George Guzman Period 2 April 28, 2011 Mrs.

Patterson

Question: Is the meat packing and fast food industry destroying human society?

Factory Workers

Roughly forty thousand men and women-suffer an injury or a work related illness that requires medical attention (Schlosser 172) Meatpacking workers routinely develop back problems, shoulder problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, and trigger finger (Schlosser 173) They have the same mentality to us workers as to the hogs. (Smithfield worker) The factory forces employees to sign a contract stating that they are not allowed to talk about what goes on in the factories lf one hand is no good, use the other (Schlosser 177) Workers are recent immigrants; many are illegals they can be fired without warning, for just about any reason (Schlosser 174)

Fast-Food Workers

fast food industry was lobbying Congress and the White House to pass new legislation- McDonalds bill- that would allow employers to pay sixteen and seventeen year olds kids 20 percent lower than minimum wage (Schlosser 37) Instead of relying upon a small, stable, well paid, and well trained workforce, the fast food industry seeks out part-time, unskilled workers who are willing to accept low pay (Schlosser 68) About two-thirds of the nations fast food workers are under the age of twenty (Schlosser 68) turned commercial kitchens into small factories, and changed familiar food into commodities that are manufactured (Schlosser 69)

Health

We are seeing conditions that we as pediatricians are not used to seeing in children (Park)
This gives both ethos and pathos because it makes the reader feel bad that the children are being put to harmful risks and some credibility is gained when she put we for many other pediatricians agree to her quote

approximately half a million Americans have been made ill by E. coli O157:H7. Thousands have been hospitalized, and hundreds have died (Schlosser 199)
This gives both ethos and logos because the author stated the statistics but it builds credibility because adding the O157:H7 helps to prove to the reader that he knows what he is writing by being precise

Overweight people of any age are at risk of not only betterknown ills like cardiac disease but also arthritis, joint damage and sleep apnea (Park)

Continued

Everyday in the United States, roughly 200,000 people are sickened by a food borne disease, 900 are hospitalized, and 14 die According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a quarter of the American population suffers a bout of food poisoning every year (Schlosser 195)
There ethos in this statement for the author verified the statement by adding the Center for Disease Control because they are an organization known for their research and statistics

We dont want to get to the point where children are so overweight, they have trouble moving (Park)
As the author puts the word we it gives the reader the understanding that we all have the same thought that children should not be in a terrible position and hints a call to action to the children

Fast-Food Greatest Target Kids

Media such as television, movies, magazines, billboards, internet, etc. has used techniques to lower in children to buy their products [McDonalds] built small Playlands and McDonaldlands all over the United States (Schlosser 42) Every month about 90 percent of American children between the ages of three and nine visit a McDonalds (Schlosser 47) Over the course of ten days in April of 1997, by including a Teenie Beanie Baby McDonaldss sold about 100 million Happy Meals (Schlosser 47)
As the reader reads this quote, it makes the reader to try and build imagery of the 100 million Happy Meals that was sold; we try to recognize the success and money that was made in that time

Continued

parents took their children to McDonalds because they want the kids to love themit makes them feel like good parents (Schlosser 50)
This ultimately leads to a paradox; parents may feel that taking your children will make them happy, but in the long run the fast food will ruin their health, good parents are suppose to help the children not put them at risk

McDonalds now has its own line of childrens videos starring Ronald McDonald. The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald is being produced by Klasky-Csupo, the company that makes Rugrats and Simpsons (Schlosser 48)
Ethos is being used in the quote because the reader will be able to understand how the show is famous because of the credibility of some hit shows like Rugrats and Simpsons

Just a Job

McDonalds is a business and its job is to sell not less, it doesnt care what food it sells (Nessal) I would give McDonalds credit for making positive changes but you cant overlook a tidal wave of bad food that their selling to the world with a few drops of goodness (Brownell)
Brownell uses the tidal wave to compare the destruction and chaos; it gives the reader an image of a city that is filled with people but as McDonalds comes in, it destroys the society in it

Well you have to make choices and personal responsibilities, make decisions on what you eat (Skinner) When they do well economically, we gain weight (Brownlee)

Court Cases
A court case was filed against Taco Bell for mislabeling their product and falsely advertising their product for being beef Ground beef by definition is 70% but tests show that it only has 35% of beef We are proud of the quality of our beef unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later-and got their facts absolutely wrong (Creed)

A lawsuit was filed against McDonalds for making misleading nutritional claims. The meat was fattier than regular beef Eating McDonalds food can easily fit into a balanced diet. I eat its food everyday, and Im perfectly healthy. (McDonalds spokesman)

Advertisement
Ethos: The logo gives off credibility to the advertisement, American Legends with the stars gives a patriotic tone to the ad Pathos: Variety of pizzas that look fresh, the website gives the customer an easier way to buy Logos: Large pizzas that has a cheap price of $13

Economy

youve ordered a cheeseburger value meal for $3.74 would you like to supersize that for only $4.47? Such a deal customer gets an extra 400 calories (Park) We skewed our food system to the bad calories they are cheaper because we are heavily subsidizing (Pollan) There will always be specials, deals, or coupons that will lower the price of their products, there will never be a time where they dont make an offer produce a lot of food, on a small amount of land, at an affordable price (Lobb)

Around the Globe

In 1990s, a survey found that half of the nations nine-andten-year-olds thought that Ronald McDonald knew what kids should eat (Schlosser 231) Germany is not only the largest country in Europe, but also the most Americanized facilitating the spread of American pop culture (Schlosser 232) In China, the proportion of overweight teenagers has roughly tripled in the past decade (Schlosser 242) Japanese are rapidly abandoning [their] diet consumption of red meat has been rising after World War II (Schlosser 242) Seven years before McDonalds opened its first restaurant in India [they taught] Indian farmers how to grow iceberg lettuce with seeds specially developed for the nations climate (Schlosser 230)

Conclusion

As the start of a revolutionary food industry, we quickly took the idea of fast food for lower price and succeed. As time flies by, the city became an area that faster is better but the smart break through, such as drive in, was adopted quickly and pulled out a new kind of culture. The culture of fast food is solid and spreads through-out the world, practically in every country. With such great success, the American people kept their eyes on the Big Mac, not the employees. Day by day workers enter in a world that the industry build, harsh labor and low income, but the only image we get from them is the commercials that they make. The health problem in this nation is getting worse and children are now victims of this tragedy. Overall, who wins the maker or the buyer? The only person who stands is the middle man; the fast food industry.

Work Cited

Kenner, Robert, Dir. Food, Inc.. Perf. Schosser, Eric. Magnolia Pictures : 2009, Film. Park, Alice. "Overweight Children: Living Large." Time (2008): n. pag. Web. 28 Apr 2011. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2005. Print. Wald, Jonathan. "Lawyers revise obesity lawsuit against McDonald's." CNN (2003): n. pag. Web. 20 Apr 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2003-0221/justice/obesity.lawsuit_1_samuel-hirsch-filet-o-fish-obesitylawsuit/2?_s=PM:LAW>. Weitzher, Mitch, Prod. Big Mac: Inside the McDonalds Empire. Perf. Quintanilla, Carl. CNBC: 2010, Film. <http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1409843942>.