Summary Of Schlosser's 'Your Trusted Friends'

Schlosser opens chapter 1: The Founding Fathers with the discussion of Carl N. Karcher being one of fast food’s pioneers. Karcher was born in Ohio in 1917 and quit school after eighth grade to help his father farm. His uncle offered him a job in his Feed and Seed store in Anaheim, CA. when he was twenty years old. Carl moved to California where he met his wife Margaret and began his family. Carl and Margaret bought a hotdog cart where Margaret sold hotdogs across the street from a Goodyear factory while Carl worked at a bakery. Karcher was eventually able to open a drive-in restaurant.

In Chapter 2: Your Trusted Friends, Schlosser illustrates an additional side of the fast-food pioneer. With the comparison of the rise of McDonald’s
Schlosser illustrates how teens in Colorado Springs do not think about unions, often quit their jobs, and waste their money. If they did join unions, they would possibly be forced out of their jobs at fast-food restaurants, which would potentially become more attractive to individuals with better qualifications.

In chapter 4: Success, Schlosser visits a Little Caesars that is owned by former NHL player Dave Feamster. Feamster opened the restaurant after an injury and earned only $300.00 a week while he was being trained. He had to pay a $15,000.00 in order to open the franchise.

Chapter 5: Why the Fries Taste So Good introduce the second part Meat and Potatoes. This chapter begins at the J.R. Simplot Plant in Aberdeen, Idaho. Simplot was born in 1909 and grew up working on his family’s farm in Idaho. He dropped out at fifteen and left home and found work in a potato house. He was a potato farmer by sixteen and was soon buying, selling, and sorting potatoes. He became the largest shipper of potatoes in the West. Simplot made a fortune selling dried onions and potatoes to the military during World War II. Simplot later invested in frozen food technology and began selling frozen french fries to McDonalds in the
Hank gives Schlosser a tour of his ranch with the intent of showing him the difference between his form of ranching and “raping the land”. Hank takes several safety precautions in raising his cattle so that the land remains lush and fertile.

Chapter 7: Cogs in the Great Machine opens in Greeley, Colorado, a meatpacking town and home to a predominately migrant workforce. Greeley was founded in 1870 as a utopian community dedicated to agriculture, education, mutual aid, and high moral values. However, the IBP revolution destroyed Greeley’s prosperity and labor peace. The IBP revolution began in Denison, Iowa when Currier J. Holman and A.D. Anderson began Iowa Beef Packers (IBP).

Chapter 8: The Most Dangerous Job opens with a tour of a slaughterhouse. Schlosser is able to observe the crowded and bloody plant that processes live cattle into packaged meat. Meatpacking has become the most dangerous job in America and unlike poultry plants where most of the tasks are done by machines, most of the work in a slaughterhouse is done by hand. Hazards of the job include injuries from the various machines and knives and strain to the body from the poor working conditions. Additionally, women face the constant threat of sexual