Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser’s Take on What it Means to be American “This year, Americans will spend more money on fast food than on higher education…Schlosser shows how the fast food industry conquered both appetite and landscape.” – The New Yorker

Objectives Identify, analyze, and evaluate Schlosser’s rhetorical strategies Identify, analyze, and evaluate Schlosser’s appeals Identify, analyze, and evaluate Schlosser’s major syllogisms Identify components of the Toulmin model within the text Identify and discuss Schlosser’s claims and the personal, cultural, and even global effects they have or may have Predict and discuss the fast food industry’s reaction

About the Author FFN began as an expose Atlantic Monthly - correspondent Reefer Madness – about illegal drug enforcement and illegal immigration in California currently working on a book about the American prison system

Introduction How does the amount spent on fast food compare with the amount spent on other things in our society? What are the implications of this? What does the author say about independent farmers? What does the author say about the political clout of the meat packing industry? According to the author, why did he write this book?

The Founding Fathers What was the Speedee Service System and how was it different from what other fast food restaurants were doing? How did this change the “face” of fast food? What were some of the characteristics of the men who started the fast food industry? How is this ironic? What are the implications of the title of chapter 1, and how is the title satirical?

Your Trusted Friends How does the author describe Walt Disney and Ray Kroc’s involvement in politics? What does this say about American society and our government structure? What is synergy in marketing and what are some of the ways that fast food companies practice synergy? Why does synergy work? How do you feel about marketing campaigns aimed at children? How do you feel about marketing fast food products in schools?

Behind the Counter In what ways is Colorado Springs today much like southern California? What are Schlosser’s feelings about this? What feelings does he want the audience to have about this? What is throughput? Where did the term come from and how does it apply to the fast food industry? Discuss the pros and cons for fast food restaurants to have teens as employees. How does the author portray this? Is the author sensationalizing by including the robbery and murder statistics? Which appeal is used most in this chapter and for what argument? Is it effective? Explain.

Success Discuss the title of this chapter juxtaposed against the facts presented within. Among franchises, what is “encroachment”? How do you feel about this and the way in which it is presented? Identify the pattern of development Schlosser uses in this chapter Which one of the appeals is Schlosser using here?

Why the Fries Taste So Good How have the potato farms in Idaho changed in the last 25 years? What is the “fallacy of composition”? In what ways does this chapter use pathos? Compare and contrast “artificial flavors” and “natural flavors”. What do you think of Mc Donald’s fries after reading this? What do you think of the Mc Donald’s corporation?

On the Range What impact has the consolidation of the meat packing industry had on cattle ranchers? What was the impact of the Chicken McNugget on the poultry industry? Why would small independent cattle ranchers be afraid to speak out against the practices of large meat processors? Discuss the title of the chapter in context of cultural memory and satire of American Ideals. Compare the way in which pathos is used in this chapter to that of chapter 5.

Cogs in the Great Machine What has been the relationship between labor unions and modern meat packing plants? How has this affected politics and the meat industry itself? What have been the implications for the fast food industry? What is the impact on small communities of having a meat packing plant? Why would a community want one, or are they powerless to stop it? Compare to natural gas drilling today. What are some ways in which the argument in this chapter may be ineffective? Why? Is Schlosser reaching here?

The Most Dangerous Job What is Schlosser revealing about politics and the meat packing industry? About American government and agriculture? How have the above relationships changed in the past 200 years? How effective is this argument? What makes it most effective?

What’s in the Meat How does Schlosser use logos in this chapter to evoke pathos? What is the initial effect this chapter had on you? What about after thinking more? Did you change anything about your lifestyle because of it? Is this chapter an example of sensationalism? Why or why not? What criticisms does Schlosser have of the current system for recalling meat? How do the last few chapters relate back to the original topic of the fast food industry’s impact on our nation?

Global Realization How does this chapter fit with the rest of Schlosser’s argument? What is implied by the title of the chapter? Compare target advertising of fast food companies in the U.S. and foreign countries. How does the obesity rate in America relate to the fast food industry? How do foreign countries view fast food restaurants?

Epilogue: Have It Your Way What is implied by the title? With what tone is it delivered? Compare In -n- Out to McDonald’s. Do you agree with the author’s opinion about advertising unhealthy foods to children? Why? What role does Schlosser say consumers need to play in affecting change? Are his ideas plausible? Do you think consumers and expose writers like Schlosser will ever affect any real changes? What has Schlosser implied about American society in Fast Food Nation?