Fast Food Nation

This is perhaps the most significant theme of Schlosser’s book. In most cases, the actions of fast food corporations examined in the text reveal an industry that maintains a laser focus on its bottom line. The same can be said for the meatpacking industry and produce processing corporations. Government agencies that have the authority to regulate these industries often fail to do so, and Schlosser highlights the ways these large corporations wield their influence on politicians who have been elected to serve the people. Generally, when industry-friendly politicians have been elected, regulatory controls and oversight are softened and become less stringent. This is not a book about campaign finance, but one might see the food industry as portrayed in this text as an example of how corporate influence in government policy can have negative consequences for the rest of the population.

In some ways, there are parallels between the fast food and tobacco industries, in that both intentionally market their product despite knowing the potential for negative consequences to people’s health. In his introduction, Schlosser mentions many alarming statistics that reveal how fast food has intertwined itself with modern American culture. As an example, Schlosser says, “On any given day in the United States about one-quarter of the adult population visits a fast food restaurant” (4).