Fast Food Nation

What do you make of Schlosser’s treatment of Carl Karcher and Ray Kroc? Do you think it is fair, or perhaps even too fair? Explain.

Schlosser makes clear that the industrialization of food is a negative force in our culture. Explore why this is the case. What reasons does he provide?

Is the conglomeration of agribusiness into a small number of large corporations a natural result of capitalism? Explain the reasons for your answer.

What does the text have to say about the ethics of hiring migrant laborers from other countries?

The fast food industry created a business model that prioritizes homogeneity. In which other industries do you see the effects of this model?

After reading the book, will you change your own patterns of eating at fast food restaurants? Will you reduce your intake of fast food, or eliminate it entirely? If you do not eat fast food currently, what impact does the book have on you?

What does the opening of a store near the Dachau extermination camp reveal about the ethics of the McDonald’s corporation, if anything? Explain your reasoning.

How do you feel about the Americanization of other parts of the world through the fast food industry? Do you see this as a positive force or a negative one? Can it be both? Why?