Fast Food Nation a Critique
08 May 2012
“Fast Food Nation”: A Critique
The essay, “Fast Food Nation,” is effective in persuading audiences to think before you eat. Eric Schlosser, a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, clearly has a point he wants to get across, but allows readers to make up their own minds. He provides many facts to back his point and has a willingness to present both sides of the issues. Schlosser is straightforward and clear in his writing. He also tries at times to make facts hit home by using relatable symbolism. In his essay “Fast Food Nation” Eric Schlosser writes, “This book is about fast food, the values it embodies, and the world it has made” (177). This is a research based essay on the fast food industry and the consequences it has on individuals and America as a whole. The essay is broken down into two parts, “What We Eat” and “How to Do It.” In “What We Eat,” Schlosser gives a brief history of the fast food industry and how it has grown. He then uses examples of restaurants, often McDonalds, to illustrate how the industry is responsible for the demise of small business in the United States. “How to Do It” is Schlosser’s solution to the problem. In this section he gives examples of how boycotting certain chain of restaurants in the past has been effective towards change. Schlosser then challenges readers at the end to “think about it. Then place your order. Or turn and walk out the door. It’s not too late. Even in this fast food nation, you can still have it your way” (184). Schlosser makes a good argument because of the facts he presents. He has done his research and demonstrates that throughout the essay. Instead of giving generalized examples he offers specific dates and company names when trying to make a point. In one paragraph when writing about the franchising of America he states: From the maternity ward at a Columbia/HCA hospital to an embalming room owned by Service Corporation International- “the
“Fast Food Nation”: A Critique
The essay, “Fast Food Nation,” is effective in persuading audiences to think before you eat. Eric Schlosser, a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, clearly has a point he wants to get across, but allows readers to make up their own minds. He provides many facts to back his point and has a willingness to present both sides of the issues. Schlosser is straightforward and clear in his writing. He also tries at times to make facts hit home by using relatable symbolism. In his essay “Fast Food Nation” Eric Schlosser writes, “This book is about fast food, the values it embodies, and the world it has made” (177). This is a research based essay on the fast food industry and the consequences it has on individuals and America as a whole. The essay is broken down into two parts, “What We Eat” and “How to Do It.” In “What We Eat,” Schlosser gives a brief history of the fast food industry and how it has grown. He then uses examples of restaurants, often McDonalds, to illustrate how the industry is responsible for the demise of small business in the United States. “How to Do It” is Schlosser’s solution to the problem. In this section he gives examples of how boycotting certain chain of restaurants in the past has been effective towards change. Schlosser then challenges readers at the end to “think about it. Then place your order. Or turn and walk out the door. It’s not too late. Even in this fast food nation, you can still have it your way” (184). Schlosser makes a good argument because of the facts he presents. He has done his research and demonstrates that throughout the essay. Instead of giving generalized examples he offers specific dates and company names when trying to make a point. In one paragraph when writing about the franchising of America he states: From the maternity ward at a Columbia/HCA hospital to an embalming room owned by Service Corporation International- “the
Cited: Schlosser, Eric. “Fast Food Nation.” The Conscious Reader. Brief ed. Eds. Caroline Shrodes et al. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. 176-184. Print.