In Fast Food Nation, Erik Schlosser addresses the fast food business and the revolutionary impact it has had on the American food industry over the past few decades. Schlosser explains how fast food has become integrated into American society to the point that it has spread to every corner of the nation. The reason why fast food has so quickly dominated the diet of the American people is not difficult to discern: People want a meal that is both easy and cheap, and these qualities are the foundation on which the industry was built of fast food. However, fast food has its drawbacks, ranging from its unhealthy impact on the body to its contribution to the erasure of regional differences across America. Throughout his novel, Schlosser writes about the impact fast food has had on America, primarily asking why it has been so successful, how it has come to shape America, and what consequences it has inflicted on today's society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While a variety of fast food businesses have succeeded, an even greater number of unknown chains have failed along the way, such as "Sandy's, Carrol's, Henry's, Winky's, and Mr. Fifteen's", along with many others (22) So what was the distinction between failure and success for a fast food chain? When fast food was discovered, people rushed to create their own business, going so far as to create complex machines that went through a series of steps to produce a product. just burgers Ultimately, the fast food chains that triumphed over a multitude of others all had three main characteristics in common: uniformity, affordability, and efficiency. As work in America has become more demanding, workers have accepted longer hours and effort into their work, leaving little to no time to prepare a meal at home For overworked employees, parents or students who are only allotted a meager amount of free time, their only concerns are how fast it is. and cheap a meal, not the consequences it could have on America in the future. In recent decades, fast food has become an inevitable part of American society and is unavoidable even for the minority of Americans who don't eat it. When talking about the foundations that shape modern America, the first thought that comes to mind after “freedom” is often “McDonald's.” As a result, fast food is so deeply ingrained in society that it is considered normal: the American people don't think twice about the millions of fast food chains dotted around the country. Not often is it seen as a denigration of America, an aspect of society that shouldn't be, unless you come to think about it and consciously acknowledge it. In some ways, it has come to shape not only American culture, but also business; in the quoted passage Schlosser states that “The basic idea of ​​fast food has become the operating system of today's retail economy” (5). The dominance of larger corporations in American business today, along with many other problems of modern society, can inevitably be traced back to the inception (and success) of the fast food industry. Above all, the most prolific characteristic of fast food is the negative impact it has had on America and its people. The vast majority of America's problems arise from, or are the direct result of, the fast food industry. Of course, fast food directly contributes to America's already high and growing obesity problem. However, the problems arising from fast food are not limited to the physical aspect: fast food.