#7B

Fast Food Nation By: Eric Schlosser

Chapter 4 - Success 

Feamster, is a Colorado Springs graduate whom is a franchisee for four Little Cesar's in Pueblo, Detroit. Becoming a Franchisee is a combination of starting your own business and working for a boss, with more security of success since the guidelines is that of a mass corporation, known and successful elsewhere. Franchising began in 1898 by General motors; it was an ingenious way to expand the corporation in a new industry. Mc Donald’s ended up doing the same but they own the real estate and provided the regulations and supplies for the restaurants. Mc Donald’s Business structure has been imitated by many companies in retail and food.Many conflicts have arisen between franchisees and franchisors because of their claim "encroachment" where more of the same chains open near by reducing the franchisee's income. Congressman Howard Coble created legislation that would make franchisors obey the same fundamental business principles as other American companies. The Small business administration guaranteed 18,000 franchise loans in 1 year, of those 10% ended in default. Feamster is a respectable man who earns 2.5 million from his 4 franchises and gives back to his community regularly. He brought his 14 employees to a success seminar ran by Peter Lowe, which taught them nothing they didn't know except conventional goals don’t matter. 

J.R Simpson is now a multibillonaire who owns one of the biggest potato manufactures in Idaho. He began drying onions and potatoes and hit it big with the military. After WW2 he invested in frozen food but it was still not selling for homes because of fridge costs. In 1953 he made a deal with Kroc and opened a facotry just for Mc Donalds. The frozen french fry industry now reduced to 3 suppliers. The number of farmers is reducing and one kind of crop is being mass produced in bigger farms. Farmers are reciving less and less profit as mass corporations rake in more. 

Gems

• ""Eventually I opened a Mc Donald's across the street from that store which they had renamed The Big M," Kroc proudly noted in his memoir, "And it ran them out of business.""
• "In New York City, the SBA backed thirteen loans to Burger King franchisees; eleven of them defaulted. The chain was "experimenting" according to congressional investigation, using government-backed loans to open restaurants in marginal locations. Burger King did not lose money when these restaurants closed. American taxpayers had covered the franchise fees, paid for the buildings, real estate, equipment, and supplies."
• "Reeve says, "By the time I was 24, I was making millions, I was pretty pleased with myself... I was selfish and neglected my family... since my accident; I've been realizing ...That success means something quite different. I see people who achieve these conventional goals, none of it matters.""

Reflections 

• Kroc is really one of the most selfish people I have ever heard of and cannot wait till his greedy self gets the horrible karma he deserves, I wonder if he lives a happy life with his millons of dollars,and millons of Mc Donalds.
• This makes me sick ! SOON I AM GOING TO BE A TAXPAYER !! I am not about to pay for Burger King establishments I refuse to ever again support such franchises, but back to my life issue, HOW DO I CHANGE ALL OF THIS ?! 
• Christoper Reeves is a perfect example of Karma getting at him for what he deserved, apparently but no one will realize that money dosen't matter until they getting a PERSONAL life changing experience. 
• I wonder if the publication of this book in the least changed fast food income.. DOUBT IT ! 

Chapter 5 - Why the fries taste good

J.R Simplton is now a multibillionaire who owns one of the biggest potato manufactures in Idaho. He began drying onions and potatoes for the u.s military. After world war 2 he invested in frozen food and he made a deal with Kroc and opened a factory just for Mc Donalds. The frozn french fry industry has now reduced to 3 suppliers. The number of farmers is reducing and one kind of crop is being mass produced in bigger farms. Farmers are reciving less and less profit as mass corporations rake in more. Falovring and color additives are the magic to mass production, without such chemicals mass-produced food wouldnt sell. The fragrance industry is very secretive IFF manufactures in New Jersy and is made up of a small grouyp of chemist whoo mix hundreds of chemicals to rcive falvors and scents, to make food more appeling. This industry now makes 1.4 billion dollars a year. The Lamb Weston company uses state of the art technology to make food. French Fries go through a cleaning, sorting, peeling, cutting, cooking, drying, freezing process thousands at a time. Most of the work is done by machines and the end result is a delicious french fry. 

Gems 

• "about 90% of the money that Americans spend on food is used to buy processed food"
• "Fast food companies purchase frozen french fries for about 30 cents a pound , reheat them in oil and sell them for about $6 a pound." 

Reflections 

• This upsets me profoundly and I think it is the example of the ignorance Americans reek in foodway's, simply because they are being controlled by rich puppetires. 

Chapter 6 - On the Range 

Hank was the first person I met in Colorado Springs, he is a local rancher. He owns a Farm 2 miles south of C.S. There he raises 400 free range cattle. He is determined to help the environment because of fast growth. C.S is causing major water waste eroding land from his property, and a raceway is now over the hill from him. Ranching use to be a business with 250 different providers and now 4 produce 80% of Americans meat. Ranchers are being forced into selling for lower prices and mass-producing in order to get their cattle sold. Ranching is becoming similar to the poultry industry where Chickens, the quicker and fatter the grower can get them, the more they are paid. Companies such as Perdue own the food, the birds; the growers simply own the land. Ranching is dying in the west as land gets more expensive, and mass-production and urban life is taking over. Hank committed suicide in 1998 because of all the up mounting pressure.

Gems 

• "Today the top four meatpacking firms - ConAgra, IBP, Excel, and National Beef - slaughter about 84% of the nation's cattle."
• "Most American beef cannot be exported to the European Union, where the use of bovine growth hormones has been banned."

Reflection, Insight

• (http://www.eu-oplysningen.dk/euo_en/spsv/all/101/) states the life expectancy in the E.U is 80,8. 
• (http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/births_deaths_marriages_divorces/life_expectancy.html) states the life expectancy in the U.S.A is 77. 
• This is a big jump but in the E.U bovine growth hormones cannot be used, and the E.U over all has better health than americans, but all us Americans care about is money.