Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Or "No I Would NOT Like Fries With That. Not Ever Ever Ever."

Everything about this book was surprising. The fact that Americans eat 68 pounds of beef a year each. The near-criminal working conditions in the meat packing industry. The vast and profound impact that the fast food industry has on virtually every aspect of our lives. But the most surprising thing of all was actually Schlosser's approach to the topic.

I have to give the man some serious kudos. He obviously has some strong opinions and a pretty clear agenda. But even with all that, Fast Food Nation never feels like it resorts to scare tactics or gross-out attempts as a way to get everyone in the world to stop eating fast food forever. I mean, after reading this book, I'm pretty sure that everyone in the world should stop eating fast food forever, but it feels like I arrived at that conclusion myself instead of being bullied into it. Because that's my major problem with these kinds of agenda-driven books and movies. It's so clear what they want you to think, that it can almost feel like a guilt trip.

Fast Food Nation doesn't creep into that territory at all. Though obviously strongly biased on the anti-fast food side of things, it's thoroughly researched, presented in a really straightforward way, and avoids impassioned, bleeding-heart rants about, well, anything. Truth be told, I was pretty shocked by how little of the book was devoted to "And here's the disgusting stuff that happens with the food!" compared to the politics, history, health implications, sleazy marketing tactics, etc. And for that, Mr. Schlosser, I applaud you.

I'm sure you are not surprised to hear me say that I think that Fast Food Nation should be mandatory reading. I'm not saying that I think you need to renounce fast food forever - I'm just saying that there's a lot of information to consider when making that decision, and Schlosser's thorough and utterly readable inquiry into the industry is a fantastic place to start.

I have to confess, though, that the first 100 pages or so just really made me want a hamburger...