Voices of Power

Fast food is becoming a prominent part of the diet of the average American, and it shows. Each day, more and more Americans are diagnosed as being obese, and fast food tends to be part of that problem. In an attempt to find a helpful solution to this problem, Eric Schlosser attacks the fast food corporations to try to establish order in this time of chaos. He writes Fast Food Nation, where he first attacks the corporations in “The American Way” section, and then examines the food at these restaurants to unveil the secrets behind the process in the “Meat and Potatoes” section. In the epilogue of the book, Schlosser proposes his solution, which is that Americans should simply refrain from fast food. I disagree with that solution, and think that should not be the best way of solving our food epidemic. In this post, I will explain why his solution is not realistic, and dissect the problems that his solution creates, and then offer my proposal.

Before I analyze Schlosser’s solution, I would like to make known that I agree with almost all of Schlosser’s ideas in his book, especially in “The American Way” and “Meat and Potatoes” sections. I believe that corporations like McDonalds and Subway have too much power and influence within our society. The employees are not treated as well as they should be, and should receive higher wages and other benefits. Also, I believe that fast food is unhealthy if eaten repeatedly. Additionally, rather than farmers manipulating the corporations, the corporations have the farmers wrapped around their fingers. To keep up with the high demand, farmers are forced to mistreat their produce just to keep up with demand. The mistreated produce is making millions of Americans ill every day and according to Schlosser, "In the eight years since the Jack in the Box outbreak, approximately half a million Americans, the majority of them children, have been made ill by E. Coli O157:H7. Thousands have been hospitalized, and hundreds have died" (Schlosser 199). I see eye to eye with Schlosser with all of this, except the way of solving all this chaos.  I simply want to point out that agree with what majority Schlosser has to say about fast food companies.  I am pointing out all their flaws before I analyze it before I defend it in moderation.

To begin, the biggest problem that I have with Schlosser’s answer, to simply stop going to fast food restaurants, is the fact that it is too late for that attempt. Personally, I believe that fast food companies play too big of a role in our lives, good or bad. Take one second. Think of all of the fast food restaurants one can think of. Then think of all of those restaurants and where one can personally find them. They are everywhere. According to McDonald’s: Behind the Arches, there is more than 14,000 McDonald’s worldwide! Eliminating fast food companies is like eliminating all Apple products. To think that all of these restaurants will turn into “ma and pa” shops is too idealistic. Yes, by simply not going to fast food companies, they will go out of business.

However, hypothetically speaking, if there were no more fast food restaurants, where would people be able to go grab a quick bite to eat? Yes I understand that fast food is not the healthiest choice; however, an unhealthy choice is better than no food at all. I believe that people have forgotten the first real purpose of fast food companies like McDonalds, In-n-out, etc. The first McDonalds was originally set up as a restaurant that people could swing by and grab a quick bite to eat while on the road. It was not supposed to be eaten every day; it was more like a “get of jail free” card. Fast foods became prominent due to people going there too often, even when they have the ability to cook at their house, apartment, etc. If there were no fast food restaurants, where could one be able to find a quick drive thru to grab a meal that they don’t have time for? By eliminating fast food restaurants, think about how many people are left struggling to find a quick bite to eat everyday because they don’t have time sit down at a restaurant and enjoy a meal. 

In addition to the several people who are starving due to the loss of fast food companies, think about all the jobs that would be lost. According to “Food is Power” website, there are roughly 3,500,000 employees working in the fast food business alone. Now, think of the farms, and how many workers are plugging away towards these types of companies. That is several million jobs being lost. That is a lot. The loss of all those jobs will force the unemployment rates to skyrocket.  Yes, the employees are not being paid, respected, or rewarded; nonetheless, that is still a lot of jobs. What would happen to all these employees? Let’s face it; McDonalds alone, some of employees do not have the credentials and abilities to be working at best paying jobs. As well, many of them are migrants. They come to America for a job and to live a free life. Are they supposed to just leave America if they don’t have a job? Yes a job at McDonalds may not be the best, but like me post-college, I will take any job I can find. Work is scarce. Like I said earlier, I know the staff is not treated the best; however, that can be addressed. It will be hard to save the lives of several million work-less citizens. 

So rather than trying to stop going to fast food companies completely, we should try and change and modify the way fast food companies play a role in our life. Simply eliminating them out of lives will only cause more chaos. We need to regulate these companies. We, the citizens of the United States, need to take action in a different way. To solve the problem of the number of fast food restaurants, government should make companies have a certain distance between one another. John Love, author of McDonald’s: Behind the Arches, writes that, “slightly more than half of the U.S. population lives with a three-minute drive to a McDonalds”(Love 3).  For instance, there should be no less than 5 miles between two Burger Kings. In Chicago, there is a stretch of highway in which there is a McDonalds every exit for several exits in a span of a few miles. By simply eliminating the number of fast food companies is half the battle. It will deter people from wanting to travel that far for a quick unhealthy bite to eat. Now for the employees, government should force these companies to treat their employees more fairly. Workers should be getting a higher pay raise, and receive health benefits. According to Love, “McDonald’s stores today are strictly nonunion shops”(Love 395).  Due to the number of employees, it must be near impossible for workers to let their voice be heard.  They should be able to unionize.  The workers in the slaughterhouses should be granted health benefits because they are constantly being forced to work in awful working conditions, forcing many of them become ill or even die.  With government regulations, employees at these businesses would be much happier with their lives. The final step of the process to make fast food companies more compatible is to make the food healthier. This was the one part of the book that I agreed with Schlosser on. The food at fast food restaurants is fattening, artificial, and repulsive. I am not saying that McDonalds needs to turn into a giant salad bar; however, with some laws by government, we can eliminate some of the added artificial ingredients and make a burger made out of real beef, with real lettuce, onion, ketchup, mustard, and pickles. They should still keep the menu nice and simple. With a little more awareness of the food from these companies, we can be healthier. I understand that my solution to this chaos requires a lot of voice from the every day citizen. We need to remember that the company is at the heels of the people, not vice versa. All of these companies have one thing in common, and that is that they are all businesses. They will do whatever it takes to make money. With the voice of the American people, we can make all the changes we want. If they do not listen to the consumers, their business crumbles. They will listen to us; all it takes is action and determination to make all the changes we need to make. It is in our hands, not theirs. 

As one can see, Schlosser and I have two different solutions to the same problem. Although we have different ways of going about it, Schlosser and I want the same thing, a healthy America. Eric Schlosser is an expert, and I agree with almost everything he writes about in his book, Fast Food Nation. He is an expert in his field, and knows a lot about fast food; however, we have two different views. I am not contrarian, but rather a kid who is trying to find a more realistic solution to our problem today.

Work Cited

Love, John F. McDonald's: Behind the Arches. New York: Bantam, 1995. Print.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.