Here are some fast facts on fast food in America: the average American will eat three hamburgers and four orders of fries this week. 90% of American children between ages three and nine will stop at a McDonald’s this month. 12% of American workers have gotten a paycheck from McDonald’s.
10 percent of the American boy’s calories come out of a soda can. If you can say “two all-beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun,” and most of us can, you know how the selling of fast food has become part of the culture.
But did you know that the beef flavor comes from a chemical factory in New Jersey? Or that McDonalds, with more than 8000 private playlands, has transformed the art of marketing to children? Fast food has retooled our diets, but also the landscape of ranching and labor relations and real estate development. Join us for Eric Schlosser’s bite out of the dark side of the all-American meal.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Eric Schlosser, correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, and author of “Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal.”