Fast Food Nation By: Eric Schlosser (Logos) Eric Schlosser clearly is no fan of fast food. Schlosser argues that fast food chains are a major factor in causing obesity and ill health of Americans. To support his arguments against the fast food industry, the author, Mr. Eric Schlosser, spent over two years traveling around the world researching. Schlosser’s main point throughout the book would be that fast food giants have negatively impacted American culture, and has contributed to urban sprawl.
With his careful analysis and his effective writing styles using ethos, logos, and pathos he convinces you about fast food industry’s negative impact on the economy and society as we know it. Although there are many different writing styles you can use to affect the text, Schlosser’s uses of all 3 main rhetoric devices helps you understand the amount to research that went into creating this book and his views on fast food In the beginning chapters of this novel Schlosser definitely enriches his logical appeal.
He begins the book by letting readers how much the average American person spends on fast food each year. He points out that that the society spends more money on fast food than higher education. Schlosser then continues the book by giving the history of fast food and gives short stories of several originators of fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The biography of each “pioneer” of a fast food restaurant chain helps to add to Eric Schlosser’s logos appeal while adding interest to the story.
The writer also uses an abundance of numerical data and facts to support his writing. For instance, when explaining the growth of fast food in society, Schlosser writes, “In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion”(Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print. ). Later in the book, Schlosser uses more facts about relating to children and attracting younger people to buying products.
He writes, “In 1998 a federal investigation of Web sites aimed at children found that 89 percent requested personal information from kids; only 1 percent required that children obtain parental approval before supplying the information” (Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print. ). This causes readers to begin to think more about their children and their safety from just looking at the statistics in Schlosser. These surprising statistics not only add surprise and interest to his writing, but also add logical appeal.
To me this book has showed me that the fast food industry only cares about making money, and they don’t care who they hurt in the process. Schlosser uses appeals to logos to address how the fast food industry is continually growing and is beginning to take over American society. Schlosser shows that there seems to be no limit to fast food growth and influence, which the McDonalds arches and other logos of fast food restaurants have covered not only United States but other countries as well. The fast food industry has a hidden dark side that negatively impacts American society and it continues to ruin the rest of the world.
