The Reality of Fast Food Meat - 3234 Words

According to Eric Schlosser author of Fast Food Nation, Fast food has had an enormous impact not only on our eating habits but on our economy, our culture, and our values(3). According to Lois Williams on any given day, about one quarter of U.S. adults visit a fast-food restaurant. The typical American now eats about three hamburgers each week (2). Schlosser also writes that thirty years ago Americans spent about six billion dollars annually on fast food. In 2000 they spent over one-hundred and ten billion dollars, more than on higher education, personal computers, or new cars (3). The reality of fast food is regarding the spreading and feeding of illness and disease; as well as the inhumane treatment of animals through modern meat†¦show more content†¦The recent changes in how cattle are raised, slaughtered, and processed have created an ideal means for pathogens to spread. Pathogens are an agent that causes disease, especially a living microorganism such as a bacterium, virus, or fungus (Pathogens). The problem begins in todays feedlots. A feedlot is where the cattle are fed and raised ( Feedlot). A government health official who was interviewed for an article in the Wall Street Journal by Shirley Leung, and preferred not to be named, compared the sanitary conditions in a modern feedlot to those in a crowded European city during the Middle Ages. These were the times when people dumped their chamber pots out the window, raw sewage ran in the streets, and epidemics raged ( B2). The cattle now packed into feedlots get little exercise and live in pools of manure. Feedlots have become an extremely efficient mechanism for recirculating the manure, which is unfortunate, since Escherichia coli O157:H7 or E.coli can replicate in cattle troughs and survive in manure for up to ninety days ( Leung B2). Schlosser defined E.coli as a mutated version of a bacterium found abundantly in the human digestive system. The E.coli bacteria in our digestive system help the body synthesize vitamins and ward off dangerous organisms. E.coli, on the other hand also, releases a powerful toxin that can destroy the lining of the intestine (199). InShow MoreRelatedFast Food Nation Research Paper1442 Words   |  6 PagesKnowing what is in your fast food might make you think twice the next time you devour it. As the rise of the fast food nation in America has increased to an all-time high, so has the weight and waists of Americans all around the country. Not only has the United States grown to love the acquired taste of greasy golden fries and juicy burgers, it has also grown ignorant to the way their food is prepared. In the novel, â€Å"Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal†(2002), by Eric SchlosserRead MoreEssay An Analysis of Eric Schlossers Fast Food Nation1154 Words   |  5 PagesNew York Times bestseller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is one of the most riveting books to come out about fast foo d restaurants to date (Schlosser, 2004). Fast food consumption has become a way of life for many in the United States as well as many other countries in the world. The author Eric Schlosser an investigative reporter whose impeccable researching and bold interviewing captures the true essence of the immense impact that fast food restaurants are having in AmericaRead MoreThe Problem Of Food Industry1599 Words   |  7 PagesAddressing the Problem Too many people pick up food products off of the shelves and put it into their shopping cart without knowing what exactly it is or what the product has been through. After watching an absolutely disturbing documentary called Food Inc. I started to feel strongly about the problems of the Food Industry. The problem is that our food is no longer being produced in an all American farm, but in dirty abusive factories. Not only is the food unhealthy for us after all of the processingRead MoreGenetically Modified Food Essay example1041 Words   |  5 Pages Genetically Modified Foods. Everywhere where you go, there are fast food companies advertising their products. You take a road trip to your familys house, and what do you see? Rest stops filled with fast food restaurants. According to Google maps, there are close to 50,000 fast food chains across the United States. (with Mcdonalds being the largest restaurant chain.) Fast food companies go above and beyond to lure you to buy theirRead MoreFast Food Industry Essay1456 Words   |  6 PagesThe fast food industry has come a long way from its humble beginnings in the suburbs of Southern California. The industry has grown from being a commodity that worked to satisfy its customers efficiently to being filled with corporations that are looking to make the largest profits possible. This has led it to be very involved in political matters and along with the meat industry, it has a very strong hold over food politics. The effects of this on the American society have become noticeable, withRead MoreThe Unhealthy Ingredients of Fast Food1026 Words   |  4 PagesThe development of fast food was revolutionary; however this revolution was corrupted by big business and their desire to maximize profit. With fast food being a staple for society, due to its convenience, the consumers fail to realize what is inside that burger they are eating. These cost effective additives may be justifiable in a businessman’s perspective but what about the consumer? Cellulose, or better know as wood, doesn’t come to mind as millions of uniformed customers chow down on theirRead MoreComparison of the Jungle and Fast Food Nation1436 Words   |  6 Pageswere mistreated in various workplaces, such as the meat packing companies in Chicago, so that they may be treated fairly. Sinclair wanted a future society where common people (those mostly that worked at the workplaces) to form a group and rule with their own rules which would be just in their eyes, much like a union. However, after the book was published, the readers were more traumatized by the fact of what the people were consuming in their food than the social problems. Sinclair says, â€Å"I aimedRead MoreHome Cooked Meals And Fast Food Meals882 Words   |  4 PagesHome Cooked Meals verses Fast Food Meals Every individual must make choices each day, whether the choices are consciously made or made with definite thought. One daily choice that individuals must make in relation to lifestyle and diet is choosing between a home cooked meal or a fast food meal. There are many positive and negative aspects of both home cooked meals and fast food meals. Home cooked meals are a far better choice because of the benefits it gives to one’s lifestyle. Convenience is aRead MoreThe Fda And The Usda Deems It Safe For Beef Manufacturers1625 Words   |  7 PagesThe FDA and the USDA deem it safe for beef manufacturers to use ammonia in their meat filler. In fact â€Å"70% of meat filler contains ammonia† (Avila, â€Å"70 Percent of Ground Beef at Supermarkets Contains Pink Slime.†). Millions of Americans consume beef daily, and are unaware of what actually makes up the meat they are consuming. Because the hamburger is such a staple in many American’s diets it didn’t take long for someone to develop a cheap solution to produce more burger product for consumers, andRead MoreMeet, Meat Industry Essay1178 Words   |  5 Pagesfenced-in field with cows grazing lazily. In reality that beef comes from a cow who is forced to eat something it cannot digest, in a cramped, loud feedlot, covered in feces. Big business has worked hard to hide the reality of food origin. The American government should create legislatio n that would eliminate this problem. Research is being done with invitro meat, otherwise known as lab grown meat. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should approve invitro meat for human consumption. Animal cruelty