if you have not yet read fast food nation by eric schlosser, do it. do it now. for the sake of your health and safe consumerism, do it. i'll admit that i succumb to the convenience of fast food on occasion-- on my way home from work when i don't feel like cooking, late at night when nothing else is open, when i have a craving for french fries-- you know how it is. by and large, though, i've been making an effort to cut it out of my diet for the health-consciousness of it. i thought i knew how crappy it was, health-wise, but i had no idea how horrible the fast-food industry and the large-scale food-production industry are.

for the past two weeks or so, i've been finding myself extremely apathetic towards eating. not that i'm not hungry, but when i go out to buy lunch during workdays, i really haven't had any desire to eat what's out there. i'm pretty good about getting healthy sandwiches, soups, salads, and burritos, so i wasn't sure why i was feeling so anti-food. i've since realized that it's this book. i'm not a squeamish stomach, either, i'll eat just about anything (except pig's blood and chicken feet. ick). however, while reading this book, i've become extremely disenchanted with the idea of buying any kind of mass-produced food. so much of the food that gets sold in bulk (fast food restaurants and grocery stores alike) has had such sloppy regulations placed on it... do you have any idea how much meat goes on the market after the meatpacking company KNOWS that it contains E. coli or Salmonella bacteria? E. coli can be fatal or severely debilitating with the ingestion of only five microscopic organisms. there is fecal matter, hair, bone matter, and other unsavory junk mixed in with your meat. the USDA has tried to place regulations on mass-produced meats and foods, but has faced serious opposition from the meatpacking industry. of course they're going to oppose it, it means that they might have to actually be safe and clean! go figure. schlosser shows that the safety regulations in factories where they're actually working only costs an additional penny or two per pound of meat. shrub continues to remove necessary regulations for safety and food cleanliness, and is restricting USDA inspections and presence in such factories.

not only is the food largely contaminated, but the labor practices are horrifying. large companies falsify injury records so they don't have to pay for workers' compensation insurance. they keep wages low, turnover high, and production line speeds fast all in the name cost-saving... but the treatment of those workers ends up being magnanimously terrible (things like amputations, deaths by various means, major back and internal injuries go unrepresented or untreated). some companies have had to pay repercussions and recall meat, but rarely on a scale that would really punish the company. USDA continues to purchase food for school lunch programs from meatpacking companies with records of bad meat production, bacterial contamination, or careless labor practices, because those same companies will offer lower prices. unbelievable.

surprisingly, one of the leaders in maintaining healthy practices in the fast food industry is jack in the box. you may remember their E. coli epidemic about ten years ago. i remember it, because it almost shut the chain down. now, jack in the box is determined to keep food processing practices safe, clean, and healthy, because they should be held responsible for the products they sell.

what can we as individuals do about this? well, unfortunately not much. i personally will be eliminating fast food completely, and will make every attempt to buy my food from organic growers or small producers. there are grading notations on some meat products, indicating the health and safety quotient, so that will help. we can also make sure we cook our food thoroughly to kill the bacteria. however, bad food production practices continue, and will continue as long as the monopoly is held by large and powerful companies.

gives a new meaning to the phrase "eat shit," doesn't it?