QTPC #28 Fast Food Nation

(1)    Quotation: On page 229 Schlosser writes, “The chain earns the majority of its profits outside the United States, as does KFC.” This is seconded by “…a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca set new sales records for the chain, earning $200,000 in a single week…” on page 230. I was really surprised by KFC’s success rate outside the United States. I just feel like KFC is so specific to America, I mean Kentucky is in its name and how many people outside the US really know much about Kentucky. I would think if anything Burger King would follow closely behind McDonald’s not KFC.

(2) Talking Point: “You shouldn’t eat dirty food and water,” official told me. “But we still think we can give animal’s dirty food and dirty water.” Schlosser writes this on page 202. Although it’s not really shock to me that animals are being feed disgusting things that I would never dare to eat this quote really got to me. I mean we are technically eating what the animal ate when we are eating the meat from the animal. If we feed the animal contaminated, disease infested food, we too will be eating contaminated, disease infested food. It’s not okay to treat animals as garbage disposals especially when that food will later be sold to people who will eventually eat it.

(3)    Connection: On page 242 Schlosser mentions McDonald’s addition of the Super Size Fries. This mentioning of Super Size Fries reminded me of the movie Super Size Me. I actually first saw this film in my 7^th grade health class. This documentary researches the health risks that are developed with the over consumption of McDonalds by a man who eats nothing but McDonald’s for entire month. He experiences first hand the problems that could happen when McDonald’s is over consumed, which turned out to be devastating to his health.

QTPC #27 Fast Food Nation

(1)    Quotation: While reading about Kenny Dobbins on page 187, I couldn’t understand why any worker, especially someone working in the meatpacking industry, wouldn’t want to be unionized. Don’t they want to feel like they have some power over the company? That there is a minimum to their work and if the company doesn’t reach it, they could feel like they have the opportunity to speak out against it? I mean, it wasn’t like he was foreign to the United States or didn’t speak English.

(2)    Talking Point: Schlosser writes a paragraph on page 178 about cleaning-crew deaths over the past ten years. This paragraph was just about the hardest thing I have ever had to read. Actually I couldn’t even finish the paragraph because it was just too horrible to think that this happens to anyone. These deaths weren’t just disturbing, but really horrendous and it saddens me that these people willingly take and endure this job because they have no other options. OSHA really needs to step up their game.

(3)    Connection: “There is shit in the meat.” The more I read this book, the more I am surprised at how much the movie stays true to the book. They also seemed to be able to put a lot of the different aspects of the book with its storyline. The main storyline of this book was about the “shit in the meat.” Mickey’s head marketing executive went to Colorado to see firsthand how the meat is becoming contaminated with poop. He went to the lab and found nothing but, what seemed to him, complete cleanliness. Obviously the tour guide didn’t show him the entire plant because as we all know from reading the book, the meat is getting contaminated with poop at the plant.

QTPC #26 Fast Food Nation

(1)    Quotation: “…a workplace accident in which a man feel into a vat and got turned into lard. The plant kept running, and the lard was sold to unsuspecting customers.” This quote on page 152 was disgusting. I would never go to a restaurant even considering suspecting that human lard is mixed up in the hamburger I am eating and to have that actually happen is astounding. Although plants have since been cleaned up and more closely inspected, this thought is disturbing.

(2)    Talking Point: “Cattle were herded up wooden ramps to the top floor, where they were struck on the head with a sledgehammer, slaughtered, then disassembled by skilled workers” wrote Schlosser on page 152. Although I have realized that there is a lot of animal cruelty in this world and I do like my meat, seeing this actually written as a nonchalant fact was saddening. I mean these animals have feelings too and deserve to be treated better. This was also shown in the movie Fast Food Nation by a cow just getting shot in the head. It’s so sad to see and I think there needs to be a gentler strategy in killing animals rather than explicit death.

(3)    Connection: On page 160 Schlosser writes about the average worker at the Greeley beef plant. He wrote, “The average worker quit or was fired every three months.” This turned out to be about a 400 percent turnover rate. This section reminded me of Nickel and Dimed. In Nickel and Dimed Ehrenreich wrote about the want ads and how they were really just a way to get people to apply so a company has back up whenever someone gets fired or quits. They did this because there was, as well, a large percent of turnovers which is very likely in low wage jobs.