Online Sustainability Book CLub

[Lindy Ross Barnes]

Welcome to the new, improved (I hope:) sustainabillity book club. I do hope that many of our 39 members will be ready, willing, and able to participate in our online book discussions. If you are not a member - no problem. Sign up - it's FREE:) and join in.The current book for discussion is Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Mr. Schlosser was and still is a highly acclaimed journalist who has written articles on such topics as marijuana and the war on drugs, the prison system, as well as other highly controversial subjects. Mr. Schlosser holds both undergrad. and graduate degrees in history which gives him the background needed to follow through on historical research and data collection. Fast Food Nation had originally begun as a two-part article for Rolling Stone. However once the research began the amount of information discovered and uncovered by Mr. Schlosser was staggering. Two years and thousands of fast food meals later Mr. Schlosser published his first book in 2001. Although I had known of this book I had not read it until recently. I purchased a used paperback copy that had been published in 2002. The film of the same name based on the book was released in 2006. I know there have been recent updates and revisions to the book since it was first published so I am hoping those of you who have read these most recent editions will chime in and bring us all up to date on the current state of affairs in this industry.This book is so much more than just the preparation and consumption of the Happy Meal. There are costs involved in this industry that are so heavily embedded, so well covered-up and swept under the rug, that few of us ever give any thought to them unless we educate ourselves and are made aware of them. Issues involving the environment, animal and human rights, social justice and injustice, greed, corruption, politics, money laundering, coercion, psychological methods being used to motivate and manipulate, health and obesity, the rise of heart disease and diabetes and the list goes on. The real and true cost of that so-called "Happy Meal" had never before been made public until Mr. Schlosser researched, wrote and published Fast Food Nation.With that in mind let's begin our discussion with the first two chapters which are based on the history of the fast food industry. How and where it got its start and who were the people responsible for its birth. You will find names like McDonald brothers, Ray Kroc(an apt name:), California(where else) Walt Disney, Monsanto and Better Living Through Chemistry, Carl Karcher, General Motors, Mack Truck, Firestone, Standard Oil of CA, Henry Ford (assembly line) to mention only a few. As you begin reading you will find yourself wondering what do all of these companies have to do with the Big Mac? Well folks it takes more than cooking a hamburger to bring the Big Macs and Happy Meals to a waiting public hungry for cheap, fast food that tastes good. This is the book that brings about that awareness. This book should be on the required reading list of every student in every school beginning in middle school and on up. If my ELL 4th graders could read and understand this book it would be on my required reading list in my classroom. Even Joe Camel got involved in the first two chapters.So read on and tell us what you think. Let's try to stick to these first two chapters for our first discussion session and not get ahead of ourselves. One of the problems encountered in our in-person group was that we were too general. We started out by saying that we either liked or didn't like a book and the rest of the morning was spent in generalities, often not even in discussion regarding the book in question. I would like to try and maintain a focus in our online discussions.Thank you for your participation and support. Book discussions can be educational, informative eye-openers, awareness builders, a gaining of new perspectives, as well as a means of social contact. Although a book discussion isn't going to give you hands-on training in gardening or the building of a rain barrel it will help to build new dendrites and offer new ways of thinking and that can be equally as important. :-DIn two weeks I will introduce chapters 3 and 4. These chapters are based on the labor force and the effect this industry is having on a certain population of workers. Social injustice and discrimination!Onward and upward - Lindy

[Judy Tobar]

Hi everyone! I'm a bit behind on my reading, but FFN is fascinating, if a bit disheartening. I think the thing that struck me most in the first part of the book is how so many people think that factory farming, paving over famland, and mechanizing as much as possible is a good thing. There's a part where Carl (of Carl's Jr.) is talking about how so much land in southern California used to be citrus orchards, and now it's paved streets and mini malls, and he believes that's progress, a positive advancement. So against a mind set like that, anyone (like me, and I would guess most of the folks on this list) who believes in sustainable agriculture and a little bit of nature left in the world is fighting an uphill battle. I try not to let it get me down--just do my small part, like plant my own trees in my yard and buy from local organic farmers as much as possible, boycott companies like WalMart and Coke, almost never eat at fast food places, etc. It feels like such a tiny effort but if everyone did something it would make a big difference. Maybe even enough to counter the brainwashing effect that MacDonalds has on young kids. (Some adults I know too-yikes!) That was another interesting section in the book. Does MacDonalds engage in teaching and advertising, or brainwashery!?
Judy

[Hari Gopal Kaur]

Greetings Judy- I am not currently reading this book but did years ago and I can honestly say it changed my life - back then (years ago) I would frequent a fast food joint every blue moon- after reading this book I have never entered a McDonald's again and done my best to encourage others not to enter into any or other fast food establishements as well- I remember reading much of this book with my mouth gasped open and my hand over my mouth - in shock or disgust and definite dis-heartment over the words and stories - I later found out that a distant cousin at that a distant cousin at the time was working in a slaughter house in Pennsylvania and had gotten there by way of what is described in the book - from Puerto Rico- promises of a better life in the states and a good job- he went to the top of my prayer list- thank goodness he is not working there any more- and this book helped me deter other family members from making the journey...

Tiny efforts make big changes - I think all Americans, especially parents and teenagers should read this book-
great choice.

[Judy Tobar]

Hi Hari,
I agree. There is some shocking information in the book-the kinds of things that the fast food companies are careful to keep well hidden from the public. It's definitely something that more people ought to read to be aware of what goes on "behind the scenes" at places like McDonalds.
Take care,
Judy

[Lindy Ross Barnes]

Hi TCarmichael (sorry - I don't know your first name). Get the book, read and join the discussion with me. Absolutely no one -not one other person - has responded. It has been a good 3 weeks since I last posted and I won't post again until you have some input.

Lindy