Has anyone read this book? Fast Food Nation (HarperCollins)by Eric Schlosser.

Can You Stomach The Truth About Fast Food?

by Kim Droze eDiets Senior Writer

Before you visit your favorite fast food franchise and buy into that value meal hype, you may want to first chew on some unsettling facts about the burger-and-fries business.

In this exclusive eDiets interview, Eric Schlosser, author of the best-selling tell-all Fast Food Nation (HarperCollins), dishes the dirt on America's most popular cuisine.

Before he took a too-close-for-comfort look at the fast food industry, Schlosser was basically like you and me -- he ate burgers and fries because they were convenient and relatively inexpensive.

“I never thought it was health food,” Schlosser explains. “There was always this moment like 20 minutes after I ate where there would be some funky aftertaste and I'd wonder, 'What did I just eat?’"

Schlosser has since discovered the answer to that question -- not to mention just about everything else you never wanted to know about the fast food industry -- and reported his freaky findings in his smash hit Fast Food Nation. Hopefully his unappetizing findings are enough to fast food fans cringe at the words, “Would you like fries with that?”

What started out as an article for Rolling Stone magazine turned into a shocking exposé on the fast food industry. From the meatpacking industry that supplies our Big Mac and Whopper patties to the crafty advertising tactics that prey on innocent children, Schlosser leaves no stone unturned.

His book has touched a nerve with both consumers and burger barons.

Before he began researching fast food restaurants, Schlosser had no beef with his local McDonald’s or Burger King restaurants. His kids and he frequented the franchises.

“I ate a lot of fast food while I was reporting for this book," Schlosser admits. "But when I was done with the reporting, I stopped. As I learned more about the food, I stopped taking my kids to these restaurants.

"After visiting meatpacking plants, I don’t visit the major fast food chains anymore. I don’t eat ground beef anymore and I don’t let my kids eat ground beef anymore.”

Schlosser says he lost his appetite after learning the truth about what goes on behind the scenes: the greed of the meatpacking companies, the injuries of workers and the food safety problems. It's enough to turn an iron stomach, he says.

Then there are the unsanitary slaughterhouse conditions that can lead to fecal contamination of the meat that is later served up with a super-sized fry and a soda in a burger joint near you.

Schlosser is quick to note that most consumers are safe eating this meat, even if traces of pathogens are present. (EDITOR'S NOTE: According to the Academic Press Dictionary of Science Technology, pathogens are any virus, microorganism, or other substance that causes disease.)

But if the tainted meat is eaten by the wrong person -- a small child, an elderly person or an individual whose immunity may be compromised by pathogens a healthy adult can shrug off -- there is a health danger. You may recall the gruesome headlines about the Jack in the Box patrons who died or got violently ill after eating meat tainted with the E. coli bacteria back in 1993.

Schlosser admits that most fast food restaurants have cleaned up their act when it comes to the ground beef they serve.

The site of the author's most surprising discovery lies just off the congested New Jersey turnpike. It's the plant that manufacturers the secret taste for your to-die-for French fries.

“If you’re looking at the list of ingredients again and again, it says natural flavors and you wonder why McDonald’s fresh fries are so good... well, that extra something is the flavor of beef,” Schlosser reveals.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Without admitting any guilt, McDonald's recently agreed to pay millions to settle a suit filed on behalf of Muslims and other devout vegetarians who felt duped into eating the beef-flavored fries.)

Have you been wondering why you no longer see your flame-broiled burgers traveling slowly across actually flames before being flipped onto a bun? Well, Schlosser said it wasn’t until he did his research that he learned most fast food is basically cooked, frozen food that's reheated and served.

Watch closely the next time you visit a fast food joint. We bet you will almost surely see the kitchen workers flipping your grayish burger patty into a microwave for a fast zap before they piece together your sandwich of choice.

Schlosser is a realist. He knows these foods will continue to be consumed at an amazing rate. He also knows the average American waist size will also continue to grow.

Recent studies show more than six out of 10 adults and nearly one in four children are overweight or obese. These are scary statistics the fast food industry helped create, Schlosser says.

“The fast food chains are spending hundreds of millions of dollars marketing foods for kids that just aren’t good for kids. They shouldn’t be doing it. It’s that simple. They should be helping to form eating healthy, lifelong eating habits.

“At McDonald’s their kids' meals are either a burger and fries or McNuggets and fries with a soda. The McNuggets have about twice as much fat as the burger. What they did this year that was really irresponsible was to introduce the Mighty Kids Meal with an even bigger portion size!”

One way the restaurants lure in kids: the promise of the hottest toys from blockbuster movies like Harry Potter or Shrek. Unfortunately, along with promoting the flick, they’re promoting the high-fat and high-calorie meals.

“When you’re taking the kids to McDonald’s, it’s really about the toy," Schlosser says. "If they introduced a healthy Happy Meal with a toy or two toys, it could profoundly affect the future of America’s children. It’s that simple.”

There may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Schlosser gives a tip of his hat to the Subway advertising campaign promoting a line of healthy low-fat sandwiches. You've probably seen some of the ads featuring a slimmed-down patron named Jared Fogle.

Schlosser believes the fast food giants should jump on the Subway bandwagon.

“I think Burger King, McDonald's and KFC can make a much stronger effort to market healthy foods. These companies have to take more responsibility for what they’re selling and the consumers need to take more responsibility for what they’re buying. This food has long-term health effects if you eat a lot of it.”

Schlosser doesn’t expect anyone to stop frequenting his or her favorite fast food stop overnight. But through his book and interviews with major media outlets like eDiets.com, he hopes more people will begin see the light.

“I’m not trying to tell people what to do. I’m telling them what they are eating, where it comes from, how it’s made and the consequences of this industry. You can read the book and stop eating fast food or you can read the book and keep eating fast food. But you should know what you’re eating... and what your kids are eating.

“It’s important for adults to watch their waist and do all they can to keep off the weight, but the real key to stopping this epidemic is to prevent children from becoming obese and to give them healthy eating habits before it’s too late.”

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), March 11, 2002

Answers

My friend read it and told us all about it. She really liked it and it changed her eating habits. I heard an interview with the author and it was great! He DOES eat meat still, but is careful where he gets it. YEAH FOR THE SMALL FAMILY FARM!

My friend, who is a vet for the Government, used to get paid to inspect the animals before slaughter. He became vegan as a result, the standards were so low and disgusting. He told me about having to decide which cancerous cows were okay to eat, and which were too disgusting for "human consumption".... and I think these ones went into dog food.

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), March 11, 2002.

I read this book. He has a really great style of writing and doesn't get preachy about it or really even strongly take sides. he just presents the facts, and in a really funny way. I think every kid (and probably most of the adults) in america should have to read this book!

-- Elizabeth (a different Elizabeth) (Lividia66@aol.com), March 11, 2002.

It's been some years since McDonald's stopped using beef tallow for their fries and, frankly, they've never tasted as good since. I'd rather have them fried in beef tallow than hydrogenated vegetable oil.

I think Burger King, McDonald's and KFC can make a much stronger effort to market healthy foods. These companies have to take more responsibility for what they're selling and the consumers need to take more responsibility for what they’re buying. This food has long-term health effects if you eat a lot of it.

The fast food companies are in business which means they have to make a profit which means they'll sell the kinds of food that their customers want. If the CUSTOMERS let it be known they want healthier foods these folks will fall all over themselves to offer it. Let us put the horse back in front of the cart. Individual people must take responsibility for their decisions and the marketplace will follow their lead right quick.

Of course, not all health foods are so safe either. Sprouts are an item that any person with a suppressed immune system, the elderly and the very young should also be wary of - they've presented us with E. coli problems too. So have many kinds of fresh fruit.

Get the facts, get ALL of the facts, learn to discern which facts are more important than others, and then make up your own mind.

.......Alan.

-- Alan (athagan@atlatntic.net), March 11, 2002.

Just searched for and read the Rolling Stone article. Upton Sinclair wrote a book called "The Jungle" that talked about the Chicago stockyards at the turn of last century. Doesn't seem like much has changed... When folks ask me WHY do I raise my own food when it's so much cheaper to buy it I should hand out a copy of this article. Nothing I didn't already know. Eat more home-raised GOAT! And chicken, eggs, milk, rabbit, etc. I can't eat feed-lot hog anymore because of the feed-lot SMELL that comes off of it when you cook it. Super icky. Neat article, thanks!

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), March 11, 2002.

I haven't read that book yet, but it sounds like a 'goodie'. The last time I ate at a fast food place was a Subway, and boy was that good! Much better than the other places.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 11, 2002.

Anyone that has ever worked in fast food can tell you what goes on. Why are fries deep fried ? Convienence and the ability to use lower grade potatoes. Do you know Alpo is made with a higher grade for human consumption beef than the products at some of the most popular fast food slop chutes. Do you really think all workers stop to put a bandage on a skinned knuckle during food preperation? And the one that has always made me laugh are the dumb ones that send a meal back to the kitchen to show their disapproval, can you say "Would you like some lung snot with that special sauce on your recook?". After seeing this as a teenager, I started doing my cooking at home, but once again, all store purchased products is allowed so many parts per million of contaminates. Even the stuff we grow organically is teeming with little nasties, we just accept those as natural. I guess the bottom line is we are just animals, carnivores or choice vegetarians (BTW veggies now carry the same toxic potentials as meats and should be cooked before consumption) with the disadvantage of human objective thought that makes us aware of the situation. Those of us in the country are just more aware than our metro counterparts.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

Yes, read it and are passing it around to our family and friends now. Great book! The other people who should be made to read this are the people who are in charge of our school cafeterias.

-- rose marie wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

I'm reading it now - got it from the library. I'm also reading Fateful Harvest by Duff Wilson. It's about toxic waste being used as fertilizer. Scary stuff.

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), March 11, 2002.

This book is a must for all consumers and those interested in our culture. He writes with a very readable style.

I heard recently that the sales of fries decreased for the first time in decades this past year (down 1 1/2 % or something) and that Subway is well on its way to outnumbering Mcdonald's in the USA.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), March 11, 2002.

Got a farmer in my area that has the local municipality knife in sludge from the waste treatment plant into his fields. Then he runs cattle in them immediately. Like that day. And then raises grain crops on them. I am appalled. I also like the practice of knifing in sludge onto river bottom land. Horrendous practice. Absolutely inconceivable.

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), March 11, 2002.

Thanks for sharing the info, I will have to see if I can find a copy. My hubby eats fast food alot, because his job wont let you bring in lunchboxes ( without being searched before and after your shift.) So he eats out..... Made me worry before with all the fat ect... Now im paranoid.... LOL

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

Thanks Elizabeth..great info. Ya know this last year my husband and I ate more fast food than we would ever dream of doing normally. We were constantly making the trips to Menards(building a house) and thinking..gosh its easier to just pull through the fast food lane than go home and cook. Well..that does not happen any more. Tired or not..no more fast food. Everytime we ate at on of those places..one or both of us would not feel to perky for a bit. I personally think that among other things..their oil is different..and does not agree with us.

-- Sher in se Iowa (riverdobbers@webtv.net), March 11, 2002.

Another book I read a few years ago on the same topic was "Spoiled Rotten, a Story of a Food Chain Gone Awry" can't remember exactly the title or the author, I think her first or last name was Nichols or something similar. It specifically had a couple of chapters on the e- coli outbreaks where several children died from eating fast food hamburgers. I loaned, well I guess you could say I gave the book to a friend, never got it back yet. I've tried searching Amazon for this title and/or author but came up blank. If anyone else remembers it, please post the info here. Thanks!

-- rose marie wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

My sister read that and now she won't eat at fast food resterants. A friend of hers who was a health dept. resterant inspector turned vegetarian after just a few days on the job, and he cooks his own food-he wont eat out. We discovered that my children are allergic to cottonseed oil-which is in all kinds of fast/processed foods. We have eaten fast food once in the last 6 months, and we didn't like it!-though sometimes we do get pizza, I'm not sure if thats the same though...I was never comfortable with those places for enviromental reasons.

We wondered just how much time it saves-we live pretty far out of town, so its not handy for us to drop by, and the food is way expensive. we can just make a sandwhich-we make our own subsandwhiches at home and they are really wonderful. I make up lots of meatballs, fully cooked and put in the freezer-it takes just a minent to heat in mocrowave. What I really like are veggie subs with fresh tomato lettuce, olives mushrooms peppers hmmm..... We used to eat a fair amount of fast food, but now it just dosn't taste good.

-- Kelly (homearts2002@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

Another good book to read is "Mad Cowboy", written by Lyman. It's the truth about the beef industry. Written by a guy that use to make his living from his Dairy and Feedlot........... Very Interesting.

-- Jodie in TX (stanchnmotion@yahoo.com), March 12, 2002.

Am reading this book now. What the likes of McDonalds and Burger King have done to contribute to the obesity epidemic is terrible. And as to the intelligence of their average customer, that's terrible too.

-- fred (fred@mddc.com), March 12, 2002.

In the 70's my husband did his medical thesis on the free radicals that are released when meat/chix (which was shot full of hormons while on the hoof)is cooked and fed to children.

His results were exceptional and as you all know NOW, shocking.

He was told that the University could in no way publish his work because of the financial powerhouse represented by the Beef and Poultry industry, not to mention the Fast Food Giants.

Well, the truth is now leaking out (kinda hard to deny the results since they are staring you in the face). We have set our children up for diseases that either we won't have enough money to cure or we CAN't cure.

And the GMO wave will be the next human destructive force - but Monsanto $$$ talks.

Our government is consciously denying the studies to get out. It is $$$$ that is important....not our lives.

-- BC (katnip364@aol.com), March 13, 2002.

It is a GREAT book! Eminently readable, and incredibly interesting the way he ties things together so you can see the whole picture. My other favorites are "In the Absence of the Sacred" & "Four Reasons for the Elimination of Television", both of which are by Gerry Mander. If you like "fast Food Nation", you'll find these very illuminating, too.

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), March 13, 2002.

Kelly, one reason allergies to cottonseed oil occur is because cotton is not veiwed or regulated as a food crop. Therefore, the chemicals put on cotton are unbelievable! Cottonseed oil should not be consumed.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), March 13, 2002.