Jim's First "Must Read" Of The Year
Submitted by jim on Mon, 06/04/2001 - 10:44
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I've read all kinds of books that should have changed my dietary habits but didn't. Until now. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser is perhaps the finest piece of investigative journalism I've ever read. Informative and disturbing. It won't make me a vegetarian, but it has changed forever what and where I'll eat. Even more compelling than his research on the major fast food chains themselves is how the fast food industry has affected the supply chain all the way down the line. I can't remember the last time I was this engrossed (pun intended).
I picked up a copy last night and started reading it while waiting for Richard Russo to start speaking. The first couple of chapters alone have made me glad I don't eat fast food very often.
I had a read a review of this book months ago, and from the get-go it sounded like a must read, though I have not gotten to it yet. Sinclair's "The Jungle" probably isn't that much different in comaprison, even though the technology of food processing has altered dramatically in the last century. But it is still a dirty business, where people are exploited, cleanliness is only marginal, and morality is certainly questionable, even today. I know someone who did become a vegetarian after reading this particular book.
Books like this make you think about the connections between things that are not always readily apparent. Not really related per se, but other good eye-openers (which have very similar titles coincidentally) are "Asphalt Nation" (Kay) and "Suburban Nation" (Duany). They may not be as gruesome, but they really demonstrate the consequences for actions we either take for granted or just choose to ignore altogether.