What We Eat

            In his essay, “What We Eat”, Eric Schlosser explores how the growth of the fast food industry has changed the United States. Eric Schlosser argues that fast food has become a part of American life whether we realize it or not. This is evidenced when Schlosser states, “During a relatively brief period of time, the fast food industry has helped to transform not only the American diet, but also our landscape, economy, workforce, and popular culture.” In other words, the fast food industry has slowly but surely began to influence more and more of our daily lives.  In his essay, Schlosser uses various methods of writing to support his argumentation such as definition, comparison, and description.

            Schlosser employs the method of definition in his essay when he defines uniformity. According to Schlosser uniformity is “The key to a successful franchise, according to many texts on the subject.” Moreover he states, “Franchises and chain stores strive to offer exactly the same product or service at numerous locations. Customers are drawn to familiar brands by an instinct to avoid the unknown.” What Schlosser tries to get at here is that through the use of uniformity the fast food industry creates this sense of reliance upon the fast food industry.

            The next method Schlosser employs is description. Schlosser uses description to depict what it’s like to walk into a fast food restaurant. For instance, Schlosser writes, “Pull open the glass door, feel the rush of cool air, walk in, get on line, study the backlit color photographs above the counter, place your order, hand over a few dollars, watch teenagers in uniforms pushing various buttons, and moments later take hold of a plastic tray full of food wrapped in colored paper and cardboard.” Although we’re all probably familiar with this experience Schlosser really brings focus to the things we might not pay heed to on a normal occasion.

            Finally, Schlosser uses the method of comparison. In his essay, Schlosser uses comparison when discussing Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. Schlosser writes, ”The McDonald’s Corporation is the largest owner of retail property in the world. Indeed, the company earns the majority of its profits not from selling food but from collecting rent.” Indeed McDonald’s is everywhere we go with approximately 2000 new locations opening every year. Furthermore, Schlosser compares the McDonalds logo to the Christian Cross. He states, “McDonald’s spends more money on advertising and marketing than any other brand. As a result it has replaced Coca-Cola as the world’s most famous brand.”

            The benefits of combining methods like Schlosser did are that it helps him further support his argument. His use of multiple methods also serves to maintain the reader attention because it also makes it much easier to understand. While, I found Schlosser’s writing style to be fascinating and direct to the point, which I enjoyed because he didn’t skirt around the subject.

            I completely agree with Schlosser. The fast food industry has slowly taken over our lives. There are McDonalds almost everywhere. In fact, just in my neighborhoods there are three McDonalds, and although there are plenty of options whenever I walk by the McDonalds they’re full because people are afraid of the unkown.