I read the book years ago and found it to be stimulating, informative, and gruesome at times. It was hard to put down!

Health-conscious readers will find themselves shaking their heads and saying "mm-huh" throughout the book, without too many surprises. The true enlightenment comes through Schlosser's exposing of the business practices and web of government economic policies behind this system.

Warning: I would not recommend the film based on this book. The movie is a sour disappointment and, in my opinion, a poor interpretation of Schlosser's work.

I would recommend "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollen as a more in-depth and modern follow-up.

Violet Kemnitz

The idea that "fast" food is somehow any worse for you than slow food is absurd.

Schlosser's book contains a few nuggets of interesting information but fails in its attempt to provide evidence of the flawed theory that "fast" food is any worse than what one might prepare at home.

It's just another in a recent parade of hit pieces and films unfairly trashing the fast food industry for simply and conveniently providing ground meat and fried potatoes to a hurried and hungry nation for a relatively modest cost.

McDonald's, the standard bearer of the burger trade, is a favorite target of food critics who blame the chain for everything from serving poison to contributing to the obesity of the nation.

The fact is, McDonald's and the other chains serve meat, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, bread and other food items obtained from the same processors and distributors that supply all manner of restaurants and supermarket retailers nationwide.

There is not an iota of difference between their basic products and those sold daily to consumers in the supermarket for home cooking.  

But inexplicably, critics have erroneously concluded that a McDonald's meal is somehow worse for you than the one you would cook at home.

It just ain't so.

In the final analysis, sans Schlosser's sensational and highly flawed hyperbole, a burger is a burger, a potato, a potato period, whether it comes from McDonald's or the grocery store.

The assertion that McDonald's or Burger King or any other fast food franchise is complicit in a conspiracy to undermine the health of a nation is at best shamefully uninformed.

If  it's the frying process that makes fast food unhealthy, flame broiled burgers are available at chains like Burger King or Carl's Jr. But of course the question of consuming cancer causing carbons from charbroiled meat still remains whether it's from their grill or yours at home.

Yes, ground beef is processed in plants by arguably underpaid workers. And it's not a pretty thing. But one has the choice to avoid its consumption altogether. To blame a handful of the plethora of restaurants serving ground meat for poisoning the country is bizarre.

The suggestion that purveyors and retailers of the product are somehow evil is similarly flawed.

Either way, there is no evidence that the ground beef, bread and veggies you would purchase from Von's or Albertson's is somehow magically any healthier than that served at the local drive thru. In fact, McDonald's and the other "fast" food chains have strict purchasing standards and policy which contractually demand that suppliers provide the safest and best quality product.

McDonald's doesn't buy from just anyone. Suppliers must ensure that their products meet the chain's rigorous standards lest they lose their contracts.

You might even have less chance of encountering coliforms or other contaminants from a "fast" food purveyor than from the local market.

The bottom line is, a patty of meat, a leaf of lettuce, a slice of tomato or onion, a baked bun from McDonald's or any other restaurant for that matter, is likely as good or better quality as any available anywhere, whether it's cooked fast or slow.

The notion that "fast" food makes people fat is equally absurd.

Concerning obesity, it is primarily the result of overeating.

Chronic overeating to the point of obesity is a psycho medical behavioral disorder indicating self or even professional treatment.

The consumption of too much of any food, whether fast or slow, ground or not, leads to weight gain.

The degree of one's obesity is directly proportionate to one's caloric consumption, plain and simple.

It's a simple dietary equation: consuming too much, too often equals weight gain.

Common sense and self discipline dictate that one needn't have the biggie size or eat the high fat, high calorie, deep fried potatoes at all.

If people get fat, it's most likely a combination of the other high fat, high calorie, high carbohydrate foods consumed along with their Big Mac - you know, the cake, pie, ice cream, beer, candy, milk shakes, mega gulps of sugary soft drinks......

It doesn't require a PHD in nutritional science to accurately deduce that blaming one's ill health on "fast" food itself is just plain dumb.

If ground meat is the core issue of Schlosser's concern, then he should stick with that theme. But Ronald, Wendy, Carl, Jack and the King are not the culprits behind the nation's consumption of meat, ground or otherwise or the collective obesity of the nation.

When I was a child I was rarely ever inside the house.I never said I was bored because if I did my mom or grandma would say "bored? well I have something for you to do" . We didn't have video games , we had baseball, kick the can, we would walk the the movie matinee, walk home, walk to the store to get candy and a soda (of course) but only after we scavenged for soda bottles to get the money. We never had fast food that I can recall. In PE at school we played tennis , volleyball,tether ball,baseball,ran track, did sit ups,push ups,sidesteps, swimming, always moving without a choice in the matter.I would get a snack when I got home from school , truthfully , usually a packet of those white powdered donuts or one of those little fruit pie things ,then I was told nothing else until dinner. I would do my homework as fast as I could and then outside I would go to play with my neighborhood friends. Kids now days would not even know how to act, IMO.

I posted a response here 3 times last night and it kept locking up and disappearing.  I also lost one on another blog.  The bloggoblins were out in force last night.  I'll try again.

I agree with you 100% Saber.  It's pretty typical that, in our society, people don't want to accept responsibility for their actions.  Fast food places proliferate for a reason.  Demand.  If the concern is "child focused marketing" then perhaps children should be carded at the counter and refused service if underage.  Or maybe they could buy milk and a broiled chiken san but nothing else.

Other than the fries, my burgers at home DO contain the same ingredients as the fast food restaurants.  BK and CJ might even be healthier because, as Saber pointed out, they're broiled rather than fried in grease.  Besides, when did we EVER eat healthy?  My family came from Texas and I grew up with almost everything possible being fried.  Even cornbread and apricot  pies.   I'm not saying that's a good way to go (or maybe it is), but it's certainly no phenomenon.

Again, lets put the blame where it is and not on the fast food and mini marts shoulders.

I enjoyed the book fast food nation, which really does reveal some interesting business and governmental relations. Also the movie is just horrible and has nothing in common to the book. Read the book and dont watch the movie.

People should take responsibilty for what they eat and how they eat. It is very easy to cook healthy, tasty meals and takes little time to prepare.

NancyII says: "I posted a response here 3 times last night and it kept locking up and disappearing.  I also lost one on another blog.  The bloggoblins were out in force last night."

Me, too. I hate it when you spend half an hour composing a blog comment only to have it evaporate in cyberspace.

But the upside is, the rewrite generally turns out more concise and sometimes even better crafted for its brevity.

So I don't obsess too much over such incidents.

I once mysteriously lost an entire feature news story as an impatient editor stood at my newsroom desk at deadline waiting while I was cleaning up the finished copy. It was gone forever in the proverbial blink of an eye and I wanted to murder anyone connected with Apple Macintosh.

It turned out the quick rewrite under pressure didn't earn a Pulitzer but was a better effort and got better play.

The unhappy editor was late for dinner, and blamed me for the mishap, but he eventually got over it and we became friends.

I don't buy pre-ground meats.

I generally buy fresh, whole portions of chuck or sirloin carved from the same animal and grind it myself discarding mostly all of the fat. It's leaner and of higher quality than that from the processing plant.

Processors mix a lot of various scraps to make burger. It's not as high a quality as that which one can easily produce at home.

The only preground meat I sometimes consume is in a restaurant.

I try not to think about it too much.

I've learned to highlight and copy anything I write over 2 lines long.  I have this problem that seems to be a mystery to TBC, where I have to sign in again if I leave the computer for more than an hour and a lot of times the post disappears sometime in that process.  It hasn't been as bad the last few days so my blood pressure has stayed down a bit.  So you might understand my frustration last night.  It got to the point that I was ready to leave TBC blogland and find one a little more user friendly.

Not that this is the focal point of my existance but it does provide me with entertainment and information, not to mention an outlet, that TV is unable to provide these days.  A pox on reality shows.

edited...gads..I forgot the topic.  40 lashes.  I don't eat enough hamburger meat at home anymore to bother with grinding.  Not that I have a grinder anyway.  I prefer Spam or hot dogs.

Terrific book, well-written. The main thing I got out of it was if you must eat fast food, go to Jack in the Box.

Jack in the Box, after a couple of people died from eating their food, has the strictest standards and most carefully prepared food in the fast food biz, according to the book. If I'm recalling correctly.

I have yet to read Schlosser's books, although I plan to as part of the One Book, One Bakersfield project.  Reading the blog comments, I agree that "fast food" places are not to blame for the obesity problem.  I used to be over 100 pounds overweight even though I was drinking non-fat milk & cooking without butter, oil, etc.  The problem was the portion sizes, and the lack of paying attention to the calories in the food.  I have maintained a 127 pound weight loss for years by knowing the calorie count of each food I am eating, watching portion sizes, and eating fruits or vegetables if I am still hungry after a reasonable meal.  I do not eat at McDonald's or any other "fast food" chain (although I drink plenty of McD's 42 oz diet sodas), not because of the caloric values of the meals but because I prefer homemade foods.  I do not feel bad if occasionally my daughter eats Taco Bell or a cheeseburger from McD's because she compensates by eating only what she is hungry for, and she follows my example of eating healthily (minus the sodas!)

I wholeheartedly agree with one and all!!!  To continually "blame" things/people other then yourself for obesity is the way our country is now - in no way take responsibility for yourself or your kids and their actions.  I, like Baylee, played outside ALL the time! Our moms served nutritional meals, meat, salad, starch, veggie, etc.  If kids today are fat from "fast food" it is because the parents are too lazy or too "busy" to fix a decent meal.  This business of even serving fast food at school for pete's sake!!!  I monitored what my daughter ate and drank at home - she was never obese!  She also danced, played softball and was a cheerleader!

In high school, in the '60's, I had "fast food" for lunch: burger, fries, cherry coke & flying saucer cookie! I was 4' 11", weighed approx 90-95 lbs and had a 21" waist!!  However, that said, I had dance classes for PE and/or ran track or swam, not to mention even at 14, 15, 16 & 17yrs of age, we still played kick the can in our neighborhood!!!  My mom fixed a nutritional breakfast (and she worked) and mom and I fixed a nutritional dinner for the "little ones".  There was no free breakfast, lunch or snacks at school.  There was no co-ed PE!!!  when the hell did that start?!  We had to "dress out".  From what I've seen on TV regarding PE it is pretty much non-existent!  We had it EVERY DAY!!!!!

Nancy, I have noticed that if I do not blog for over an hour I have to re-sign in and if I type something before I sign in then sign in what I typed goes away!!!  I have started typing anything lengthy in my word program then doing a copy and paste!!!!!

Fast food is O.K once in a while.  I love an occasional double Cheese Burger with all the extras or a greasy, cheesy pizza..  Just don't make fast food your daily fare.  If you do you had better get plenty of exercise.  One thing I noticed in the stories was the menu in some of these households.  One said the meals at home were mostly Mexican or Italian. Another was mostly Mexican food.  Never keep your weight down eating that every day unless you run marathons daily. The best exercise is to put your hands firmly on the table and push yourself away from the table in the MIDDLE of the meal.

Kara..that's one of the most intelligent posts I've read about weight.  Thank you.  Neverleft has the other solution.

Witters..smart move to copy and paste.  I don't type it in word but I DO highlight and copy what I write here before hitting that submit button.

Also..thanks to noone.  I didn't forget about the JIB things but didn't connect your post with the reason.  And you're right.  My guess is that Wendys is more careful these days too.  Even though it's said that was a hoax, the press on it was bad.