Fortunately, I'm not a big fan of fast food to begin with because Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser would probably have ended that relationship if I was. (After reading it, I'm even feeling a big guilty about last month's trip to Jimmy Johns.) Narrowly, this book, which was published over a decade ago but has been re-released in a new 10th anniversary edition that seems to be displayed prominently in airports across America, is about the history and evolution of fast food in this country and its detrimental impacts on everything from family farms to obesity rates and diabetes to the meatpacking industry. Considering that the latter is still associated with Upton Sinclair, that's a rather impressive feat.
More broadly, however, this book is really a look at the homogenization of America, a trend that begin in the heady days of the 1950s and has rapidly picked up speed since. Schlosser connects the dots between any number of multinational companies, some of which would not seem to be related to the fast food industry, but are, even if only peripherally. In this vein, Schlosser delves into some of Disney's darker history, including the employment of literal Nazis in the immediate post-war years. He explores how the concept of franchising has changed business in this country - and around the world - as well as the impact of globalization. In Plauen, Germany, the former East German town with the distinction of having been more heavily bombed than even Dresden in World War II, globalization, and specifically the arrival of a McDonald's, seems to have heralded positive change. In Greeley, Colorado, not so much.
When I told Ben I what I was reading, he was surprised I hadn't already read it. I suppose it's possible I'm among the last to have discovered this book. For anyone else who hasn't - and doesn't mind the possibility of having fast food spoiled in their minds forevermore - I can definitely recommend it.
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