I embarked on this novel with gusto hoping for an exciting read. To be honest it was quite dry for the most part, with the exception of the section on slaughterhouses and meat packing plants. The facts and true life stories included in this book somewhat make up for it's dryness. It took me longer than I had anticipated to read this book. It's informative but certainly not a quick, fast paced read.

Do you remember your first Big Mac? I do ... you always remember your first love, right? I would watch my Dad eat his ... like he was a hero or something. It was probably the biggest hamburger I had ever seen and one time, he let me have a bite. I was hooked, begging to get one of my own each time we went to McDonald's. Finally, it happened and I ate the whole thing. I was probably eight or nine years old ... but on that day, I was all woman!! I felt like such a grown-up. Ahhhh ... now, that's the stuff of wholesome, good old fashioned memories, isn't it?

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser forces you to push aside those memories from childhood and consider some aspects of the fast food industry that you may not have realized were a problem. Because we all know that fast food is not good for us ... but do you know why? I thought this book was going to be a light-hearted look at the fast food industry, sneaking facts into sensationalized gossip. Jonesy and I watched his documentary of the same name a few years ago, which detailed Schlosser's quest to eat nothing but food from McDonald's for thirty days. But the book makes no mention of the documentary.

I read this book as part of a challenge to read 100 books in 1 year. Click the link to read all my thoughts on Fast Food Nation ... this book gets you thinking ...

http://takenoutofcontext-jill.blogspot.com/2010/01/im-lovin-it-or-not.html

This book is a must read for those who are concerned about the food they are eating. This covers every aspect of the hamburger based fast-food industry from the policies governing it to the working conditions to the way the meat is processed.

This book has circulated to so many people that it's starting to look a bit beat up. The cow slaughter chapter has to be the one that sticks in my mind. Incredible descriptions of the health and safety risks workers endure in slaughterhouses. A must read for adults. Would be an interesting book to have students review.

After watching an Eric Schlosser interview on the 'Supersize Me' DVD, I thought 'why not?' What I read has turned me against the industry that this book exposes, I don't ever care how hard life may get: I WILL NOT apply for a job at a fast food restaurant. To be fair, this book is based on the USA industry, but not much is different from Canada in this case, although I find small town McD's are more friendly than big cities (ex: Toronto, Orlando...) Great book, read it!!!

I wanted to run away and be a cowboy. What a dream... Rounding up healthy grass fed cattle from the wide open plains under the big sky on a noble cow pony. Well that dream is cow plop. The cattle industry is now based on filthy feedlots in idustrial parks near truck and train terminals. No more cowboy dream- Thanks McDonalds and the rest. Perhaps a chef? Nope, I can only get a minimum wage job flippin burgers (a machine will tell me when to flip them). A potato farmer nope. Well maybe I'd better get back to school and become a cardiologist. There should be lots of work there! Fast Food Nation is a great book, read it to your kids and have diner in a nice sit down mom and pop resturant where you can get real food, from real hard working people raising real families. Support the little guy and let the corporations struggle for a change.

Head turning look into the world of fast food and what hell it has created for this nation.

This book is absolutely fantastic!

This book really drives home the impacts of the Fast Food industry on the North American landscape. It is not so much about the quality of the food and how it is not very good to eat but it is more about the changes to socio-economic structures, demographics, neighbourhood diners being pushed out of business etc....An excellent read that is well worth the time!

This work is a superb example of witty, ironic, and well-written prose. A joy to read. Highly recommended.

A highly interesting, disturbing and positively frightening look at the fast food industry. Every aspect of fast food's growth, development and preparation is examined, as well as the deplorable employment practices fostered by the meat packing industries, to name but a few aspects of fast food that Schlosser examines.

This industry's shameful approach to its customers' health and well-being has been aided and abetted by fast food lobby groups and beef-oriented corporate interests, as well as the U.S government itself, which repeatedly has acted in the interest of big business.

Will this book turn you into a vegetarian? It won't do that to me, but I WILL carefully reconsider my choices the next time a fast food craving overwhelms me. Burger buyer beware!

I have cross referenced some of Eric's facts & he is bang on. He is almost prophetic now that Mad Cow is beginning in North America. Our family will no longer eat beef or eat at a fast food restaurant ever again! Highly recommended book.

I think this book should be mandatory reading material for everyone. Kids should be assigned books like this one as soon as they are old enough to string two sentences together. Get them while they are young; it works for McDee's! Not only is this information relevant to our health as individuals, but most importantly, to our economical and ethical well-being here and abroad.

Whoa take a deep breath! Although this book is amazing and right to the point and doesn't pull any punches we as readers mostly live here in Canada. Fast Food Nations dealt mostly with food in the United States. Canada from what I've heard and read about in newspapers is far stricter than the US when it comes to food safety which is a good thing. Yes we do have mishaps such as the Alymer Ontario situation back in August 2003, but this doesn't mean all the slaughter houses are unsanitary does it? I certainly hope not. As for eating at a restaurant in the US expecially a burger one is probably something I'll think twice about before doing so in the future. Although chapter 9/ Whats in the food did specify that Fast Food Restaurants have set higher standards since the Jack in the Box restaurant incident with E COLI which seriously made many people ill and killed children. That my friends is one restaurant I would avoid if I ever go to the states again. There are no second chances for restaurants in my books for who kill children with undercooked beef. In my opinion how dense could this franchise really be? I have worked for a local fast food place for over sixteen years now, and even the densest of people I have ever worked with could tell there was something wrong a burger that doesn't look right. And while I'm on the topic of my restaurant I want to let you know that your health is something we care about more than the amount of money you spend at our establishment. We do not do anything that would harm our customers unlike some of the US restaurants we read about in chapter 9. I just wanted to make that clear to you. Many of you enjoy your fast food experiences and I will encourage you to continue to do so, so long as its in Canada of course. I am a supervisor at my restaurant and believe me, I do not allow my staff to serve something that has fallen on the floor whether it a burger patty, or a bun. Once it has landed on the floor it is waste, no question about it. Just recently I was doing inventory on my closing shift, I knocked over an open box of pies and unfortunatley they fell out of the box as they landed on the floor. There were approximately 25 pies. Although frozen they appeared to be clean, I wasted them. I figured I would here about the number of wasted pies, however not a soul complained to me. Which in reality I wouldn't have cared. Accidents happen. I was reaching for another box on an above shelf and my elbow hit the pie box. I know I am going on and on. I am only trying to undo some of the damage the restaurants in the states have done. We have just read an american book and now we are pressed to believe it word for word. We must take into consideration however that we are two seperate contries with two different sets of laws to protect the public. Take for example the health board here in Canada has far more power it seems. If a restaurant is really dirty than they have the power to close it untill that restaurant cleans it and makes it safe for the public again. I must admit that I am more concerned about the meat I purchase from the local grocery store if its not Canadian meat, in the back of my mind I'll be thinking is this safe to eat and how do I know its Canadian meat and not US? As our mothers told us you can't believe everything you read or hear, so my advice when shopping for meat do so with caution.

This is an excellent book. If you want to cut down (or cut out completely) eating fast food - read this book!

This book should be mandatory reading for high school children. Maybe that way there can be a slow in the rise of the epidemicly high numbers of obese persons on this continent. 'Fast Food Nation' delivers a high impact blow to the squeaky clean image of the colourful and brightly lit world of fast food and it's subsidiaries. It will open any reader's eyes to the horrors of not only the actual food that people are consuming, but also to how it is marketed, prepared, and controlled by an ever-present big brotherish figurines who will do seemingly anything to make the profit margin that much bigger. A definate must-read that will be hard for anyone to put down....

As I started reading it, it opens my eyes until they hurt. I am still in shock over everything. I would recommend this book to anybody, because it is well written, and gets to the point.

P.S.: I am never eating fast food again

This book is incredible!!! It is a very interesting and captivating read that I recommend everyone should take in. My families habits have changed forevermore!!

I had been eyeing this book for a while and finally decided to buy it out of pure curiosity. FAST FOOD NATION goes behind the counter and into the slaughter houses, farms, etc. As i was reading this book, i kept having to remind myself that all the information is recent, up to date. This isn't a book just about animal rights, it's about human rights, animal rights, and consumer rights. I recommend this book to vegetarians, meat eaters, the rich and the poor, business men and women, and especially parents. This is a great book, hard to read at times (due to graphic description and the life stories told by employees and farmers), but well worth it.

This book was excellent. It tells of all the bad things that fast food bring (aside from the obvious lack of nutritional value of most fast foods). Will never eat at McDonald's EVER again.