In fast food nation the author, Eric Schlosser, claims the atrocious conditions plaguing the meatpacking industry is inhumane towards the animals, and grotesquely unsanitary and hazardous towards employees. Schlosser informed the reader of all the abominations afflicting the meatpacking industry in chapter eight. (170) Schlosser gives examples of horrible stories of illegal immigrants receiving horrible lacerations and not being able to seek medical treatment. (174) Schlosser tells stories of workers called a “sticker” who all day does “nothing but stand in a river of blood being drenched in blood, slitting the neck of steer every ten seconds” (171) the author claims the most common meatpacking injuries are lacerations, tendonitis, and cumulative …show more content…
trauma disorders; These are but few examples of the unnecessarily dangerous and horrifying conditions in the meatpacking industry.
Schlosser was correct in claiming the meatpacking industry is an obscenity burdening our world. The meatpacking industry in the 1990s to early 2000s wasn’t a job fit for any living being. Meatpacking workers endure some of the harshest conditions of any occupation in the country; long hours, low wages, unsafe conditions, and even mentally traumatic scenes that send some to harboring actually mental illnesses. Many workers find themselves in pools of blood and feces for hours, so it makes sense that these employees are prone to disease. The bureau of labor statistics reported illness rates of meatpacking workers is 2.5X higher than the national average; this is but one illustration of the hazardous conditions in these plants. The most common injuries in the meatpacking industry, as previously stated, are lacerations, tendinitis, and cumulative trauma disorders. In 1999, more than one-quarter of America's meatpacking workers underwent a job-related injury or illness. More recent test have shown total injury rates were 6.4 injuries per 100 workers at poultry plants, and 13.2 injuries per 100 workers at pork slaughterhouses. Just for lacerations, the Average were 1.8 lacerations per 100 workers at poultry slaughterhouses, and 1.9 lacerations per 100 employees at pork
slaughterhouses. Sharp tools and animal products were most frequently reported as sources for lacerations. The rate of cumulative trauma injuries in meatpacking is almost 33 times higher than the national average. Nearly 1 out of every 10 meatpacking workers endures a cumulative trauma injury every year. In some American slaughterhouses, more than three-quarters of the workers are not native English speakers; many are illegal immigrants. This means they are reluctant to seek medical attention for any wounds received in the workplace, as it would become clear they were illegally in the country if they had to be hospitalized. This works well for the meatpacking higher ups, as it means less reported injury and less visits from the friendly staff of OSHA. A 1943 government study found that just killing-floor workers averaged more than two dozen injuries each year. Another study in the 1990s showed companies began keeping injured workers on the job, reducing their reported injury rates. In 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics changed its recording methods, making the most common injuries in meatpacking evade the official statistics. This means the government is ridiculously under reporting meatpacking injuries. So, even if the statistics have shown the amount of injury in the meatpacking industry has gone down, it’s hardly believable, and comes from an unreliable source. If the conditions of these factories is still so bad that the executives have to lie on their records and higher illegal immigrants just to keep the truth from the public, it is apparent that the conditions are unfit for humans to work in.
It is not just the animals who are being treated wrongly. The workers are vulnerable and suffer from injuries on a daily basis. This workforce requires so much protection, such as chainmail outfits to protect themselves from tools. From cuts, sprains, to amputations, “ The injury rate in a slaughterhouse is about three times higher than the rate in a typical American factory.” (238). Many immigrants come to the states, some illegally. Companies give their supervisors bonuses when they have little reported injuries as a reward for a spectacular job. Regardless, these supervisors do not make attempts to make the work environment safer. They threaten the employees with their jobs. They will put injured employees on easier shifts to heal so it will not look suspicious as to why they are in pain. Next to failing to report injuries, women in the slaughterhouses suffer from sexual assault. Male coworkers pressure women into dating and sex. Reported cases include men using animal parts on them in an explicit manner, making work another kind of nightmare. All this corruption and lack of respect for workers is all for a cheap meal people buy when they have the
In the book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser talks about the working conditions of fast food meat slaughterhouses. In the chapter “The Most Dangerous Job,” one of the workers, who despised his job, gave Schlosser an opportunity to walk through a slaughterhouse. As the author was progressed backwards through the slaughterhouse, he noticed how all the workers were sitting very close to each other with steel protective vests and knives. The workers were mainly young Latina women, who worked swiftly, accurately, while trying not to fall behind. Eric Schlosser explains how working in the slaughterhouses is the most dangerous profession – these poor working conditions and horrible treatment of employees in the plants are beyond comprehension to what we see in modern everyday jobs, a lifestyle most of us take for granted.
“Out of every $1.50 spent on a large order of fries at fast food restaurant, perhaps 2 cents goes to the farmer that grew the potatoes,” (Schlosser 117). Investigative journalist Eric Schlosser brings to light these realities in his bestselling book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Schlosser, a Princeton and Oxford graduate, is known for his inspective pieces for Atlantic Monthly. While working on article, for Rolling Stone Magazine, about immigrant workers in a strawberry field he acquired his inspiration for the aforementioned book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, a work examining the country’s fast food industry (Gale).
‘Fast Food Nation’ by Eric Schlosser traces the history of fast food industry from old hot dog stands to the billion dollar franchise companies established as America spread its influence of quick, easy and greasy cuisine around the globe. It is a brilliant piece of investigative journalism that looks deep into the industries that have profited from the American agriculture business, while engaging in labor practices that are often shameful.
Almost every angle of the food industry can be considered dangerous. It is dangerous to make the food, as a meatpacking job is one that is viewed as having abnormally high risks; however when the food is handed over a counter on a tray or prepared in a family of four’s kitchen, it poses a huge risk to humankind. Foodborne illnesses are all too common and almost everybody has the possiblity of contracting a foodborne illness. These are life threatening diseases that need to be monitored and regulated; therefore the enforcement of government regulations in the fast food industry could potentially save many lives that are lost annually due to the numerous factors that need regulation.
One of the first thing Schlosser address is work-related injuries. Schlosser states that more than “200,000 [tennagers] are injured on the job” (Schlosser 122). To the reader, this may be a large number, but in retrospect, it’s actually tiny. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, a report regarding workplace accidents in 1998 showed that a total of 5.9 million injuries was reported. In comparison, 200,000 only makes up 3.4% of the nationwide injuries making fast food restaurants relatively safe in that aspect. Schlosser misleads his audience by failing to give it a sense of scale or magnitude. Next, Schlosser concludes that due to the increased job opportunities for teenagers, as a result, fast food restaurants had become a target for robbers and other violent crimes. Schlosser backs up his statement through extreme examples of robbery cases and a few obscure statistical reports. First Schlosser lists numerous extreme examples of violent crime cases that resulted in a homicide. “A former cook… became a fast food serial killer, murdering two workers… three workers…” (Schlosser 127). Schlosser hopes that these examples will appeal to the emotions of the reader, in order to persuade that fast food restaurants had become a hub for violent crimes. While he lists many examples of this, these are individual cases that resonate a rather extreme case. Schlosser uses these example to visualize to the reader, that this is how most robberies end up when it isn't the case. The use of pathos in these examples exaggerate the problem beyond the actual scope. While this may be effective, it fails to provide complete transparency between the author and the audience. The statistical reports Schlosser offers are outdated, ones like “ In 1998, more
In his book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser points out the abuses withstood by slaughterhouse workers and argues that humans should be treated as humans, and that as humans, they deserve a safe environment to work in. Schlosser is completely right in my opinion. The federal government should protect workers' safety using the only force most major companies seem to understand: money.
Meatpacking has become the most dangerous job in America. Unlike poultry plants, in which almost all tasks are performed 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, strain to the body from poor working conditions, and even methamphetamine use in order to keep up with the production line. Women face the added threat of sexual harassment. This chapter opens with an anecdote about the largest recall of food in the nation’s history. In 1997 approximately 35 million pounds of ground beef was recalled by Hudson Foods because a strain of E Coli was found in the food. However, by the time the beef was recalled, 25 million pounds had already been eaten. Schlosser notes that the nature of food poisoning is changing. Prior to the rise of large meatpacking plants, people would become ill from bad food in small, localized arenas. Now, because meat is distributed all over the nation, an outbreak of food poisoning in one town may indicate nation-wide epidemic. Every day in the United States, 200, 000 people are sickened by a food borne
From a study completed by Chicago-based Research International USA completed a study called “Fast Food Nation 2008. The panel consisted of 1,000 respondents of ages 16-65 who provided their inputs with an online survey which was conducted between March 13 through 2008. Which was based on results on fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s are gaining popularity even through the economic hardship and recession. Marketing strategy has become more of influence on kids and young American’s. As population grows and the demand increases of fast food restaurants are expanding their stores to capturing more consumers. Fast food chains are also willing to change their menus to continue to gain and retain repeating customers. With each generation that passes, brings fast food chains into more homes and continues impacting lives.
Fast Food Nation The Author and His Times: The author of Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser, was born on August 17, 1959. Eric grew up in Manhattan, New York and also in Los Angeles where his father, Herbert Schlosser, was President of NBC. He attended the college of Princeton University where he studied American History, and soon got his degree in British Imperial History. Eric’s career soon took off when he became a journalist for The Atlantic Monthly, quickly earning two medals in a matter of two years.
“In 1906, Upton Sinclair's novel "The Jungle" uncovered harrowing conditions inside America's meat packing plants and initiated a period of transformation in the nation's meat industry. The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act were both passed later that year, and labor organizations slowly began to improve the conditions under which the country's meat packers toiled. But some critics say America's meat business has been in decline for decades and that the poor conditions found in slaughterhouses and packing facilities today are often little better than those described by Sinclair a century ago.” (PBS, 2006) From the 1930’s to the 1980’s trade unions such as the United Packinghouse Workers of America organized workers and improved working conditions and pay. Meat packing employees earned an average of almost $20 and hour in the 60’s and 70’s. In the 80’s and 90’s new competition came on line and tried to undercut other union based companies. Iowa Beef Processors (IBP) sought to work on slim profit margins, increase worker speed and productivity and cut l...
Compared to the 1900s, the industry of meat packaging and food processing has improved vastly, with the introduction of hand and body protection in the form of a copycat chain mail that they wear under their aprons and on their hands, and with the addition of acts such as the Pure Food and Drug Act and the creation of the Meat Inspection Act. This has created a safer environment for the meat processor employees. Also, because of many strikes and organizations, there have been unions to improve working conditions such as shorter workweeks and safer working conditions. Back in the 1900s, there was a large problem with packaged food which killed many American soldiers in World War 1, such as canned food. These problems were caused by the unsanitary ways the meat was kept and processed.
Many people do not realize that the jobs in the fast food industry are very dangerous. These are the jobs that no one realizes what it’s like behind the scenes. The workers face high rates of injury in the factories and in fast food restaurants, so we feel like we shouldn’t support the fast food industries. In chapters three and eight of “Fast Food Nation,” Eric Schlosser uses pathos to highlight the fact that fast food jobs are difficult as well as dangerous. The jobs involved with fast food are so dangerous that more regulations should be reinforced more firmly, as well as more laws should be put into place.
Over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society and has become nothing less than a revolutionary force in American life. Fast food has gained a great popularity among different age groups in different parts of the globe, becoming a favorite delicacy of both adults and children.
Factory farms have portrayed cruelty to animals in a way that is horrific; unfortunately the public often does not see what really goes on inside these “farms.” In order to understand the conditions present in these factory farms, it must first be examined what the animals in these factory farms are eating. Some of the ingredients commonly used in feeding the animals inside factory farms include the following: animal byproducts, plastic, drugs and chemicals, excessive grains, and meat from members of the same species. (Adams, 2007) These animals are tortured and used for purely slaughter in order to be fed on. Typically large numbers of animals are kept in closed and tight confinements, having only little room to move around, if even that. These confinements can lead to suffocation and death and is not rare. Evidence fr...