To be read

After reading this book I can't decide who I am more disappointed with; the governments for ignoring the health and safety needs of everyone or the big corporations for refusing to acknowledge that there even is a problem and denying that they are exploiting their workers and putting them at great risk of injury and/or death never mind the fact that they pay them a pittance and deny them any benefits and bully them into not making claims when they are injured on the job.

This made me more disgusted than what actually ended up in the burgers.

The only light at the end of the tunnel whilst reading this book was the 2 british people that fought McDonalds in the court case McLibel. I was so pleased that someone has had the guts to stand up for themselves against the big corporations and say that what they are doing is wrong. It is just a shame that it was two ordinary people rather than the governments that are paid to protect our best interests and keep us safe. It seems governments are too busy taking money from the big corporations and actively helping them to continue in their illegal and immoral business dealings.

I am a very trusting person (or naive and gullible depending on your point of view), when someone tells me something I believe them unless proved otherwise and I am so shocked that this has been willingly covered up for all these years. Unfortunately I will now probably never believe anything a government minister says and it shows that greed seems to always take precedence over doing whats right.

I only hope that this book makes a difference to how this industry runs although after reading some of the reviews that were included at the end of the book I am guessing that the cover up may well continue.

I would recommend that everyone reads this book and will probably send it out as a bookring.

This book will be posted out as an International Bookring.

The Rules:

1. When you receive the book please journal it to let everyone else know how far it has got.
2. PM the next person on the list for their address, ready for when you finish the book.
3. After you've read it please journal again with your comments and let us know that you've posted it on.
4. Last on the list to receive the book should pm/email me for my address so that it can be posted back to me when the person has finished it.

The Members:
causticangel (York, UK)
winterson (Brighton, UK)
jjc (Glasgow, UK)
jenny72 (Harrogate, UK)
verenka (Vienna, Austria)
elhamisabel (Hessen, Germany)
annie-sunshine (Illinois, USA)<------------- currently with
jkiehle (New York, USA) Prefers US Shipping
mrsordonez (Missouri, USA)
hannahsc5 (Vancouver, Canada)
phillycarol (Pennsylvania, USA) US Shipping
stellertony (Alaska, USA) US Shipping
lucinda (California, USA) Int Shipping
Niksu (Helsinki, Finland) Int Shipping



............. and back to me

Released on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 at about 11:00:00 AM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at BookRing in Book Ring, A Bookring Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Bookring sent to causticangel.

Arrived in the post this morning! Am looking forward to reading it. :)

Thanks FiBe!

Posted onwards this morning. Thanks for organising this, FiBe!

A very interesting & disturbing read. Must have a look for something similar which focuses more on the UK/Europe, though as although it is not clear if the specific problems he is describing are occurring in countries other than the USA, it is clear that the attitudes and structure of the system is causing other, comparable problems.

Received this last week, thanks Causticangel - love the bookmark. Got one to go before this, but will get onto it as fast as I can, cos it looks really good, and I've wanted to read it since it came out.

Some books change your life. Some of them make you look at yourself in a different light, and some make you look at others in a different life. This one did both to me.
After reading this book I can honestly say I will never step foot in another Macdonalds, Burger King, KFC or Pizza Hut, or any of the other big fast food chains that work under the same premise. I have also made a concerted effort to only buy meat that is from a REAL farm rather than a battery one. Yes it's more expensive, but I wouldn't have it any other way now. This book really affected me and my views, and made me realise the larger implications of what I was eating. So now my local independant butchers have a new loyal customer, as does the local organic veg company, and independant dairy stall in the market.
Reading that back, it makes me sound very holier than thou, but I'm just an ordinary bod doing a dull 9-5, on a crappy wage. I used to think it was too expensive to buy all that 'organic crap', but reading FFN has convinced me to make the effort to look into it properly, and I've found some great places that sell decent food for fair money.
As for my view of the governments involved in all this corruption... well I'm sure I'm not supposed to use that kind of language on here.. But hopefully, the more people that read this book and make an effort to change the way they view, and buy, their food, the better, and the closer we will come to change.
Thanks to FiBe for starting this ring. I'm off to BCUK now to tell everyone that they HAVE to read it.
Off to Jjc.

Got it! I'm just off to McDonald's for a quick snack - will start reading as soon as I get back ;)

Whoa!!! I'm glad I had that Big Mac before I started because I think it was probably my last!

This is a book about all those things you sort of suspect but don't like to actually think about too much in case they put you off your food. There's no dancing around the subject; we just get stuck straight in, up to our armpits in offal. From corporate greed and political scandal to the Mafia and cattle-burning power stations , there's something for everyone.

I shall leave you with five words from the end of a particularly revealing chapter. These five words are responsible for a 24-hour delay on this book-ring as I put the book aside and struggled to comprehend what I'd been stuffing down my throat for years… I don't think I'll ever forget them.

"There's shit in the meat!"

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Watch out Jenny72; it's on the move!

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Added 15th February -

The latest on the McLibel case.

TBR.

Received today. That was a speedy posting! Thanks for the card. Can't wait to read this one but may take JoeSoap's advice and eat a juicy steak for tea!

I enjoyed reading this book of facts and figures but I don't feel that it deserves the hype. It's not as shocking as I had imagined and a lot of what he writes about (the bad hygiene, exploited workers, underage workers, etc.) must happen thoughout all types of food production - not just fast food and all types of industry. I think I started this book hoping to be surprised at what was written but unfortunately I wasn't.

I would've liked more information about the worldwide state of affairs - not just the US point of view. As far as I could gather from the book, the McDonalds in the UK could be perfectly safe places to eat. At one point in the book he does state that the standard of meat had to be much higher than the US standard to be good enough to export to Europe.

I did love the chapter about the UK 'McLibel' court case which at the time the book was written had been ongoing for 11 years and was causing considerable embarassment to McDonalds!

All in all it's a very interesting book and I learnt a few things about why fast food tastes the way it does but won't be changing my eating habits overnight.

Edited to add (21.09.05): I haven't eaten a burger since reading this book in February! I can't bring myself to. Now I know that the fries are 'flavoured' I've gone off eating those too. Ho hum!

Edited again to add (05.03.08): Guess what... I *still* haven't eaten a burger or fries!!!

arrived by mail today. I'm so looking forward to this one!
thank you jenny72 :-) !

Wow, I must say I think this is a great book!
When I signed up for the bookring I thought the book would be like "Supersize Me", so I was pleasantly surprised, when it actually was much more than that. It didn't only cover topics like health and food quality, but all the aspects of fast food chains. I just wasn't aware about the impact they have on the labour market, the supplying companies, even real estate. I was really impressed by this book, you could tell from the fact that all my co-workers, friends, and family members now know all about it.
While the information in "Supersize Me" made me decide not to go to McDonald's anymore, since reading "Fast Food Nation" I want to avoid all kinds of Franchise Chain Stores and Restaurants. I think a consious decision not to support them anymore is the only way to change anything in the system.

Thanks, FiBe, for sharing this book!

I'll post it to elhamisabel tomorrow!

I've recieved it just now.
As another ring arrived at the same time, it may take a while till I can send it on. I'll be as quick as possible!

Thanks very much FiBe and verenka!

FOr years I've been reluctant to eat at McDonald and Co. Now I know that I was perfectly right in doing so.
I suspected many of the things that were described in the book but wasn't sure about.
Until now, I've been eating at Fast Food chains maybe once every six months.
This book now put me off Fast Food even more. Just to show that I do not think their behaviour towards customers, workers, whole communities and animals is right, I won't buy there anymore. And I'll spread the word. It's awful what they do to the whole world!

I've been watching the McLibel case very closely and I was very happy about its outcome in February.

Still, despite all the true stuff Schlosser writes, I couldn't help but think that he's too prejudiced. I would have liked a more neutral point of view. But I guess it's not up to me to ask for such a thing. After all, I'm very glad that there're people who aren't afraid to write books about such crimes.

I'll send it on to annie-sunshine tomorrow.

It's on its way to annie-sunshine.

Have fun!

I just recieved the book and I cant wait to read it!

I am hoping this book is travelling but it's looking more likely that this book is lost/MIA :(

Update 22/12/05

The book has been returned to me, so I have pm'd mrsordonez to see if she still wants to take part in the ring and hopefully it will be re-activated.

RELEASE NOTES:

Re-activating Bookring and sent to mrsordonez.

Arrived safely, no time to journal. Catch up later. Thanks so much!!!

Edited to add: I'm still working on reading this, I've gotten a bit behind, sorry, but am now 1/2 way through and expect to be done soon. I already have the next reader's address to send it out upon finishing. 3/24/06

This will go to stellartony on my next trip to the post office.

I have to admit I wasn't too pleased with the writing style, I found it wandering and a bit distracted. It did, however, contain some very important information, and for this I do recommend the read, kind of on the same level as No Logo .

I've never been a hamburger eater, so I wasn't surprised at the condition of the meat. I did disgust my husband, though, just by telling him that a McDonald's hamburger can be composed of as many as 1,000 cows. I've grossed out my best friend with this fact as well. I was appalled at the conditions in the meat packing plants, and am surprised that the government hasn't been able to exert much control (that McDonald's was able to affect a quicker change from it's suppliers was astounding).

The contents of the McNuggets did me in, I haven't been able to eat one since. Maybe the Chicken Selects are ok? I don't know, now not only do we have to be afraid of BSE but bird flu as well.

I thought, ok, maybe pork, but then after this read, I picked up Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake and now am afraid of pigoons.

I guess it'll be carbs.. pasta and beans? for me for a while until I fell ok with meat again.

I'm glad I read this, but my stomach isn't....

ETA: Mailed 4.7.06

Arrived in mailbox today, though I'm confused as to why it skipped a couple of people. Can someone enlighten me?

Edit: Will be done in a couple of days.

I learned a lot from this book (and if I weren't already a vegetarian, I would probably be one now!) It's truly appalling that governments and these multinational corporations are conspiring to make the most money possible, at the expense of small business and public health. Fast Food Nation seems to be a well-researched, informative book that should open the eyes of some people and assist others in campaigning against the conspirators.

On its way to Lucinda in the morning. Side note: how many of you plan to see the movie when it comes out?

Just arrived. Thanks, stellartony and fibe!

Eye opening. I can't say I've entirely given up fast food, but I sure think twice now before grabbing that burger and fries.

The book has finally arrived to Finland. Looking forward to this one! Thanks for sending, Lucinda.

I have Pm'd Fibe and since she had changed her mind wanting this back and instead says that the book is mine to do with as I wish, I'm not going to hurry to finish reading this right away. I have one ringbook waiting which I'm going to start and hope to come back to this book soon.

I finished this yesterday. Interesting but a bit scary too. I'm a vegetarian but if not already, would probably became one after reading this book. I'm quite sensitive what comes to these kind of things with food.

Still, I dare to say that a lot described in this book are different here in Finland. Authorities control for hygiene all the time and working conditions are not that poor. It just not happen that in schools there would be specific McDonald's or Pizza Hut days. In Finland we have free food to pupils and no need the try to find ways to teach children that cafeteria is a cool place to hang out...

But, foods in McDonald's in Finland are not only from Finland but also from Sweden, Denmark, England, Germany. So never know...

I'll try to find a way to pass this book on again. Thanks FiBe for chance to read this book.

Sending to RustyReader2 as part of the "For You -- Only The Best" relay. Hope you enjoy!

Arrived safe and sound today! I can't wait to get this book started..this is one of the books that I have been looking forward to reading.