Fast Food Nation

[hardheadjarhead]

This reminds me of the book "Diet For a New America" by John Robbins. He was heir to the Baskin-Robbins estate and was readying himself to get into the family business and decided one of the best ways to do that would be to visit the dairy farms. He was shocked, but continued on to the slaughterhouses which incensed him to visit poultry farms and porcine processing plants.

He is now vegan and has completely denounced his family business and fortune.

Robbins is interviewed by Morgan Spurlock in "Supersize Me", the documentary Peachmonkey makes reference to. I read Robbins' book...it was good. I didn't eat meat for four years after that.

RP 700...I can see how one could confuise the documentary by Spurlock with Eric Schlosser's book. They both cover much of the same ground. Spurlock is the one who followed the McD's diet for a month. Schlosser's book is much more in-depth. Spurlock's movie is kind of funny...but hits the point. Schlosser's book is not funny...and really hammers home a number of points. What shocked me were the similarities between parts of Schlosser's book and "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair.

I recommend both the book by Schlosser and the documentary by Spurlock. Robbins' book is also good...though I'm not advocating anybody become a vegan. Sinclair ought not be skipped, either.




Regards,


Steve

 

[Feisty Mouse]

After HHJH recommended this book I read it - and could scarcely put it down. It was very well-written and engrossing. Schlosser ties together so many cultural aspects that are seemingly disparate - like agribuisness and union-busting, to obesity, to the rise of hostage-takings and murders at fast food chains (often by former employees), to the creation of unskilled labor jobs where people are discarded easily and given no benefits.

And, for those creeped out by it but not wanting to go vegan (although I recommend a vegetarian diet, it's very good for you), please if you can find a local farm, or a store which sells locally-raised and butchered meat. I think you'll have a much better chance at healthy (and hormone and antibiotic free) meat then.

 

[shesulsa]

A-greed! My in-laws raise cattle for their beef and they feed on organic, locally-grown grains and mow what lawn their owners can provide for them. My stomach never complains after eating that beef, though I always get indigestion after commercially-raised beef. It has been studied and proven, I think, though I do not have the reference right now, that the fats and proteins in naturally-raised / free-range cattle break down easier and are more easily assimilated by humans than commercially farmed beef and that cholesterol levels are lower in humans who consume organic beef.

I'll try to find the statistics on that study, but my priorities are elsewhere right now and can't promise how soon I'll post them. If anybody else has heard of this and has a link to the study, please feel free to post.

Tastes better, too. Same with chicken and turkey.

 

[Makalakumu]

When I was a boy, my parents and my grandparents taught me how to hunt, fish and garden. The old skills that people used before the depression have always been very important in my family. They proved invaluable when my father got sick. For years, we survived off of the food we obtained with our own hands and we ate very little processed food.

I remember going out with my bow before sunrise and taking a deer by breakfast. My mother would come home to the animal hanging in the garage as I was busily working at butchering. My grandfather's method is very simple and I had seen him and helped him do it at our annual family pig roast many a time.

The bottom line is that we always had fresh food and everyone in my family was very healthy.

When I moved away to go to college, my brothers stopped gardening and hunting. They started working for fast food places and buying food at the grocery store instead of working for it. They plumped out like the rest of Fast Food America and they were sick more often.

When my two of my brothers started the garden and began to fill the freezer again, the trend reversed itself.

One of the most interesting things I found regarding this book is the synchronicity it has had with my own life.

upnorthkyosa

 

[shesulsa]

Kewl, Kyo Sa Nim. This is an earnest question: Have you picked up a copy of "Kill It and Grill It" by Ted Nugent? He espouses much of what you speak - consuming wild game and frozen, home-grown foods is definitely healthier. I doubt many of us have the real estate to grow our own, though.

 

[MisterMike]

Pretty soon the idea if hunting for food wil be gone, what, with the outbreaks of brain wasting disease spreading rampid through the deer poulations in Colorado, Utah, etc...

 

[Makalakumu]

Pretty soon the idea if hunting for food wil be gone, what, with the outbreaks of brain wasting disease spreading rampid through the deer poulations in Colorado, Utah, etc...

There is a lot more to eat out there then deer and I think that people would surprise at how much room a garden takes up. When I lived in apartment in college, instead of potted plants, I grew food.

I share your worry though. Cronic Wasting Disease is a direct response to the over population deer in our country. We have removed the predators and the states DNRs have managed the numbers to bring in huge revenues in the terms of hunting licenses. Managing predators would help and so would increasing the number of deer tags.

When I was a boy, I remember going out deer hunting and not seeing single thing for days. Now, you can't walk through the woods without seeing deer. Hell, I could shoot a few in my front yard every night. I turned on the light to see what the racket was one night, and I spooked a 10 point buck. I live in the middle of the city by the way.

Fortunately, CWD has been around for 20 years in some areas. We have had some time to study it and have had some time to learn how to deal with it. The professional butchers have tests that they can perform on the animals grey matter. Avid hunters can do these tests also. If the meat is bad, it can be discarded and even if the meat is bad, if you butcher the deer properly, you don't have to worry about it.

upnorthkyosa

 

[Makalakumu]

Kewl, Kyo Sa Nim. This is an earnest question: Have you picked up a copy of "Kill It and Grill It" by Ted Nugent? He espouses much of what you speak - consuming wild game and frozen, home-grown foods is definitely healthier. I doubt many of us have the real estate to grow our own, though.

I read portions of the book at BnN. There are some good recipes in it.

There can be a lot of difficulties in attempting to take responsibility for growing your own food. Interest, will, space and time are all valid concerns. I think that when my kids get older, I will have a little more time to implement the things that I know how to do. At this moment in my life, I only have time to hunt and fish a little every now and then. Our garden is small and homey, not like the huge plot my parents and grandparents tended.

Consequently, my family shops at a whole food coop. They buy from local organic farmers. They obtain organic free range beef, buffallo, chicken, pork, and lamb. The price difference is miniscule and by shopping there, we have almost cut our consumption of junk food to nil.

I will pass this knowledge on to my children though. It's fun for one thing. Fishing, for instance, is something I derive great pleasure from. If I can make it out once a week, that is great. Right now duck hunting season opened. My 12 gauge is primed and ready for tonight. Right now, our two year old loves to pull weeds in the garden and she loves to sit on the dock with her daddy and catch sunfish.

In the end, for me, balancing ducks, 26 inch plus steelhead, 28 inch browns, and two year olds can be problematic...

Fun too.

upnorthkyosa

 

[Spud]

I started it, but became side-tracked. The whole evolution of fast food associated with California car culture leading to succesful drive-in and drive through restaraunts was fascinating.

I forgot about Reefer Madness - I just added that to my reading list as well.

 

[Spud]

Supersize me had a great scene where schoolkids were asked to identify various people: George Washington, George Bush, Christ, Martin Luther King, etc. No luck, but they nailed Ronald McDonald and Wendy every time.

Another thing I've found disturbing is the connection between fast food and the poor. I can't articulate her anecdotes well, but my girlfriend used to work case managment with medicaid clients. They had horrible eating habits and had diet related health issues, but there were few alternatives to a $3.25 burger & fry meal. Yes, I know that many of us could put together a healthy meal for that price. I've also heard of food banks that can't give away whole grain bread as everyone wants white balloon bread.

I still find myself drawn to Mickey D's after a hard workout, even though I know that fruit and some lowfat cottage cheese would serve me better. The golden arches are just there on my way home.

As other's have suggested, I really need to get a chest freezer and buy my meat locally. The further we're removed from our food supply the more we take for granted.