Fast Food Nation

Schlosser begins the chapter with an account of a widespread E. coli outbreak that occurred in 1997. Public health officials in Pueblo, Colorado, working with the USDA, were able to trace the outbreak to a specific meatpacking plant in Columbus, Nebraska. By the time the discovery was made and a beef recall was announced by Hudson Foods (the company that operated the meatpacking plant), “25 million pounds of the ground beef had already been eaten” (194). Schlosser then investigates the overall safety record of meatpacking plants nationwide and discusses how E. coli has thrived as a result of the mass production of beef. Schlosser illustrates how the modern tendency toward mass food production creates the ideal conditions for E. coli and other bacteria, such as Salmonella, to thrive, evolve, and create real threats to the general population. Other food poisoning case studies are introduced, including one in 1993 that involved the Jack in the Box fast food chain in Seattle. In this case, children got sick, and some died from their poisoning.

As is often the case throughout the book, Schlosser examines how the fast food industry has responded over time to challenges to its continued growth. As it relates to food safety, the industry in general has a questionable record.