"Fast Food Nation" Part II

As a continuation of a previous blog, I decided to further my summary of “Fast Food Nation” from chapters 7-10. In each of the following paragraphs, I will summarize and add my personal input for the situations presented in the book. I hope that this blog will help you to further your understanding of what the book is about even if you haven’t read it at all. Chapter seven is titled “Cogs in the Great Machine”. This chapter began in the little meat packing town of Greenly, Colorado. It explains how this town turned from a utopian community to meatpacking run mayhem full of migrant workers caused from the IBP revolution of meatpacking plants. Schlosser then turns to discuss the history of IBP and how the meat packing giant got to be in that little utopian town in Colorado. He said that IBP used the same system that McDonald’s used for its service for its own meatpacking industry. IBP’s arrival to the utopian town of Greenly occurred because the town had no labor unions and the fact that it was close enough to the border to hire cheap and unskilled migrant workers. Once the migrant workers and IBP infiltrated the town, it transformed it into a dirty community with increased crime and poverty. To me this is a horrible reality. Corporations and various businesses seem to both ruin and support its community. As foreign competition rises, companies like IBP have to resort to cheaper labor. The increase of unskilled workers creates more problems in the community like crime and poverty making the business more of a detriment more than a benefit to society. The question is, will this trend of poor business relations with the community continue into our future or will corporations or government cure the problems created by low wage jobs? Some people say that a higher minimum wage will solve the problem and some say that immigration and business regulations need to be tightened. Whatever solution is used one thing is for sure. Something needs to be done. Chapter eight is titled “The Most Dangerous Job” for a good reason. In this chapter Schlosser is taken on a tour of a meatpacking plant somewhere out west. He details his tour in the book and describes a horrific view of what meat packing workers go through every day. His documented tour explained that many of the workers in the plant used extremely sharp knives and worked long hour days which caused a high rate of injury within the workplace. This detail wasn’t as shocking as the fact that the meat company’s extremely low compensation in insurance costs for injuries. The chapter even explained that sometimes the company’s workman’s comp was so low that the injured workers had to go back to work to pay for their own medical payments. To me, these actions just explain to society that a human life is just another resource to use and eventually exhaust. People seem to be treated as well as the animals they slaughter. What is your opinion on this matter? Chapter nine is titled “What’s in the Meat”. This chapter dealt with the recent scares of diseases, primarily E. Coli, in meat processed at the various high production meat packing factories. From reading the previous chapter, you can easily imagine how disease could get into the meat. Before the IBP revolution, the amount of tainted meat was contained within a small area, but with the mass production of meat, recalls of such meat become extremely difficult to manage. Schlosser used the 1997 E. Coli strain in the meat from Hudson foods as an example in the book. Of the total 35 million pounds of ground beef recalled by Hudson, only 10 million pounds had been not eaten during the time of the recall. The worst realization of this chapter is the 200,000 people that get sick every day in the United States from tainted food. As you can see, these problems are all caused by the fact that corporations are constantly spending less money on resources and safety precautions to increase their profit. Chapter ten is titled “Global Realization/ Have it Your Way”. This chapter explains both how the world is changing and how the fast food phenomenon is spreading to the various countries around the globe. Like in America, fast food restaurants are changing the economy of countries like Germany. It is changing what was once peaceful towns in Bavaria, into towns like present day Greenly. Like in the chapter’s title, the principles adopted by the fast food chains and the many facets of America’s food industries are being spread globally. It presents the view that the future does not look good for a nice, peaceful society that once was. Even though I have told you the main points of each chapter, I recommend anybody who finds interest in this blog to read this wonderful documentary. It has truly changed my view of the world and how I interact in it. It is a relief that I can now know what I eat and were it might have come from.