Schlosser emphasizes his point by recognizing Supreme Beef Processors, "one of the main suppliers of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program" ("Hamburger with Those"), as a company who repeatedly failed food safety testing and opposed further testing and regulations. In this case, the ultimate subjects of improper handling are children, who can have no control over (or even awareness of) the proper handling of their food, and who are also the age group most susceptible to illnesses caused by these pathogens. Compounding the problem was the Bush administration's "deference to the meatpacking industry" ("Hamburger with Those"). In the end, it became legal to sell tainted beef. In his closing arguments, Schlosser encouraged consumers to be careful of their handling and cooking of ground beef, at least while the industry continues to resist further regulation. As a more comprehensive observation of contaminated meat, "Order the Fish" looks at dangers posed by contaminants and why the production of meat is not more carefully monitored. In the previous article, Schlosser discussed only the risks involved when salmonella and e. coli contamination are possible, but here he introduces also listeria and mad-cow disease. Mad-cow is different than the previous three pathogens, which are all spread by contamination of the meat by fecal material. Mad-cow, on the other hand, is a disease present when the cow is alive, as a result of the cow's ingestion of "infectious body parts in cattle feed" ("Order the Fish"). Unfortunately, the industry's weak response to the Mad-Cow threat is the same as it has been for the other pathogens. Interestingly, while the U.S.D.A. is meant to be the organization regulating the meatpacking lines and testing samples of meat to ensure that they are fit for consumption, Schlosser reveals that the U.S.D.A. has a record of offering very little cooperation. The information that it did gather through tests and surveys was not credible, and it frequently suggests that testing is not necessary. The U.S.D.A. seems to be excusing the food...
Schlosser uses a series of figures to suggest that these agribusiness firms donated generously to the political campaigns of government officials who are now regulating them lightly because of their generous donations. He seems to suggest that because of their donation, these firms, the packinghouses and slaughterhouses, have been able to buy their way out of more strict regulation. Furthermore, the fact that the U.S.D.A. "is responsible not only for promoting the sale of American meat but also for guaranteeing its safety," ("Order the Fish") makes it very hard for that agency to do both divisions of its job well and has ultimately led to its favor of the more profitable division.
Schlosser: Fast Food Nation The fast food industry has been infused into the every nook and corner of American Society over the last three decades. The industry seen to have originated with a few modest hot dog and hamburger of Southern California have been perceived to have extended to every nook and corner of the nation, marketing an extensive range of food products to which affordable customers are found widely. Fast
However, as bad as the conditions may be working inside the restaurants, conditions in the meat-processing plants that provide the animal products used by the industry are far worse. Workers safety laws are ignored, and disease is prevalent. Schlosser reports a heart-rending tale of a young boy who died from E.coli bacteria after eating a tainted Jack-in-the-Box burger. It is difficult to track the source of an infection because
Trusted Friend Summary of Eric Scholosser's Essay There are very few living persons in the United States above the age of 5 or 6 who do not know about the Walt Disney Company (Disneyland and Disney World) or about McDonald's ("I'm lovin' It!" is their current ad slogan) fast food franchises. But it is not likely that many Americans know the history of McDonald's and how their founder, Ray Kroc, built
The meat comes from a local independent packing company that doesn't buy beef that has been injected with growth hormones; the buns are from a bakery in Pueblo, Colorado; and two hundred pounds of potatoes are "peeled every morning in the kitchen and then sliced with an old crank-operated contraption." The cooks make $10 an hour, and all other employees earn $8.00 an hour. When asked why the Conway
Fast Food Nation -- Chapter 2 America without McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and other fast food restaurants is difficult to imagine these days, but before Ray Kroc bought the franchise rights to McDonald's in the mid-twentieth century, fast food was not an entrenched part of our culture. In Fast Food Nation,' Eric Schlosser spends the second chapter of his book describing how Ray Kroc paralleled the work of Walt Disney and
Food Nation is the kind of book that you hope young people read because it demonstrates far better than any social studies class the need for government regulation, the unchecked power of multinational corporations and the importance of our everyday decisions. USA Today Despite international concerns with the Cold War and Senator McCarthy's accusations, the 1950s were an exciting change for many Americans. A large number headed out to the suburbs
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