Fast Food Nation Summary

In the Fast Food Nation introduction, Eric Schlosser establishes his credibility and helps the audience trust him in order to show them the importance of his investigation of the fast food industry. Schlosser does this by beginning the introduction with imagery of what will happen in the event of a nuclear strike and what will remain. He states that, “future archaeologists may find other clues to the nature of our civilization- Big King wrappers, hardened crusts of Cheesy Bread, Barbeque Wing bones, and the red, white, and blue of a Domino’s pizza box” (Schlosser 2). In other words, the remains of our civilization will highlight our unhealthy diet. He even uses the words, “red, white, and blue,” implying that fast food is a major part of the United States.

Schlosser also uses imagery to describe, in detail, what happens when an individual goes to buy fast food.

He describes the experience as such, “Pull open the glass door, feel the rush of cool air, walk in, get on line, study the backlit color photographs on the counter, place your order, hand over a few dollars, watch teenagers in uniforms pushing various buttons, and moments later take hold of a plastic tray full of food wrapped in colored paper and cardboard,” (Schlosser 9). Schlosser, using asyndeton, describes a typical experience in a fast food restaurant. He is more credible after this because the reader can now relate and imagine themselves in the situation, confirming that what has just been described is in fact, true. He further establishes credibility when he references Jim Hightower’s book, “Eat Your Heart Out” acknowledging that he is not an expert and relies on experts to back up his point. In “Eat Your Heart Out,” Hightower argues that “bigger is not better.” Schlosser backs up Hightower’s statement when he states that the fast food industry has grown and has taken much control over the nation’s food

supply. Bigger is not necessarily better because now that a big industry, fast food, took control, there will be even more health problems affecting this already infected nation, rather than less problems and improvement in health. Schlosser also compares other time periods to strengthen his credibility. Schlosser compares the amount of money spent towards fast food in the United States in the years 1975 and 2000. In 1970, $6 billion were spent of fast food by Americans whereas in 2000, more than $110 billion was spent by Americans on fast food alone. According to Schlosser, this greatly surpasses the amount of money spent on other items. In fact, the amount of money spent on anything other than fast food combined does not match the vast amount that is spent on fast food. Also, the amount of restaurants operated by the McDonald’s Corporation is different from back then to 2001. McDonald’s operated about one thousand restaurants in 1968. In 2001, the year the book was published, McDonald’s operated about twenty-eight worldwide, opening almost two thousand new ones a year. This comparison proves that the fast food industry has gotten larger over the decades and will probably continue to grow, since it opens two thousand new restaurants a year and is responsible for the 90% of new jobs in Schlosser’s time of writing. Lastly, Eric Schlosser himself spent two years eating an enormous amount of fast food just to do research for this book. His credibility and trustworthiness is maximized at this certain point in the introduction because he basically sacrificed a lot of his health, a lot of money, and consumed a lot of harmful or not beneficial chemicals for the sole purpose of exposing fast food restaurants and what they are feeding to the mass population. Overall, Eric Schlosser has done his research and has proven himself to be a credible source.