group of minimum wage earners in the US. The only Americans who consistently earn a lower hourly wage are migrant farm workers.
And the list goes on...
I'm currently reading the part on the history of Fast Food and how it has not only affected the American diet but also the culture. All in all, I'm enjoying this book. I can't wait to reach the part on how they make the food and where all the 'food' comes from.
posted by daenielle @ 11:30 AM
4 Comments:
The book will turn you against fast food, I warn you. After I read it, I couldn't put anything from McDonald's (or KFC/Arby's/Wendy's/Taco Bell, etc) into my mouth. Working conditions in fast food restaurants are horrendous and the food is crappy and unhealthy and is the reason that America is fat!!!!!
You should watch the movie "Super Sized Me" if you haven't..... I just really hate the fast food industry, so I'm always happy to decry them.
If you're just a diet/health nut, then you should read "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano. It will completely change your perspective on eating.
Hey Priya,
Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I have watched Super Size Me. It is a good movie and it does have a point although I think it was exaggerated because no one really eats McD's that much. But as I said, he has a point. Anyway, I'm not much of a fast food person just cuz I wasn't brought up that way...my mom worked as a nutritionist for a while, so see where that goes. I'm really looking forward to finishing the book. It's proving to be good.
priya..."French Women Don't Get Fat"? Sheesh! That explains how you managed to stay slim!
Da nell...do they only talk about mcd's or other fast food restaurants as well...?
-sid-
They talk about other fast food restaurants and other organizations that incorporate the fast food theory...or maybe I should say the culture. ie: Disney Land.
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