When was Chew on This published?
Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson's Chew on This was published by Houghton Mifflin in Boston, 2006. The book, a version of Schlosser's bestselling Fast Food Nation aimed at the youth market, became a bestseller and received accolades from reviewers writing for national newspapers and journals. Representatives from the fast food industry, however, did not appreciate the book's approach or its rhetoric and created a media backlash to challenge the “indigestible propaganda,” “factual errors,” and “misconceptions about food production.”
What is the book Chew on This about?
In the fashion of Upton Sinclair 's The Jungle —which revealed the dangerous, unhealthy, and unfair world of the meatpacking industry at the turn of the twentieth century— Chew on This provides a gritty perspective on the fast food industry of today. Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson use statistics, personal interviews, and published research to prove America's dependence on the fast food industry, as well as the impact the industry has on America's economic, social, and physical well-being. Though the subject matter of the book resonates with Schlosser's previous book, Fast Food Nation, Chew on This is written for young adults.
WHAT DO I READ NEXT?
Greg Critser's Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World (2003) began—much like Schlosser and Wilson's Chew on This —as a cover story in Harper's Magazine. Critser, like Schlosser and Wilson, discusses how ingredients like corn syrup and palm oil as well as fast-food marketing strategies supersize our bodies. With his view toward obesity as an epidemic, Critser digs deep into the physical and psychological ramifications of being fat. Critser also sheds light on how poverty, obesity, and social victimization go hand in hand. Like Schlosser and Wilson, he exposes these issues in an attempt for public and personal change.
What is a vignette in Chew on This?
A vignette is a short descriptive scene that illuminates a character or theme in a particular way. For example, Schlosser and Wilson use a vignette about the town Martinsburg, West Virginia, to show how the once-rural area gradually became a bustling suburb due to the construction of highways and the influx of fast food chains. Schlosser and Wilson also use the story of Sam Fabrikant, a young man who had complications from his gastric bypass surgery, as a vignette that illustrates the health problems associated with obesity and the overconsumption of fast food. At the start of the book, the authors offer a vignette of “Hamburger Charlie,” a man in Wisconsin credited with the invention of the first hamburger in 1885, to mark the humble beginnings of fast food.
What is the afterword of Chew on This?
The afterword of Chew on This, is about both the direct and indirect public response to the book. Not long after the book's release, former President Bill Clinton and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee joined forces with the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo to begin reform that would remove “sugary soft drinks” from schools by 2010. The Walt Disney Corporation ended its marketing relationship with McDonald's. Some companies launched a publicity campaign and websites to counter the ideas in the book and offer their version of the story. Write a two-page paper describing your position on the issues presented in the book. For example, do you think soda machines in schools make a difference in the health and well-being of you and your fellow students? Do you see a problem with the low wages and long hours of fast food restaurant employees? Do you notice a correlation between advertising and your desire to consume certain fast food products?
What did John Spargo write about hunger?
John Spargo wrote a book in 1906 called The Bitter Cry of Children in which he exposed the horrible fact that two million children in the United States were starving because of poverty. Spargo claimed that children who were chronically hungry would not perform as well in school and that funding to boost a child's nutrition would help that particular child learn better. Not long afterward, Dr. William Maxwell advocated for a government-sponsored school lunch program in New York City so students could purchase meals at a reasonable and affordable price. In the 1930s, President Roosevelt developed a new program in which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would purchase food from farmers and deliver it to schools. This food was used to help feed less-fortunate children and was the start of a national school lunch program. In 1946, Congress created the National School Lunch Act, which protected the “health and well-being of the nation's children.” Decades later, as fast food companies courted school administrators and offered opportunities for scholarship and funding, the government wondered if fast food went against the goal of the National School Lunch Act. The USDA decided to prevent schools from selling “foods of minimal nutritional value,” but the National Soft Drink Association and other food companies did not think the ban was fair and took the USDA to court. After losses and appeals, the final judgment was in favor of the sale of junk food, with some limitations. Today, schools use the sale of junk food and soda to fund extracurricular activities and the costs associated with those activities.
Why was John Bushey called the Coke Dude?
In 1998, John Bushey, then administrator at District 11 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was known as “The Coke Dude” because he encouraged teachers and school principals at local schools to place soda machines in high-traffic areas within the schools and to allow students to drink soda in the classroom. In effect, he was pushing the schools to sell Coca-Cola so the schools could get a share of the profits.
What is the book "Chew on this" about?
The book, "Chew On This." by Eric Schlosser and Charlie Wilson is about all the things that fast food and junk food/drinks do. At the beginning they talk about how most of the popular foods were made ... Read full review
What does "chew on this" tell us?
Chew on this tells a lot of details of fast food. It tells how a hamburger was invented, how French fries are made, hear the life of a chicken before it turned into a chicken nugget, and see what ... Read full review
When was Fast Food Nation published?
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.
When was Chew On This first published?
Chew On This was first published in 2006, is an adaptation of the main work created by Schlosser and Charles Wilson for younger readers. This book follows the general plot structure of Fast Food Nation, but simplifies its predecessor's original content to make it more readable for younger children.
What is the difference between the American Way and the meat and potatoes book?
The book is divided into two sections: "The American Way" and "Meat and Potatoes". "The American Way" the first part, takes a historical view of the fast food business by analyzing its beginnings within post-World War II America while "Meat and Potatoes" examines the specific mechanisms of the fast-food industry within a modern context as well as its influence.
What is Schlosser's attitude to food safety?
Publishers Weekly wrote, "While cataloguing assorted evils with the tenacity and sharp eye of the best investigative journalist, [Schlosser] uncovers a cynical, dismissive attitude to food safety in the fast food industry and widespread circumvention of the government's efforts at regulation enacted after Upton Sinclair's similarly scathing novel exposed the meat-packing industry 100 years ago. By systematically dismantling the industry's various aspects, Schlosser establishes a seminal argument for true wrongs at the core of modern America."
When did Rolling Stone ask Schlosser to write an article?
Rolling Stone asked Schlosser to write an article looking at America through fast food in 1997 after reading his article on migrants in Atlantic Monthly. He then spent nearly three years researching the fast-food industry, from the slaughterhouses and packing plants that turn out the burgers to the minimum-wage workers who cook them to ...
What is the dark side of the all American meal?
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is a 2001 book by Eric Schlosser. First serialized by Rolling Stone in 1999, the book has drawn comparisons to Upton Sinclair 's 1906 muckraking novel The Jungle. The book was adapted into a 2006 film of the same name, directed by Richard Linklater .
When was Fast Food Nation the Dark Side of the All American Meal made?
This article is about the book. For the film, see Fast Food Nation (film). Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is a 2001 book by Eric Schlosser. First serialized by Rolling Stone in 1999, the book has drawn comparisons to Upton Sinclair 's 1906 muckraking novel The Jungle.
Who is Lester Crawford?
Lester Crawford, director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy at Georgetown University and a former meat inspector for the USDA, says he has read only "snippets" of Schlosser's book but calls it "well-intentioned criticism.".
Introduction
Author Biography
Plot Summary
Characters
Media Adaptations
Themes
Style
Topics For Further Study
Historical Context
Critical Overview
- Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson's Chew on This was published by Houghton Mifflin in Boston, 2006. The book, a version of Schlosser's bestselling Fast Food Nationaimed at the youth market, became a bestseller and received accolades from reviewers writing for national newspapers and journals. Representatives from the fast food industry, however, di...