Fast Food Nation Blog

Fast Food Nation
By: Eric Schlosser


1.) Fast food can affect the lives of millions in numerous ways. The ways that fast food affects life include things such as obesity, depresion, clogged arteries, raised blood pressure as well as a variety of other health related issues. Eating fast food is unhealthy and full of salt which can make you feel sick and that can cause depression. Not to mention the fact that more and more people are depending on fast food for meals each day instead of cooking a nutritious meal. This in turn, does not teach kids to cook healthy meals for themselves. On top of that the families who eat fast food for their meals are less likely to eat together which creates lack of social time and closeness with family. For younger kids, learning that it is alright to eat fast food all the time teaches a bad, unhealthy habit and may affect their social skills due to not eating together with their family.

2.) After reading, I learned that another negative impact caused by fast food is the decreased opportunity of becoming a small independent owned business. Also, I had not considered the struggle of the pre-existing self owned businesses has increased due to competition with the popular franchises and other coporations. Synergy plays a large role in convincing people to come and eat their fast food. Like McDonald's and the toy company that sponsors the toys in the kids 'happy' meals, this would be synergy. Each of these come together in order to try to attract more people. For example, when advertising that every happy meal comes with a toy then more families are attracted to come there for their kids. This creates more customers i.e more food bought and more toys sold to McDonald's from the toy company.