Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal .
N.p.: Harper Perennial, 2001, 2002. Print.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Global Realization
As the fast food industry continues to prosper it is spreading outside of the United States and to the rest of the world. The United States alone has the highest rate of obesity, in children and adults. The blame of this obesity can be directly associated with the consumption of fast food. People have been eating out more these days, which increases the amount calories and fat in their diets. The fast food chains in America have to realize that they are causing so much obesity, how could they not? However, despite anything, they have made their meals larger and more unhealthy. As the books states, "Obesity is now second only to smoking as a cause of mortality in the United States." Around 280,000 Americans die every year as a result of obesity. The fast food industry can be directly related to this epidemic and seem to have no interest in stopping it.
Some fast food chains added healthier foods to their menu, but their customers have become so equipped to the unhelathier food that they do not care to change their tastes now. Every person has their own taste, whether it is in food, clothing etc. When creating a product the producer must take those likes and dislikes into considertation. When something is changed or done differently, the consumer will not respond as well to the new product.
As fast food chains spread around the world, so does obesity. I think that either the fast food industry has to change their ways or the government needs to care and take more control of the food that they are allowing to be served to their people.
Some fast food chains added healthier foods to their menu, but their customers have become so equipped to the unhelathier food that they do not care to change their tastes now. Every person has their own taste, whether it is in food, clothing etc. When creating a product the producer must take those likes and dislikes into considertation. When something is changed or done differently, the consumer will not respond as well to the new product.
As fast food chains spread around the world, so does obesity. I think that either the fast food industry has to change their ways or the government needs to care and take more control of the food that they are allowing to be served to their people.
What's in the Meat
The food industry has become very centralized, increasing the chance and spread of foodborne diseases. One of the most common is E. coli 0157:H7. The meat packing industry has become so powerful that the U.S. government does not have the power to demand a meat packing company to recall and take back tainted meat from fast food kitchens and supermarkets. Therefore, if meat is contaminated by any foodborne pathogens it is the careless work of the meat packing industry and the government can not do anything about it. A business such as the meat packing industry is a prime example of an industry that Americans rely on very much.
The feedlots where the cattle stay before they are sent to the slaughterhouse are also a dangerous area for foodborne pathogens to spread. All the cattle in feedlots are cramped together, and if one of the cattle is infected by the pathogen, it can easily be spread to the other cattle in the lot.
A new system called the Streamlined Inspection System for Cattle (SIS – C) reduced the number of federal inspectors at slaughterhouses and gave the workers the job of inspecting the meat for safety. This system was supported by the Reagan administration and diseased animals were being slaughtered and sent out at the slaughterhouses that worked with this system. The SIS – C was finally discontinued in 1993 after there was an outbreak of E. Coli O157:H7 at Jack in the Box. The meat industry placed blame on others claiming that they did not know the proper temperature at which the meat was supposed to be cooked at. Of course, in business however you need to lie sometimes and place blame on someone else as to not hurt your own reputation. If you have a bad reputation, no one would want to be associated with you. However, by placing blame on Jack in the Box, I believe that could have lowered their number of customers, therefore they would need less meat. Since they would need less meat, they would be paying less and the meat company that supplies the meat would be losing out. Therefore, placing blame on someone else does not always work out the way you plan. They should accept responsibility and fix what was wrong.
More safety precautions have been taken here and there, but when meat is contaminated it is still not fully recalled after the contamination is discovered. I really believe that the meat industry needs to be more mindful of the meat that they send out to their customers. The customers are their main consumers, and they are making themselves look bad as they continually send out pathogen stricken meat.
The feedlots where the cattle stay before they are sent to the slaughterhouse are also a dangerous area for foodborne pathogens to spread. All the cattle in feedlots are cramped together, and if one of the cattle is infected by the pathogen, it can easily be spread to the other cattle in the lot.
A new system called the Streamlined Inspection System for Cattle (SIS – C) reduced the number of federal inspectors at slaughterhouses and gave the workers the job of inspecting the meat for safety. This system was supported by the Reagan administration and diseased animals were being slaughtered and sent out at the slaughterhouses that worked with this system. The SIS – C was finally discontinued in 1993 after there was an outbreak of E. Coli O157:H7 at Jack in the Box. The meat industry placed blame on others claiming that they did not know the proper temperature at which the meat was supposed to be cooked at. Of course, in business however you need to lie sometimes and place blame on someone else as to not hurt your own reputation. If you have a bad reputation, no one would want to be associated with you. However, by placing blame on Jack in the Box, I believe that could have lowered their number of customers, therefore they would need less meat. Since they would need less meat, they would be paying less and the meat company that supplies the meat would be losing out. Therefore, placing blame on someone else does not always work out the way you plan. They should accept responsibility and fix what was wrong.
More safety precautions have been taken here and there, but when meat is contaminated it is still not fully recalled after the contamination is discovered. I really believe that the meat industry needs to be more mindful of the meat that they send out to their customers. The customers are their main consumers, and they are making themselves look bad as they continually send out pathogen stricken meat.
The Most Dangerous Job: The Worst
The cleaning crews of the meat packing industry have some of the most dangerous jobs there are. One person was pulled into a conveyor belt and torn apart, another fell from a skinning machine while cleaning it and one had his head crushed in a pork –loin processing machine. Many other fatal and serious injuries occur in these slaughter houses.
As illegal immigrants replaced many skilled workers in the plants and line speeds increased, the job became a lot more dangerous. The government did not do much to help the workers stay safe. In fact, the federal government placed restrictions on the enforcement of health and safety laws. The OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) was unfunded by the government. As time went by the number of OSHA inspectors was eventually cut by 20 percent and could no longer show up to a plant unannounced. Instead they looked at injury logs and if the number of injuries was below average, they were not allowed to enter the plant. These injury logs, however, were constantly changed and falsified by the plants. IBP had two copies of injury logs; one with every injury recorded and another they would strictly show only to inspectors with a dramatically lower number of injuries.
I honestly do not understand or like the way the meat industry works. It is cruel to the animals whom are not even fully dead when hung upside down on hooks and slaughtered, and it is cruel to the workers who work so hard to get the job done and are seriously injured while on the job. I also do not understand why the government is so lenient with the meat packing industry and takes power away from the ones who are trying to ensure safety to the workers. The government has the power to give the health administrators the right to inspections and to keep people safe, but they choose not to. It seems as if they do not care or are not as sincere because many of the workers at the plants getting injured or killed are illegal immigrants. However, it is still unfair and the government should take more control.
As illegal immigrants replaced many skilled workers in the plants and line speeds increased, the job became a lot more dangerous. The government did not do much to help the workers stay safe. In fact, the federal government placed restrictions on the enforcement of health and safety laws. The OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) was unfunded by the government. As time went by the number of OSHA inspectors was eventually cut by 20 percent and could no longer show up to a plant unannounced. Instead they looked at injury logs and if the number of injuries was below average, they were not allowed to enter the plant. These injury logs, however, were constantly changed and falsified by the plants. IBP had two copies of injury logs; one with every injury recorded and another they would strictly show only to inspectors with a dramatically lower number of injuries.
I honestly do not understand or like the way the meat industry works. It is cruel to the animals whom are not even fully dead when hung upside down on hooks and slaughtered, and it is cruel to the workers who work so hard to get the job done and are seriously injured while on the job. I also do not understand why the government is so lenient with the meat packing industry and takes power away from the ones who are trying to ensure safety to the workers. The government has the power to give the health administrators the right to inspections and to keep people safe, but they choose not to. It seems as if they do not care or are not as sincere because many of the workers at the plants getting injured or killed are illegal immigrants. However, it is still unfair and the government should take more control.
The Most Dangerous Job
The laborers and workers of the slaughter houses in the United States are obviously extremely important in the production of meat, and in order to do their job right and efficiently, they need to be protected. However, workers at the slaughterhouses encounter several dangers every day. Many upon many laborers get seriously injured on the job and many have died as well. All the workers wear eight pounds of chain mail, helmets and steel armor on their hands, wrists, stomachs and backs, but they still continue to get injured constantly.
The way in which they treat the cattle is harsh and disturbing enough, but the injuries and deaths that come from the assembly line of processing this meat is also disturbing, and even more unjustly when the owners of the house try to cover up such brutality. Many injuries are brought upon by the increasing speed of the assembly lines, which are just getting faster rather than slower. The three largest meat packing companies are ConAgra, IBP and Excel, and all three of them try to speed up production in order to increase their earnings. Ine the business world it is also about exceeding and being better than their competitiors, and the faster the line moves the faster money will come in. Some supervisors provide their workers with methamphetamine in order for them to feel more energized and work faster, which is absolutely absurd and makes it more dangerous for them as they may be more careless with their new found “energy.”
According to Schlosser, most workers are afraid to report injuries at the risk of being fired. Supervisors usually try to hide injuries by prodding their workers not to tell and moving them to an easier job for awhile. Obviously, an injured worker brings down profits and in any industry making money is the main goal and they are sometimes encouraged to quit if they can not perform well enough. This is unfair to the workers because if they slowed down production or created new methods of doing what needed to be done, it would be safer and fewer injuries would result. The workers can not be blamed for their injuries. Schlosser gives a clear description of the process in which meat is made and the injuries that result, as he enters into a slaughterhouse and sees first hand what goes on.
The way in which they treat the cattle is harsh and disturbing enough, but the injuries and deaths that come from the assembly line of processing this meat is also disturbing, and even more unjustly when the owners of the house try to cover up such brutality. Many injuries are brought upon by the increasing speed of the assembly lines, which are just getting faster rather than slower. The three largest meat packing companies are ConAgra, IBP and Excel, and all three of them try to speed up production in order to increase their earnings. Ine the business world it is also about exceeding and being better than their competitiors, and the faster the line moves the faster money will come in. Some supervisors provide their workers with methamphetamine in order for them to feel more energized and work faster, which is absolutely absurd and makes it more dangerous for them as they may be more careless with their new found “energy.”
According to Schlosser, most workers are afraid to report injuries at the risk of being fired. Supervisors usually try to hide injuries by prodding their workers not to tell and moving them to an easier job for awhile. Obviously, an injured worker brings down profits and in any industry making money is the main goal and they are sometimes encouraged to quit if they can not perform well enough. This is unfair to the workers because if they slowed down production or created new methods of doing what needed to be done, it would be safer and fewer injuries would result. The workers can not be blamed for their injuries. Schlosser gives a clear description of the process in which meat is made and the injuries that result, as he enters into a slaughterhouse and sees first hand what goes on.
Cogs in the Great Machine
The meat packing industry has become one of the most important suppliers of fast food chains. The meat packing industry is a very powerful industry. However, on many occasions different meat packing companies have lied and broke the law in order to protect themselves and receive a larger profit. For instance, ConAgra is the largest food service supplier in North America and was making millions, if not billions, of dollars every year. When they became in debt and was losing money they began breaking laws to save money. They misweighed chickens purposely in order to pay less for them, fixed the prices of catfish nationwide for their own benefit, was involved in wire fraud and more. Unfortunately, these sort of lies are more common than most may think. However, they still had to go to court and still pay money for their lies which was what they were trying to do avoid all along. In business, there are ups and downs, the company just needs to work with what they have and should try to avoid breaking the law.
Why the Fries taste so Good
Just by looking at the French fries provided for America’s fast food chains, the reader of Fast Food Nation can see the impact that the industry has on Americans. The typical American will eat around forty – nine pounds of fresh potatoes a year and more than thirty pounds of frozen French fries, which they mainly purchase at fast food restaurants. The French fries at most fast food chains are frozen fries that they heat up in oil before serving them to the customer (very unhealthy). McDonald’s purchases all their fries from J.R. Simplot who has a privately owned company. He was an eighth grade drop out and is now one of the richest men in the United States, which proves how successful a man can become simply through the fast food industry.
Again, fast food industries receive a large profit off of their French fries. Fast food chains buy French fries for 30 cents a pound from their providers and then sell them for six dollars a pound. In business views, this makes sense because it makes the larger profit However, in the view of a customer; it seems like a bit of a rip off. There needs to be a common meeting place in between that is fair for both the customer and the restaurant.
Again, fast food industries receive a large profit off of their French fries. Fast food chains buy French fries for 30 cents a pound from their providers and then sell them for six dollars a pound. In business views, this makes sense because it makes the larger profit However, in the view of a customer; it seems like a bit of a rip off. There needs to be a common meeting place in between that is fair for both the customer and the restaurant.
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