An old book for book group last month, Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, published in 2001 (my copy with a new afterword in 2002). Still some very current issues raised despite this – from knowing the true content of our food to paying a fair wage, the ethics of marketing to children and phenomenal power of some bodies to influence and lobby against regulation. And of course we all still have to eat.
I’ve been reading another book at the same time, How to Read a Book by Adler and Van Doren (see separate comments once I’ve finished it) and attempted to apply its approach to make sense both of Schlosser’s overall argument and how he builds this up. This wasn’t easy to do.
Overall Schlosser’s purpose is to expose the grim realities of the fast food industry (and I’d argue what’s become normal and accepted in the wider food industry). Some of this is shocking stuff: stories of poorly paid abattoir workers (in ‘the most dangerous job in the US’) being injured and killed at work; schools striving to sell more fizzy drinks to meet corporate sponsors’ sales targets; long lists of chemicals used in ‘natural flavourings’ in milkshakes. However, look more closely and it’s harder to follow specific lines of argument. Facts come fast and furious, with little introduction and few conclusions obviously drawn. You can spend a long time waiting for a ‘therefore’ that doesn’t come, with the author apparently assuming the reader will be so sympathetic with his arguments he doesn’t need to lay them out on a plate. There are end notes, but you have to think to look for them, which to me means they might as well not be there.
For a conversation starter this is a good read; great to dip in and out of in order to find facts with which to spice up one’s conversation – particularly effective at lunch time. Our arguments ranged from whether it really is impossible to avoid eating crap when hungry at Waterloo to the benefits (or otherwise) of organic food. Ultimately though it is, like much of the food it describes, not very satisfying. I’ve enjoyed other books on the subject before (Felicity Lawrence’s Eat Your Heart Out for example) and it’s just so dense with detail. Above all I think it’s passed its sell by date. Fair enough there’s no reference to (or prediction of) the horsemeat scandal, but both business and research have moved on. Regarding the business, I want to read about the Monsanto Protection Act and how food manufacturers are still persuading the government to protect their interests; how (if) ‘McJobs’ have moved on. Regarding the research, Schlosser states in one section that we know babies don’t like bitter tastes ‘because scientists have rubbed various flavours inside the mouths of infants and recorded their facial reactions’; on a recent Heston Blumenthal show scientists demonstrated that toddlers would actually keep reaching out to eat more lemon if you gave it to them to hold. Their conclusion was it’s just a new and shocking flavour first time.
The book does actually conclude near the end (!) with a section on ‘what to do about it’. By the time I got here though I was too worn out with facts to pay much attention, and anyway, I’m not convinced the author’s aim is to resolve any of the issues raised. Many of the quotes on the back suggest the book will make you want to give up fast food. Maybe that’s the answer. I wonder how many of the people quoted actually did it though, given how effective the advertising, brand loyalty and addictive nature of the food is supposed to be.
Unfortunately another 4 out of 10 from me then. My summary word is ‘scattergun’ for the book’s rapid spraying of facts in all directions. Not everyone at our discussion felt the same – the score was 6 on average – and as I’ve said it did spark good debate as everyone can have an opinion on the food they eat. Our next group book is another non-fiction volume all about money. Until then I’m going to go bury myself in some fiction…
wisestisshe 