I just got done reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. I don't think I will ever eat at a fast food restaurant again...
It's not that Mr. Schlosser tells horror stories about kids putting things in the food behind the counter at your local Long John Silvers (hi Carey!). Instead, the author focuses on the global picture of what a fast food culture costs us, and how it impacts us, from the cows being raised on a ranch to the health risks involved with eating too much.
The facts listed in the book are astounding. For example, the pets that are not claimed or adopted at the pound are turned into cattle feed after they've been put to sleep. That's right folks, they're feeding Bruno and Fluffy to the cows that end up on your plate. Or, how about the fact that the sawdust and shredded newspaper that lines the floor of the chicken coops, and soaks up the urine and feces from thousands of hens is then turned around and also converted into cattle feed. Have I got your attention yet? He talks about the rise of E.coli 0157:H7 and how it destroys the body from the inside, all because someone at a restaurant didn't cook the food well enough, the slaughterhouse didn't butcher the cow expertly enough, and the feedlot holding the cow for slaughter abused the cows while they waited for their extermination.
I've only scratched the surface of the story that Mr. Schlosser lays out. The stories are memorable, the writing is compelling, and most importantly, the book is exhaustively researched, footnoted, and the stories backed up with first-rate evidence. I don't know about you, but the more footnotes a book has, the more turned-on I get.
The biggest turn-off about this book for me is the socialist stance that permeates the book. Mr. Schlosser will suggest that there could be a market solution to the problems he outlines, but then says, in effect: "But a better solution would be more government oversight and control of the food industries". For the libertarians reading this review, please do not let that stop you from picking up this book. It's still fantastic for the picture it paints, stark and harrowing. If you've been looking for a good reason to get upset, start a diet, or give up fast food, this is your book.
I give this book four dismembered cows-heads out of five. Go out and buy it, if you haven't already.
I just want to comment on one item you have posted, about the animals being ground up and provided as cattle feed. My roommmate, Scott, formerly was employed at the Humane Society in Harrisburg, both the East and West Shore locations, and he served as the director of the West Shore branch. I know for a fact that the animals that are destroyed there, are in fact cremated. I believe he said on average, they cremate about 30 animals (mainly dogs and cats) a month. He said he has never heard of anything as absurd as the carcasses being sold and used at cattle feed. Not to say it doesn't happen, and I don't know where this is taking place, but certainly not in the Harrisburg area. One plus for good ole Central PA!