Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Can someone give a brief summary on Chapter 7 from Fast Food Nation?

Chapter 7 of Schlosser's work brings to light the
communities that serve as a "home" to meatpacking plants.  The study of Greeley,
Colorado brings to light that the only winner in the entire setting is ConAgra and big
business.  The traditional idea of a Lowell, Massachusetts setting, where business forms
the lifeline of a stable community and where business looks out for the social and
emotional welfare of its workers, is flipped on its head in this chapter.  Greeley, home
to the largest producer of meat packing business, burns through workers at a lightning
fast pace.  While it produces an excess of animal manure, it actually produces a
symbolic version of this in the amount of transience, drug use, gang activity, and the
substandard quality of life in the town.  The title of the chapter of "Cogs in the
Machine," brings to light the idea that the only relevant issue is economic progress and
growth.  The workers and their community is a secondary issue.  Schlosser's detail is
akin to Upton Sinclair's analysis, bringing to light that the cost of industrial growth
can be quite high if left unattended.

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