Global Mac

Globalization of the hamburger ! That McDonalds is worldwide, the McDonald brothers and their offspring are wondering if ,We only held on to that 5% interest !? The last McDonalds I read about opening was in France at an exclusive up scale mall next to the Louvre museum. The French people thought it was a disgrace to the world class museum that a McD's was allowed to be in the same class as great works of art. France is the second largest market for McDonalds next to the United States (NPR, 2009 October).
The first concentration camp the Nazis opened was Dachau, were gypsies, Jews, homosexuals, and political opponents were imprisoned( Schlosser, ch.10,p.233). McDonalds, in poor judgement decided to open up a resturaunt! I think this was a poor choice and disrespectful to the victims and to the survivors.
You can drive from East to the west coast and see the golden arches every thirty minutes while driving. I saw the same thing when I was in Germany and driving down the Autobohn. McDonalds is every where and is known by small children of all countries. Saudi Arabia,Kuwait,Yemen,Italy,Hondurous all these countries have McD's and other American fast food available, I have had lunch at most of them . Do you think that the same stories would be written by Schlosser if he interviewed workers and suppliers over seas?

E.coli O 157:H7

I think this chapter can also be called everything you did not want to know about E.coli O 157:H7, but were afraid to ask. The quality of meats served in fast food industry has to be safer than Schlosser makes it out to be in chapter nine. The massive amount of burgers sold per year compared to the amount of E. coli O 157:H7 reported has to be very low or they hide reported cases very well. Schlosser pointed out that Jack in the box had an E.coli O 157:H7 outbreak that received allot of media headlines, which almost but them out of business (p.199). McDonald's just flat out denied any E. coli O157H7 burgers made anyone sick. Denial, the first line of defense if you are ever caught doing anything wrong. Upton Sinclair wrote about the conditions in slaughterhouses in 1906 the same way Schlosser wrote about them in this book. I feel not much has changed since 1906 in the slaughterhouses, or in our government perspective of providing safe meat to the consumer. Schlosser wrote that when "Anyone who brings raw ground beef into their kitchen today must regard it as a potential biohazard"(p.221).Meat is not the only food that can have E. coli O 157:H7, Spinich, scallions,tomato's and penut butter have been recalled for E.coli O 157:H7. Schlosser maybe right about the beef, but is leading his readers astrayfrom the whole truth about E. coli O157:H7. I used E. coli O 157:H7 Eight times in my blog, Schlosser used E.coli O 157:H7 sixty-five times in chapter nine. How many did you count?

Dangerous jobs

Schlosser description of the slaughterhouse was the exact same thing I saw when I toured a slaughterhouse. The assembly line of death was amazing to watch. Live animals walk in on their own and ten minutes later their on hook, dead and traveling down the line.
Schlosser interview on sharp knives (p.172) again re-enforces the tragic work environment that these workers endure to earn a living. The labor intensive job of cutting up meat at a pace that seems gruelling and beyond impossible to maintain day to day. Just think about it the next time you go to the grocery store and pick up that shrink wrapped package of meat, what had to happen before it ened up in the meat section at your grocery store.
The cleaning crew job is sofar the worst job mentioned yet in the book. Schlosser gives detailed discription of the hazard they deal with every day. Schlosser states the fatal tragedies of cleaning crews,the dismemberment,head injuries, arms severed and other permenant injuries the workers deal with and yet others replace them (p.178).
Kenny! Southpark! Kenny is a blind , loyal, don't bit the hand that feeds you type employee the company wants more of. Kenny is the typical stereo type that Schlosser has been writting about through every chapter we have read. Loyalty is in one direction, employee to the company. Companies can not see all of the faces of their employees and it makes it easier to treat people without emotion and without respect. Kenny is a prime example of this type of corporate loyalty.

Welcome to Greeley

Chapter seven has the same familiar theme that Schlosser has made in all the previous chapters.The large supplier to the evil fast food giants and the faceless employees who are abused.The workers are individuals who want to work ,but are limited in skills except manual labor. The jobs that are being offered are redundant manual labor jobs. Even though Schlosser is making a point of the abuse, these are the only jobs they are qualified to do. The Mid-Western areas mentioned are not as populated as eastern states and employment is limited. Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming ,Texas are cattle states and working in meatpacking houses are the primary jobs offered in these states. The education level goes hand in hand with the pay level. Lower education results in a lower income. The crime rate also follows the lower paying job market. Schlosser States that in Lexington, Nebraska that this small town had an increase in the crime rate that was the highest in the state within one year of opening a meat packinghouse. The workers that were hired to work took over Lexington and the locals moved away. The work is hard, the pay is low and the individuals who Schlosser mentions that work in the fast food industry and the workers who work for the suppliers are part of the ongoing cycle of abuse that will never have a happy ending.

schlosser interviw

This is my first book, and I had no idea how people would respond to it. Given our political climate and what the book argues, there just was no guarantee that people would respond or be interested in it. I've had friends who've written wonderful books, really beautiful books, that don't even get reviewed. I had no sense of what would happen (Schlosser qtd. in Gavin, n.d.)

As a first-time author, I've been writing for years, but really haven't encountered people en masse who've read or been interested in the work. You write these things in a room, it's a real privilege to be able to write about what you care about. At the same time you have no idea if other people are going to care at all! don't even get reviewed. I had no sense of what would happen. (Schlosser qtd. in Gavin, n.d.)

So far, so good. I haven't seen heads nodding off in the middle. One of the good things is that the question and answer part afterward has been as rewarding and interesting as any of it -- because I really don't need to hear myself read. It's a chance to get feedback, and to engage in a dialogue about the work, which, when you're off writing something, you don't really get the opportunity to do (Schlosser qtd. in gavin, n.d.)

On the range

Chapter 6 is the same format as chapter 5 ,with the exception that beef and poultry is the subject. Schlosser again points out how they monopolized another industry that supplies them. I can't blame these industries for meeting McDonolds demands because their in business to be sucessful and profitable. Larger corporations have always hurt the underdog farmer, mom and pop retailers because they are interested in growing and being the biggest. McDonalds and the other fast food restuarants are growing and their suppliers can see that supplying the giants with what they want will make them giants in their industry. The small beef suppliers can not compete with a corporation out of fear of being squeezed out completely as stated 0n p.143. The other problem Schlosser pointed out in this chapter was the land in Colorado will taken over by real estate developers who will also squeeze out the farmers and ranchers. Corporations have the money and political clout to control different markets to their benefits and the little man can only watch it happen.

Hot Potato

J.R.Simplot, a character out of a movie, an American tale of rags to riches. J.R. Simplot the man behind the curtain of french fries that made fast food industry grow. He was a self made man who could see beyond the day and invision the future. The partnership he formed with Ray Kroc was sealed with a handshake and expanded both their businesses. Walt Disney turned down an opprotunity when Ray Kroc offered a chance for the two companies towork together. J.R. Simplot used simple business dealings and compouned one deal after another. The Evolution of the frozen potato through better chemistry was an eye opener. I did not realize that chemist were the ones making our food taste good. The study that found that the color of food plays a big part of how the food will taste to people was an interesting point made (p.125). The same flavor, but different color effected which food tasted better to people. Pictures of food in vivid colors would be more appealing and would make individuals desire a burger or fries. The fast food industry has just as much of an effect on the U.S. economy as the housing or automotive market. J.R. Simplot and Ray Kroc built their dreams on the American public wants and created their own personal wealth on those dreams.