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Fast Food Nation

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Fast Food Nation
"Issues Surrounding the Nation's Slaughterhouses"

In the book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser discusses the problems that the nation is facing with fast food restaurants. Schlosser wrote this book because he was concerned with where the fast food industry was taking America. He voices his concern about the children and their health regarding meat bacteria, and the fat content of the food. He also mentions how potato farmers, cattle ranchers, and chicken raisers are suffering from the industry controlling prices too low. Another worry Schlosser has is how the meat packing factories for these restaurants treat their workers and ultimately how careful they are with the meat. There are many horrifying stories about the harsh injuries and severe chronic problems these immigrant workers experience everyday or suffer with for the rest of their lives from working under such dangerous conditions. Schlosser also informs his readers of how the meat is processed, from the killing of the cattle to the boxing of the meat and some of the unknown, surprising facts that are involved in the whole process. Another issue presented in this book is how cities are affected by the rapid growth of these fast food restaurants. Also, Schlosser interviews teenagers working at these restaurants and tells their stories of frequent robberies, occasional shootings and poor work conditions. Ultimately this book is geared to help the people of America realize that there is a serious problem with fast food restaurants and we need to start demanding better food. Schlosser makes a convincing argument that the conditions in the meat processing factories need to be changed. In this book, Schlosser takes a chapter to specifically look at how the meat is processed and what goes on in these meatpacking plants. One topic he spends some time on is the injuries and the danger of the jobs that these factory workers face. Schlosser claims that, "Meatpacking is now the most dangerous job in the

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