Fast Food Nation

[Hercules]

This Friday night the movie Fast Food Nation opens in theatres nationwide. Fast Food Nation is a movie based on the non-fiction book written by Eric Schlosser. It is not a documentary. The book made many, many people go veg, largely due to health reasons. Like the book, the film is NOT an animal rights movie. It is mostly a movie about immigrant workers, but it makes meat seem really dirty and disgusting. The premise of the movie: “how is poop getting in the meat?” In screenings across the country and abroad, people were educated for the first time and said that they’d never be able to eat meat again – some will and some won’t, but it is having that effect.

 

This is not a documentary, but as said before, it is based on the findings of the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.

 

More information and the trailor can be found here: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/fastfoodnation/

[Shavethewhales]

Meh, sounds over-done to me.

Yes, the fast-food industry can belch out some pretty nasty products, but alot of this looks like it was backed secretly by PETA and other interested parties. I'm well aware that what I pay $1 for in a fast food restraunt will most probably not be too good for me, but a big mac every blue moon won't kill me, nor anyone else.

 

But yeah, I can see some good points being made in this movie. Far to many people eat way to much fast food, and end up sick and fat and somehow don't know why, so maybe this will teach them a lesson.

[Hercules]

Why is everything always secretly backed by PETA? I hate it when people say that.

 

It was a book by Eric Schlosser. It was only by Eric Schlosser. He was an avid meat eater. None of his research was swayed by opinions. He went out and did the research himself. The movie is based off of his findings.

 

And the movie and book isn't just about fast food. There are a bunch of meanings within the movie and book. It reveals underlying things about the fast food industry, corporate America and how employees are treated within the industry.

[CoasterFanatic]

You could show me a factory worker embedding razor blades in a dead cow and I would still crave a nice juicy Filet Mignon.

[robbalvey]

I don't understand movies like this and that HORRIBLE Super Size Me movie. Why do people need a movie to help them make decisions? Oh, I get it, because most people can't do it on their own.....

 

*sigh*

 

If I *choose* to do something that might be "bad" for me, I don't need a book or a movie or a warning sticker to remind me that I should or should not be doing that. All I need is my own brain.

 

Movies like this just create unnecessary drama, IMO. What *REALLY* are they trying to prove? "Fast Food really isn't good for you." NO SH1T? Really??!!? Although, honestly, I actually don't think it's that BAD for you either....in moderation.

 

IMO, this movie/book serves no point at all and damages our society more than it helps. All it does is hurt perfectly good businesses in order for someone else to make a buck by telling people how they should think. Where is the value in that?

 

--Robb "Just wait until the movie where they tell everyone that roller coasters are bad for you too, you think there are a lot of parks closing now...." Alvey

[Hercules]

^ Haven't you seen the studies that show that roller coasters are bad for you?

 

I don't see this as trying to sway people's opinions. I see it all as giving everyone all of the information. Now, I completely agree that if you choose to do something that is considered bad for you, then you have the right to do that. And if you do it when you as much information as you can have at the time, then more power to you. It is just when people don't take all of the information at hand into effect when making decisions that makes me mad.

 

And like I said before, this movie and book are not just about the food. I truly believe that these are not "perfectly good businesses". There are things wrong with how they are run and how they treat their employees.

 

I don't believe this causes drama either. If it weren't for people going out and doing projects like this we would all be floating around in our ignorant bubbles for the duration of our lives.

[Robgraves]

i think part of the problem and maybe part of the reasons movies like super-size me and ffn are needed is the fact that there is a large segment of the population that DOES believe it is good for you.. or at the very least doesn't think it is bad for you... in massive quantities.

[ginzo]

I found Super Size Me to be a moderately entertaining film. But, Morgan Spurlock cheated in it. He did two things simultaneously:

 

1) Radically changed his diet from being virtually vegetarian to eating McDonald's 3 times per day.

 

2) Drastically reduced his exercise.

 

This made his already questionable pseudoexperiment completely bogus. He should have only changed his diet. In Science you only manipulate one variable at a time. Otherwise, it's impossible to pinpoint what causes the observed changes.

[Hercules]

^ 1. He was not a vegetarian. His girlfriend was a vegan.

 

2. He reduced his exercise because the food was dragging him down.

[ginzo]

^ 1. He was not a vegetarian. His girlfriend was a vegan.

 

2. He reduced his exercise because the food was dragging him down.

 

He ate a virtually vegetarian diet, because his gf is a vegan chef. Going from vegetarian to McDonalds 3 times a day is a bit of a shock to the old system.

 

In as far as I recall, he eliminated his exercise, walking 5 miles per day, because this would make him more like "an average american". This only served to invalidate his fake experiment. Change one thing at a time.

[Robgraves]

Actually, if he is trying to prove that the average American diet and exercise regimen was destructive, then i think doing it in that way proved its point.

[ginzo]

Actually, if he is trying to prove that the average American diet and exercise regimen was destructive, then i think doing it in that way proved its point.

 

Well, it was supposed to be an indictment against the fast food industry, not something as nebulous as "the average American diet and exercise regiment". But, because he changed both at the same time, there's no way to determine what caused his vast physiological changes. Was it the McDonalds, the lack of exercise, a combination of both? No way to separate that out.

 

Also, I don't think he even succeeded in the way you describe. Nobody eats McDonald's 3 meals a day for an entire month, at least the average American does not.

 

I don't, however, think it was a terrible film, like Robb does. I found parts of it entertaining, though slightly disturbing. The film has great shock value.

[jaap]

A news reporter from the dutch newspaper "algemeen dagblad" also went on a all mcdonalds diet after the release of the movie.

But he didn't gain weight because he also eat the salads and the yoghurts.

 

But I did find the movie entertaining, because I didn't take it to seriously.

 

I went to the usa for the first time in my life last september, and the truth is that small size drinks in america are called large in europe aint that funny.

 

btw I loved the states and will return some day.

[robbalvey]

And like I said before, this movie and book are not just about the food. I truly believe that these are not "perfectly good businesses". There are things wrong with how they are run and how they treat their employees.

Can't you say that about pretty much ALL businesses? Seriously....has anyone here ever worked at a company where there wasn't *something* to complain about? Even when I worked at Disneyland, the "happiest place on earth" it wasn't perfectly run...but you dealt with it, because the grass is not always greener other places.

 

I just don't understand why some of these businesses seemed run just fine for, in some cases, decades, and now we need a movie and a book to tell us "oh, yeah.....french fries and hamburgers might not be the most healthy thing to eat."

 

Again, I just don't see the point.

 

--Robb

[Hercules]

Shouldn't we strive to make things better though? Why should we settle?

 

Looking away from fast food for the moment, let's look at what happened with the corporate world when the Enron scandal hit. For years companies had gotten away with faulty accounting systems that allowed them to cheat the system through embezzlement and what have you. Then, with the Enron blow up, Sarbanes-Oxley was put into effect which basically reiterated the rules and regulations that were already in place but were not being followed. Auditors were much stricter and financial systems were and have been much harder to cheat. Now, corporations are complaining that they have to spend more money to adhere to the regulations. They are basically crying that they cannot cheat the system anymore, but all-in-all, isn't it the right thing to do? Where did the term business ethics go?

 

Going back to food service and fast food - There are currently regulations for food service and employment which are regulated by the FDA and OSHA. They cannot do all of the work though. It is the job of the members of society to bring problems to their attention. These organizations are basically getting away with murder.

 

This isn't even about fast food. Sure, it is a fast food premise that the move is based around. But this is more of a human rights issue. Like I said before, shouldn't we strive for some sort of perfection and not settle just because?

[ginzo]

And like I said before, this movie and book are not just about the food. I truly believe that these are not "perfectly good businesses". There are things wrong with how they are run and how they treat their employees.

Can't you say that about pretty much ALL businesses? Seriously....has anyone here ever worked at a company where there wasn't *something* to complain about?

 

I have. My employer is perfect. We're all multibillionaires from the booming stock value. Our management team is all Rhodes Scholars and Nobel Laureates. We get 56 weeks of vacation per year, 10 free massages per day, free breakfast, free lunch, and everybody has a corner office. We also have a private amusement park for breaks, complete with 75 roller coasters, all B&M custom.

[robbalvey]

Going back to food service and fast food - There are currently regulations for food service and employment which are regulated by the FDA and OSHA. They cannot do all of the work though. It is the job of the members of society to bring problems to their attention. These organizations are basically getting away with murder.

I honestly don't believe that's the case. What I believe is that sensationalist media is convincing people of this.

 

Obviously it's working.

 

And someone is making money off you on top of it!

 

--Robb "Again, if these companies were that bad, they wouldn't have been around for decades after decades." Alvey

[ginzo]

http://www.slate.com/id/2153941/?nav=tap3

 

Here's a decent piece on this movie. I don't think I'll be seeing it. I'm going to see Casino Royale instead, even if Sean Connery is the only real Bond.

[roasted_marshmallow]

I know this thread is about Fast Food Nation, but I wanted to comment on the Super Size Me comments...

 

Does the average American really eat all three meals at McDonald's every day? Really? Likely no. Even when I worked in a mall with a McDonald's it was only once a day and at max, 5 days a week. That's 16 meals at McDonald's/week difference, and that's a lot.

 

Also, a friend of mine decided he should gain weight... and decided to do it Super Size Me style. He lasted 3 days before he was vomiting and losing weight. He went from being a bit of a health nut to that, and that's the result. Couldn't even last a week. I just use that example to point out how extreme a diet change that really is, even if you sometimes eat McD's.

 

Also, another person (this one a gym teacher in Edmonton) decided to do the Super Size Me diet... but didn't change his excercise habits. He didn't gain a pound. He did it to prove to his students how important excercise is. They also learned their lesson. You CAN eat fast food three times a day and remain healthy.

[dandaman]

I read the book a few months ago... it was interesting, to say the least, but it certainly didn't turn me off of fast food.

 

Dan "Eww, tainted meat, etc... Hey, Monopoly's back? Let's go to McD's!" Smith

[cfc]

^^One of the requirements that Spurlock used in his Supersize Me experiment was to get as little exercise as the "typical" American; ergo, he kept his walking down to 5,000 steps per day (and quit going to the gym).

 

I'm not surprised that his health went downhill, I'm just suprised at how fast. And, yes, McDonald's does provide food that is loaded with sugar, salt, and caffeine (which are addicting). Then again, so did most of our grandmothers ("More biscuits and gravy, please? Is there any of that pie left?").

 

So, while I agree that Spurlock stacked the deck in his documentary, I think he makes some valid points, especially regarding the options kids have for school lunch programs. Parents need to teach kids to choose wisely, too.

[Rollerholden]

I feel inclined to see the movie, since last year I read the book and did a report on it in English class. I'm glad the movie isn't a documentary-type like the book was.

[J man]

Just wait until the movie where they tell everyone that roller coasters are bad for you too

 

I think that movie already came out it's called Final Destination 3.

[phazan]

I saw the movie, and it really wasn't about fast food being bad for you at all. It was a story about immigrants coming from Mexico and experiencing all the nasty stuff that goes into the food. It was more about the nasty stuff like cow crap making it's way into the meat. I didn't find one thing in there that was talking about how fast food is unhealthy. I don't really think it is fair to compare Fast Food Nation to Supersize Me, they are a lot different that each other.

 

If any of you have read The Jungle , this is pretty much the same story.

 

It sounds like some of you guys are judging the movie before doing any research on it.

[coasters 4 me]

We watched the Trailer of this film in Biology. We are doing all about Fast Foods. Some parts made me realise how much crap is in our fast food. Like when they are in the Chemical Lab and the guys tastes something, with like a million bottles behind him.