FFN 3/8 Blog

1a. The very first fast food experience what I can remember was actually at McDonalds, or maybe Burger King. The reason that I don’t remember is because I wasn’t there to eat; I was there to play. I remember that one time, while driving somewhere with my parents, a huge play place caught my attention. I probably didn’t even know what It was at that point, but the colors and engineering of the play land is something that is impossible to miss for a child. After screaming and yelling for the car to stop, my dad promised we could come back the next day. This was the very first time I went to a play place, and because I was so excited, I don’t really remember what I ate as my very first fast food, or even if I ate anything. What I do remember though is crawling through tunnels, jumping into a pool of balls and waving at my parents from the highest place I could climb to. I also remember that this experience ended with an ice cream because I can still picture myself look back out the window of the car licking my ice cream and thinking to myself that this is the best day ever.

1b.

1.       In 1970, American spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent over $110 billion.

2.       McDonald’s operates more playground than any other private entity in the United States. It is one of the nation’s largest distributors of toys.

3.       A survey of American school children found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald. The only fictional character with a higher degree of recognition was Santa Clause.

1c.

1.       Fast food Marketing toward children

2.       What laws are in place against fast food restaurants to what they can and cannot advertise

3.       How has fast food affected the life of an average American in the last few years.

 

2. Schlosser uses an extremely clever technique in this novel. He combines facts and stories to keep the reader entertained and alert throughout the book. If Schlosser decided to use only facts, the book would be extremely dull, and we would not be reading it now. But at the same time, if Schlosser only told story in this book, there would be no evidence to support his case; there would be no “meat”. Instead Schlosser uses a combination of facts and stories to convey his message and assure that this book is read by many people and give them a way to somehow connect with the stories that are written. For example, in chapter 3, we see that Schlosser tells us many different facts about Colorado Spring and how the fast food industry has grown there. But later on in the chapter, he inserts a story about Elisa Zamot, who is a worker at a fast food restaurant. This gives readers a chance to not only know the facts, but relate them to a real life situation. The same strategy is used in Chapter 7; in this chapter, Schlosser talks bout the meat packing industry and how this industry is controlling so much with the use of unions in Greely. Then he states his stories about the people living there and how they felt about the situation, giving the facts an added punch.