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Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food
by Eric Schlosser, Charles W. Wilson
Book Reviewed by:Bestselling author Eric Schlosser takes what he learnt and documented in his popular book, Fast Food Nation, and presents it to preteens and adolescents - the fast food industry's biggest market.
Kids love fast food. And the fast food industry definitely loves kids. It
couldn’t survive without them. Did you know that the biggest toy company in
the world is McDonald’s? It’s true. In fact, one out of every three toys
given to a child in the United States each year is from a fast food
restaurant.
Not only has fast food reached into the toy industry, it’s moving into
our schools. One out of every five public schools in the United States now
serves brand name fast food. But do kids know what they’re eating? Where do
fast food hamburgers come from? And what makes those fries taste so good?
When Eric Schlosser’s best-selling book, Fast Food Nation, was published
for adults in 2001, many called for his groundbreaking insight to be shared
with young people. Now Schlosser, along with co-writer Charles Wilson, has
investigated the subject further, uncovering new facts children need to
know.
In Chew On This, they share with kids the fascinating and sometimes
frightening truth about what lurks between those sesame seed buns, what a
chicken ‘nugget’ really is, and how the fast food industry has been feeding
off children for generations.
Featuring cover art by M. Wartella.
Pull open the glass door and feel the rush of cool air. Step inside. Look at the
backlit color pictures of food above the counter, look at the cardboard ads for
the latest Disney movie, get in line, and place your order. Hand over some
money. Put the change back in your pocket. Watch teenagers in blue-and-
gold uniforms busy working in the kitchen. Moments later, grab the plastic
tray with your food, find an empty table, and sit down. Unwrap the burger,
squirt ketchup on the fries, stick the plastic straw through the hole in the lid
of your drink. Pick up the burger and dig in.
The whole experience of eating at a fast-food restaurant has
become so familiar, so routine, that we take it for granted. It has become just
another habit, like brushing your teeth before bed. We do it without even
thinking about it—and that’s the problem.
Every day about one out of fourteen Americans eats at a
McDonald’s. Every month about nine out of ten American...
Chew On This doesn't simply regurgitate the "original" (Fast Food Nation) in a simpler form; instead the information has been substantially rewritten to be of interest to a younger audience, with additional information added, such as how the fast-food industry affects the lives of young people beyond simply eating the stuff...continued
Full Review
(477 words)
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Eric Schlosser, an award-winning journalist, is a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly. His 2001 book, Fast Food Nation, is assigned reading at universities across the country; he is also the author of Reefer Madness (2003). He is currently working on a book about the prison system.
"It's easy to take the fast-...
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If you liked Chew on This, try these:
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Published 2006
Can man live on fast food alone? Spurlock tried to do just that for a month during which he gained twenty-five pounds, his blood pressure skyrocketed, and his libido all but disappeared. In this groundbreaking, hilarious book, Spurlock debuts a wry investigative voice that will appeal to anyone interested in the health of our country, our children...
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Published 2004
Critser's portrait of Fat America including forays into the diabetes ward of a major children's hospital make Fat Land a chilling but eloquent portrait of the cost in human lives - many of them very young lives - of America's obesity epidemic.
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