Fast Food Nation Book Report

In his book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser discusses the acculturation that the United States has undergone since the beginning of the fast food industry; the sprawl of indistinguishable fast food restaurants has conceived a homogenized landscape. The average American does not think much when stopping for fast food. Perhaps on their way home from work they stop for a quick bite. The same meals can be purchased anywhere, from California to New York, and everywhere between. Placelessness is rampant; everywhere there is a McDonald’s within walking distance. It is highly important to maintain culture and diversity, but it is difficult to do so when popular culture and large corporations take over. The homogenization of the United States has

The fast food industry started out very small, but once the industrialized way of producing food at a quick pace was innovated by the McDonald brothers, it exploded. Fast food has transformed the nation, and much of the world. Although they may appear nonthreatening, fast food chains are obliterating independent restaurants and smaller chains, “He [Jim Hightower] viewed the emerging fast food industry as a threat to independent business, as a step toward a food economy dominated by giant corporations, and as a homogenizing influence on American life” (Schlosser 5). The sprawl of fast food chains has made the restaurants inescapable, and that is the goal of the franchisors. Coinciding with fast food chains, corporate factories have overtaken family owned farms and meatpackers. Large

Franchises endeavor in making all products, stores, and services exactly the same, “Customers are drawn to familiar brands by an instinct to avoid the unknown. A brand offers a feeling of reassurance when its products are always and everywhere the same” (5). This, in turn, abolishes any cultural influence on a restaurant or product, making a bland, homogenous replica that can be found anywhere. The United States is becoming a placeless nation; there are McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and other fast food restaurants around every corner. Schlosser states that, “The basic thinking behind fast food has become the operating system of today’s retail economy, wiping out small businesses, obliterating regional differences, and spreading identical stores throughout the country like a self-replicating code” (5). No matter the location, the same stores, restaurants, products, and services are easily accessible. Plants that process the foods for the chains have machinery that eliminates any product that isn’t identical to the others. Also, chemicals are added to the food in order to maintain a standardized taste. Corporations strive to create a monolithic environment, resulting in a homogenous landscape. Indeed, fast food has contributed to major development and economic movements, but it has played a major and central role in the homogenization of America, both physically and