Fast Food Nation is scaring the bejesus out of me. it’s scary in it’s mind-bogglingness. it’s also leaving me quite disillusioned and just plain dumbfounded. everyone should read this book. i’m not even 100 pages into it and this is what i have learned (you can judge for yourself if you find this terrifying at all):

$6 billion= the amount of money americans spent on fast food in 1970

$110 billion= the amount of money americans spent on fast food in 2000

americans spend more money on fast food than on higher education, computer software or new cars.

americans spend more money on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music COMBINED!

in 1972 ray kroc,the man responsible for the proliferation of mcdonald’s all over the planet, contributed $250,000 to the Nixon campaign. why? beause mcdonalds was lobbying congress to pass the mcdonald’s bill. a bill that would allow employers to pay 16 and 17-year-olds 20% lower than minimum wage. At the time mcdonald’s crew members were making $1.60 an hour. this bill would have lowered it to $1.28.

and if the numbers don’t scare you. let’s hear from kroc:

“we have found out. . . that we cannot trust some people who are noncomformists.”

“we will make conformists out of them in a hurry. the organization cannot trust the individual; the individual must trust the organization.”

eric schlosser goes on to chronicle how kroc along with walt disney virtually invented marketing to children.

it just makes me so sick.