Two all Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles, Onions, on a Sesame Seed Bun.
Big Mac, Filet o'Fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries, Icy Coke, Milkshakes, Sundaes and Apple Pies.
You remember these ad campaigns, right? Sing along if you want to ... it's like a walk down memory lane! Honestly, it is really a little embarrassing that I still know the words by heart, all these years later. I can remember trying to memorize the first jingle, running to the television whenever I heard the commercial. Because we didn't have the Internet to consult back then. God, I do sound old, don't I?
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.
A history of the emergence of fast food is detailed. Really detailed. He shares the Mc Donald's brothers story, as well has Carls Jr. They just started as restaurants that made a good hamburger and charged a good price. There were no gimmicks or marketing strategies in those days. They offered their customers a good deal ... that's it. Until greed took over. But, interestingly, it was not the greed of the original founders necessarily, but by those around them. In fact, the McDonald's brothers were very content with the business they were running and did not want to go national. They made an excellent income, supported their families in a way they never dreamed they would, and did not see the need to expand just for the sake of making more money. Commendable, in my opinion. Did you know that Carl Karcher, founder of Carls Jr, was fired by his own company? I didn't even know that you could get fired from your own company. Wait ... I did know that, but that is a story for another time.
There are so many fun, and shocking facts, in this book. I'm just going to throw a few of them out there for you to enjoy ...
in 1970, Americans spent about $6 Billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent $110 Billion
in 1968, McDonald's operated about 100 restaurants; now they have more than 28 000 worldwide; 2000 new ones open each year
McDonald's is the nation's largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes; and the 2nd largest purchaser of chicken - I wonder who the largest purchaser is?
The McDonald's Corporation is the largest owner of retail property in the world; earning most of its profits, not from selling mcfood, but from collecting mcrent
McDonald's spends more money on advertising and marketing than any other brand, surpassing even Coke
market research has shown that children can often recognize a brand logo before they recognize their own name - I have witnessed this in my own home on several occasions
in one month, 90% of American children between the ages of 3 and 9 visit a McDonald's - this is appalling ... truly
a significant number of teenage boys are now drinking 5 or more cans of soda every day
the US has the highest obesity rates of all the industrialized nations; more than 1/2 of all adults and 1/4 of children are obese or overweight
the rate of obesity rate among American adults is twice as high today as it was in the early 1960s
I could go on and on ... the statistics Schlosser cites are incredible and shocking. And disturbing. One of the more bothersome things he notes is that approximately one fifth of one- and two-year-olds drink soda. What? Think about that ... for every one hundred children (in that age group) at any given daycare in the US, twenty of them drink soda regularly. Sickening ... literally.
As I read, I could not help but share what I had just learned. I would read a couple of pages and inevitably gasp, saying, "Jonesy, listen to this ..." Finally, Marnie could not contain her curiosity.
"What is that book about? The one you're reading, Mommy," she asked.
"Well, it's all about fast food and restaurants like McDonald's and why people like to eat at them, " I explained.
"Well, I can tell you that, Mommy," she says. "It's because it tastes good."
I couldn't have said it better myself. But it isn't actually that it tastes good ... it's the smell that keeps you coming back. Apparently when you chew or suck on food, it releases gases that filter up into your nasal cavities. There are top-secret companies out there that manufacture flavour. Schlosser visited one of these companies and writes about the experience. He is given small containers of aroma chemicals and test strips. These aroma chemicals were secretly formulated concoctions of chemicals that produce familiar smells and thus, tastes. He describes how he closed his eyes, dipped the test strip into the liquid and immediately felt as though he were transported to an outdoor barbeque party. He smelled a grill sizzling with burgers. But when he opened his eyes all he found in front of him was the little glass container and piece of test strip paper. Now, the "scientist" part of my brain finds that fascinating; but the rest of my brain is not impressed.
So, when food is processed, it loses its flavour, becoming boring and bland and essentially, a blank canvas of food. Luckily, with a little drop of liquid smell, all that can be fixed. But it is complicated business. The smell of a strawberry comes from the interaction of approximately 350 different chemicals. Think about that the next time you order a strawberry shake. Complex smells like coffee require nearly a thousand different chemicals. Perhaps most shocking of all, is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require flavour companies to disclose their list of ingredients so long as all the chemicals are considered to be "Generally Regarded as Safe." Yeah ... I'm sure that the 350 different chemicals used to create the strawberry in my strawberry ice cream cone are perfectly safe. The problem is that it is far more cost effective to use the chemicals than it is to use real strawberries. So, the next time you read the ingredients listed on the box and you see "artificial flavours" ... think about what that means. A chemical cocktail.
The Meat Packagers ... ugh. Did you know, that in the 1920s, to work in a slaughterhouse you had to be a skilled tradesman? These guys took pride in their work. Today, slaughterhouses routinely employ uneducated workers, many of whom cannot speak a word of English. The work conditions are unsafe and unsanitary. There are only four major meat packagers in the US ... which means that if there is a food safety scare, there are thousands of pounds of meat involved. And, it's usually been shipped all over America. Schlosser goes into great detail, exposing the dark side of Meat Packagers.
Essentially the following happens ...the farmer raises the cow to adult and then sells it off to a Meat Packager; restaurants, grocery stores, etc. then buy the processed/packaged meat from the Packagers. In the Meat Packagers facility, the cattle are housed in enormous feedlots, which in essence are parking lots for cows - where they eat a lot. The conditions in the feedlot are extremely crowded and maintaining sanitary conditions does not seem to be of importance. What is of importance, is to fatten these cows up. So, for about three months, they are fed a steady diet of grains, mixed with a little dead horse, chicken and/or pig. But no dead cows allowed, says the FDA (as of August 1997), just horses, chickens and pigs. And sometimes a little chicken manure, newspaper and sawdust make it into the mix, too, just for fun. After consuming more than 3000 pounds of this slop, it is hoped they will each put on about 400 pounds in weight before they are transferred to the slaughterhouse. This is not happening at one Meat Packager. This is routine, everyday business in the United States of America. And don't give a sigh of relief because you live in Canada ... because there are only three major beef packagers here and I suspect that many of the practices in the US can be found here as well. Don't forget that Mad Cow Disease was a big problem for Canadian beef farmers in the 1990s ... Mad Cow Disease is not a virus, it can only be spread by one means. Mad Cow Disease is actually a disease of the brain and spinal cord; it is spread when infected cows are ground up and fed to healthy cows. So, I have to assume that Canadian farmers were involved in the practice of administering feed to their cattle that included ground up cows in its list of ingredients. I have not taken the time to research as much as I wish I could, because I still have 94 books to go and I'm already behind schedule.
One last thing about beef. I find it almost funny that these companies are feeding cattle meat. Cows are designed to eat grass, and maybe a little bit of grains. They are vegetarians; it's evident in the design of the digestive tracts. So, the cows are living off an unhealthy diet, too ... because it's easier for the beef suppliers. The next time you are at the grocery store, picking up packages of roast beef ... does it say "grain fed" or even worse, "corn fed?" Because they plaster that phrase across the front of the label as though it were a good thing. It is not ... cows are suppose to eat grass. Ask your kids ... they'll tell you.
The single most shocking thing that I read in this book, and there are many to choose from, was about the marketing of fast food. Do you know that there are hundreds of companies in the US, whose sole job it is, to find ways to get your child to eat a Happy Meal or drink a Coke? As a parent, and a momoholic at that, I was truly angered. They send researchers into the field to observe children and their parents at local fast food restaurants, and to conduct "impromptu" surveys in the mall. They study academic literature on child development to learn from the leaders in the field, like Erik Erikson or Jean Piaget; they study the fantasies of young children, then apply the findings in advertisements and product design.
This brings to mind a commercial they have running now. It depicts a little girl having a tea party in her bedroom, I think; and she's dressed up like a little princess. I know all about this at my house; in fact, I wish Addison could play with that little girl. Anyhow, her Mom takes her out to lunch at McDonald's, and she has some chicken nuggets and milk and apple slices. Mommy has a fresh salad. Wholesome, huh? But it also tries to enforce the message of spending quality time together, playing on a Mom's guilt for not spending enough time with her children because she's out trying to earn a dollar ... hence allowing her to be able to afford to take her little princess out for that fun (and wholesome) lunch. The food selections placed on the table were most likely chosen after months of research, conveying the message that moms have "healthy" alternatives to choose from when they visit McDonald's - apple slices, milk, salad. When little princesses see this 30 second story, they want to go to McDonald's, too ... because it looks fun, and above all, it reminds them to ask if they can go to McDonald's, too.
To shift the blame away from McDonald's for a moment, consider Coke. A few years back sales in China began to dwindle. Because they wanted to make up for those losses, the Coke Executives began to look for ways to increase sales in the US. They acknowledged that advertising dollars directed at adults would be wasted because the typical American adult was already drinking their fair share of carbonated beverages. They had to look elsewhere, to another demographic. And so, children were targeted. Schlosser tells a fascinating story about how Coke infiltrated the public school system, pushing their drinks on unsuspecting children. Brand loyalty is important in business. So, children who are taught (at a young age) to become accustomed to drinking a particular brand of soda or eating a particular brand of chips, will carry that association with them for life. Therefore, a child who is allowed to have a half of a glass of Coke on a special occasion at the age of seven or eight years old, will be much more likely to reach for a Coke when they are fifteen and out with some friends. And even more likely to reach for a Coke when they are thirty-five years old. So, you see, making a young child familiar with your product can result in a life-time customer.
It made me very angry to learn that young children are being used to further build the bank accounts of multimillion dollar companies . And the interesting thing is ... that if you do not let your children eat these kinds of foods on a regular basis, you are treated like the outsider. Like you are doing something wrong. I have received more than one look of shock when I have told friends that my children do not drink Kool Aid, and they do not drink soda. They drink juice and water and soy milk ... don't worry, it's chocolate.
Call me crazy ... but I kinda wish we could go back to the olden days. When you lived in a small town with a Butcher and one Druggist and one grocery store. You bought your eggs and fresh vegetables from your neighbour. You could go out for supper at the Family Restaurant, and you could meet a friend for coffee at the local Coffee Shop, which is different from the Coffee Shop in the neighbouring town. There is a Bakery and maybe a Pizzeria. And there is one Doctor who cared for all the residents of the town. Things were simple.
Don't get me wrong ... we eat at McDonald's sometimes, and I do love Walmart as much as the next Mom, but there is something appealing about a simpler time when marketing execs weren't scheming to think of ways to entice my children into buy their products. And I knew where my food came from because it came from a neighbour, who wasn't interested in increasing their supply and/or output. They just wanted to earn enough money to support their family.
Jonesy and I were both born in the late 1960s; we are probably part of the first generation to grow up surrounded by processed food. Convenience food emerged with the changing role of women and their entrance into the workforce, as well as advances in technology. We have grown up eating pre-made, pre-packaged mixtures that just required some re-heating. And then for something different, our Mom's picked up a box of chicken or a bag of burgers on her way home from the office.
Maybe it'll be up to us to change things. Schlosser makes a very important point when he reminds us that the executives of the fast food industry are not bad men. They are business men and they will provide what people want.
So, what do you want?
Okay ... I've had few moments to think about things ... was there hairspray in the olden days? And, what about lip gloss ... because I really like lip gloss. And, I could NOT live without the Internet. Let me restate my above sentiment ... I wish that I could live in a small, old-fashion quaint town, with a big city very close by. Yeah, that's it ... I want the best of both life styles.
Meanwhile, I will continue to read while I ponder living in a rural setting. I am veering off the list in order to continue my quest to learn about the food we eat. You can blame Matt Jones for this sudden interest in food production.
