eng101 #5 (draft)

In the book, “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser, the author brings up the issue of how quickly fast food companies have risen over the years. He talks about the exponential growth from small humble beginnings to huge empires that are beyond the control of many including the U.S. government. The way he describes them is like a small virus that replicates itself quickly throughout the host. He also talks about how this out of control growth has had negative effect on our society.

Eric begins with the story of how Carl Karcher began his business, Carl’s Jr, with just one hot dog cart. It followed with another cart and soon a restaurant which multiplied into many restaurants across the country. The company became a huge corporation that went out of the control of even the founder. During a vote on a future path of the company, many of the board members were against Carl’s plans on forming a joint venture with a chained called Green Burrito. After the deal fell through, the broad members voted him out of the company as stated by the author. He wrote, “When the board rejected the plan, Carl tried to oust its members. Instead, they ousted him. On March 1, 1993, CKE’s board voted five to two to fire Carl N. Karcher.” The entity that was CKE became much bigger than its founder. Another fast food company talked about in the book was McDonald’s. Started by two brothers in southern California McDonald’s restaurants quickly spread across the country after after the brothers were approached by Ray Kroc. Kroc expanded it from a local business to a worldwide company as stated by the author. He wrote,” Ray Kroc took the McDonald’s Speedee Service System and spread it nationwide, creating a fast food empire.” The company was spreading into all parts of the country and taking over as the lead fast food company. It had also spread into the entertaining and advertisement business. Soon many other brands were being promoted with McDonald’s as stated by the author. He wrote,” The competition for young consumers has led the fast food chains to form marketing alliances not just with toy companies, but with sport leagues and Hollywood studios. McDonald’s has staged promotions with the National Basketball Association and the Olympics.” From my own experience, every where that I go I always can count on finding a McDonald’s if I’m hungry. It does not take too long to find one. I have seen many local businesses that have shut down, but i have never seen a McDonald’s close down. If there is fire of flood it closes down for repairs and reopens as soon as possible. They don’t seem to ever be in the negative when it comes to finance and don’t seem to be going anywhere. One could say everywhere you see a McDonald’s, that land is lost forever like a limb that has been infected and must be amputated.

eng101 #4

In chapter 2 of “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser, the author talks about the various marketing strategies used by fast food restaurants over the years. One of the arguments made by the author is that fast food companies use sneaky tactics to sell their product. He wrote, “Hoping that nostalgic childhood memories of a brand will lead to a lifetime of purchases, companies now plan “cradle-to-grave” advertising strategies.” This was describing how fast food companies try to target children at a young age. One of the methods listed was TV advertisements due to the fact that most children can’t tell the difference between a show and a commercial. This leads them to convince their parents on taking them to the restaurants. Another method is by giving away toys with their meals. The author wrote about how McDonald’s 1997 Teenie Beanie Baby giveaway boosted sales for that period more than any other promotion. These companies also target other age groups. They try to identify themselves with other known corporations to attract a wider consumer base. The author wrote, “ The competition for young consumers has led the fast food chains to form marketing alliances not just with toy companies, but with sport leagues and Hollywood studios. McDonald’s has staged promotions with the National Basketball Association and the Olympics.” The author went on to describe these strategies as the fast food companies wanting you to believe that they care for your interest and are your trusted friends.

eng101 #3

In chapter 1 of “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser, the author talks about the rise of fast food restaurants in the country. The way he describes them almost compared to a small virus that replicates and spreads throughout the host. Carl’s Jr. is one of those fast food restaurants. It started when Carl Karcher brought a hot dog cart in southern California. It went on to multiply into many restaurants across the country. Another example the author uses is the rise of McDonald’s. They used business strategies like selling burgers for 15 cents which was very cheap for the time. They also reinvented the way they ran the restaurants. The author wrote,” For the first time, the guiding principles of a factory assembly line were applied to a commercial kitchen. The new division of labor meant that a worker only had to be taught how to perform one task.”  A factory styled assembly line allowed for a faster and cheaper way to serve customers. The benefits provided from this allowed much more McDonald’s restaurants to open up. Other fast food restaurants also adopted this style of serving which also helped them open up more locations. Sometimes the companies became so big that they went beyond the creator’s control. As described in the book, Carl Karcher was voted out of Carl’s Jr by the company’s board. The main argument the author tried to make is that the fast food industry was not as big and powerful as it is today. It started with humble beginnings and spread with new innovations and great marketing.

eng101 #2

Food is not very important in my life. I treat it like a necessity rather then something of great meaning. Every day I eat just about the same thing. In the morning about an hour after I exercise I eat some cereal. Afterwards when I am outside I eat at Subways. Finally when I get home at night I eat cereal again. At every meal I would eat alone. Most of my family is either working or sleeping at those times. I am always on the move which leaves me with no time to cook or eat a home cooked meal. This was not always the case. My family is Dominican so we used to eat a lot of Spanish food together. We ate a lot of rice, beans, and chicken. My mom used to do all the shopping and cooking. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas my family living in the city would come over to my house. My mom would cook a chicken lasagna and a side of rice. Soon afterwards I started working full-time and going to school which forced me to eat outside. Slowly my mom stopped cooking and started eat out too. Hopefully, when i start my own family, we can eat together at home.

eng101 #1

The passage “Is America’s Food Supply Safe?” talks about the different methods used by the F.D.A. to ensure the safety of the food we eat. The author wants the public to feel safe about the food they eat. He talks about the 625 dedicated investigators who inspect our food across the country and how hard they work on preventing problems from happening. He also talks about the different agencies and companies including experts in foreign countries that the F.D.A. works with to ensure that our food supply is safe. He finishes by talking about how the F.D.A. educates the consumers on how they can further ensure the safety of the food they eat.

One idea that I found interesting is the last sentence. The author, Dr. David Acheson wrote, “The F.D.A. works hard every day to ensure the safety of America’s food.” I found it troubling that after a string of contamination the Assistant Commissioner wants to let the public know how hard the F.D.A. works every day. From my own experience in working in retail, the people working high up the corporate ladder do not want the public to know if the company is doing really badly. They found that if the public sees a company going towards bankruptcy, the public would stop shopping or investing in the company. I find this even worse if it is true with the F.D.A. because they have the public’s health in their hands.