History of Fast Food Nation

Meanwhile, he hints at the dire consequences that the consumption of fast food might have by describing how the consumers have no idea where their food comes from or how it was made. He tries to scare readers from eating fast food by using a condescending tone to describe the many victims who eat fast food daily without thinking. 2. “William Rosenberg dropped out of school at the age of fourteen, delivered telegrams for Western Union, drove an ice cream truck, worked as a door-to-door salesman, sold sandwiches and coffee to factory workers in Boston, and then opened a small doughnut shop in 1948, later calling it Dunkin’ Donuts.

Glen W. Bell, Jr. , was a World War II veteran, a resident of San Bernardino who ate at the new McDonald’s and decided to copy it, using the assembly-line system to make Mexican food and founding a restaurant chain later known as Taco Bell” (Schlosser 22). Using this excerpt early in the book, the author conveys a message that fast food chains were created by all sorts of people looking for success rather than large corporations that relied on focus groups and market research.

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By mentioning the jobs that fast food chain founders had before making their fast food stores, the author makes it clear just how easily anyone could have made a fast food chain. Schlosser made it seem easy when explaining that even a middle school dropout, William Rosenberg was able to create a successful, long lasting fast food chain. 3. "Today children are being targeted by phone companies, oil companies, and automobile companies, as well as clothing stores and restaurant chains.

The explosion in children's advertising occurred during the 1980s.

Many working parents, feeling guilty about spending less time with their kids, started spending more money on them. One marketing expert has called the 1980s 'the decade of the child consumer. ' After largely ignoring children for years, Madison Avenue began to scrutinize and pursue them" (Schlosser 42-43). Here Schlosser acknowledges who is being targeted and why they are being targeted. In today’s society and economy, many parents work and do not spend as much time with their children as in the past.

Since parents can’t spend as much time with their children, they begin to feel sympathetic and try to make up for it by buying them the newest product. Since the 80’s many advertisements have not only appealed to the children’s desires, but to the absentee parents who see it as an opportunity to make up for it. 4. "Every few miles, clusters of fast food joints seem to repeat themselves, Burger Kings, Wendy's, and McDonald's, Subways, Pizza Huts, and Taco Bells, they keep appearing along the road, the same buildings and signage replaying like a tape loop.

You can drive for twenty minutes, pass another fast food cluster, and feel like you've gotten nowhere" (Schlosser 60). In this excerpt, Schlosser makes a point about the abundance of fast food chains. He hints at the negativity of this fact by mentioning how it is impossible to get away from the rows of fast food stores. He urges readers to realize the amount of fast food stores that they see wherever they go. 5. "Instead of relying upon a small, stable, well-paid, and well-trained workforce, the fast food industry seeks out part-time, unskilled workers who are willing to accept low pay.

Teenagers have been the perfect candidates for these jobs not only because they are less expensive to hire than adults, but also because their youthful inexperience makes them easier to control" (Schlosser 68). Schlosser uses this excerpt to make an argument about how fast food chains purposely target young workers because they are more tractable. He also seems to be criticizing the fast food industry for exploiting young workers. This tells readers that the fast food industry is only hiring young workers because of their inexperience and that something must be wrong with the industry if they are targeting workers that are easy to control.