Blog Entry 5: Summary and Response Essay

Advertising at Its Best

In the novel, “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal” by Eric Schlosser, the first three chapters illustrate how fast food corporations came to be in the country. In the first chapter “Founding Fathers,” Schlosser explains the history of one man by the name of Carl Karcher, one of the men that changed the way people eat today. Also in this chapter the fast food industry benefited from the automobile company due to the fact that more cars led to the creation of actual drive ins and eventually to the restaurants we go to today. In the second chapter, “Your Trusted Friends,” Schlosser tells the story of two men who used advertising to a certain extent which made their companies flourish and how food advertising affects society. These two men go by the name of Walt Disney and Ray Kroc. They were the two that invented advertising that mainly targeted children. Schlosser also speaks of a professor from Texas A&M university who studies the behavior of children who been affected by ads. This professor states that there are seven types of “nagging” that children use to get what they want from parents and this affects them due to the fact that the parent have no choice but to give in.  The one thing that reoccurred through these chapters was advertising. Each chapter illustrated a certain point towards advertising and how it impacts people as a whole. Advertising influences people from a young age to death to purchase their products. It’s like ads hypnotize people to buy their products in a certain way.

One reason that illustrates how advertising impacts people's lives is the fact that companies use certain techniques to get the consumers attention. When companies use their techniques, they catch the eye of a consumer and the ad would usually have something that would affect the consumer to the point that they purchase it. For example, my grandma and I always watch TV together. Every time we watch TV, she seems to always get hooked on the commercials that have to do with kitchen appliances. The commercials always claim, “This product would change the way you cook in the kitchen and would also save you time” and then they use several people to test out their products then talk on behalf of their product. Once the commercials ended, she would have a pen and paper, ready to call and order the product. At times I ask her why she needs to get the product and she always reply with, “The commercial said that it’ll ease the workload in the kitchen.”

            In the novel, the advertising techniques are best described as making sure that the country is influenced by the advertisement from an early age until they’re not living anymore. One technique discussed in the book, “cradle-to-grave” is an advertising technique that involves companies to create commercial involving advertising that appeals to consumers as young as two. This technique causes young consumers to be influenced to loyal to that specific company and be devoted to learn and know everything about that company and also keep that consumer hooked to buying products from that company (Schlosser 43).

Another reason to the fact that advertising impacts people’s lives is that advertising can also inform people about a certain issue that would ignite the mind of consumers or groups, depending on the advertising. Some ads may contain issues, like presidential elections or elections for state officials while others might contain worldwide issues. These types of ads educate and offer the people a chance to think and respond the way they believe they should. For example, when President Obama created “Obamacare,” there were ads on TV describing his healthcare plan and how it would affect Americans. The commercial says this one line, “To provide affordable, quality healthcare for all Americans, and reduce the growth of healthcare spending.” This line that was on the commercial gave the people an idea to look into Obamacare and actually take an interest in it. After that commercial, more American knew about the plan; some accepted the plan and others rejected the plan. The objective of the commercial was to inform people about the plan and get people to learn more about so they can decide on whether or not the plan is valuable to them.

 Advertising has evolved over the years. From passing out papers to electronically receiving commercials, advertising has impacted people. Some for good reasons and other for bad reasons. In all, advertising is all over and there’s no way to escape the realities of it.  

Blog Entry #4: Your Trusted Friends

In the book, “Fast Food Nation,” by Eric Schlosser, he explains the chapter, “Your Trusted Friends” by illustrating the history behind the fast food companies plans to give people the illusion that they’re our trusted friends. He starts off by explaining two guys who go buy the name of Walt Disney and Ray Kroc.  These two guys explained in the book were two men who came from the same background and shared the same vision to appeal to children as an audience for their products. Walt Disney and Ray Kroc history started off with them living in the same state, born a year apart and serving in the military together.  However, their ideas towards appealing to children were different. Walt Disney created films and shows that depicted the fun and the reassuring aspects of WWII by illustrating that certain weapons are your friends.  Disney made certain shows like, “Our Friend the Atom” and “Man in Space” that help make certain situations in the world seem relaxing. Later on in the chapter, Schlosser then illustrates Ray Kroc’s way to success with advertising and strategizing. Kroc went around the country selling his mixer and helping the McDonald Brothers expand their business. Eventually, Kroc became a part of the McDonald’s Corporation and assisted in every aspect of their (McDonald Brothers) company. Kroc assisted in the advertising and created the famous mascot, Ronald McDonald, expansion of the restaurant chain all throughout the country, and the creation of playgrounds at the McDonald’s restaurants. Also in the chapter, Schlosser gives an explanation about how advertising is teaching children how to get the stuff that the advertisements are selling or depicting on televisions. He speaks of a professor from Texas A&M university who studies the behavior of children who been affected by ads. This professor states that there are seven types of “nagging” that children use to get what they want from parents and this affects them due to the fact that the parent have no choice but to give in.

Blog Entry #3 : The Founding Fathers

In the novel, “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser, Chapter one, “The Founding Fathers,” explains how fast food restaurants came to be in America. Schlosser illustrates numerous stories were told about how different men from different parts of the country all came to one place to reform their lives through fast food industries and how one man who started off with nothing rose up and became one of the most recognized men in the country. In the chapter, one man by the name of Carl Karcher was one of the men that changed the way people eat today. He went from being a farm-oriented guy to an ambitious guy who strived to success by leaving his home town and moving to a place where his dreams worked to their full potential.  After Karcher, more entrepreneurs decided to follow in Karcher’s footsteps and open up fast food franchises, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Also in the chapter, Schlosser explains the history behind the automobile industry and how this industry contributed to the fast food industry. The automobile industry influenced the fast food company to step up from hot dog stands to local drive ins for customers to feel at home while they were being served from their cars.  He explains that since the rise of automobiles, the fast food industry has flourished and the fast food companies expanded countrywide.  Later in the chapter, it explains how throughout the years Carl Karcher went in turmoil with the company due to the accusations from the government and how he coped with the situation. Karcher, despite the turmoil and the spiraling of his company, refused to give up and continued working with his company and eventually he reclaimed his title on top with McDonald’s and Wendy’s. Schlosser's idea in this chapter is to illustrate how men rose up to create the fast food industries that we eat at today and to explain the history of the major fast food companies came to be. 

Blog Entry #2: The Meaning of Food in My Life

Food plays a major role in every human's life. It is the thing that humans need to strive and survive. Food also can assist in other numerous ways. Food is an important combination in the ultimate satisfaction in my life.

One reason why food has this certain meaning in my life is due to the fact that it assists me in bringing the family together. Whenever it comes to my family and food, everyone settles their differences if we were disputing and comes together as one. For example, my grandma likes to cook dinner every night. Sometimes my brothers and I would be fighting or arguing while she cooks the dinner.But when she asks one of us to help, my brothers and I rush to her side, despite our earlier arguments, and assist her with dinner. We would set the table and make jokes and have a good laugh while helping my grandma.

Another reason why food plays an important role in my life is because food gives me a sense of relief when I'm going through any type of harsh situations. To me, food is a source of happiness in a way. For example, A few months ago I went through a breakup. During the breakup, I suffered through numerous mood swings. The only thing that kept me on track was ice cream. When I ate ice cream, I felt a sense of relief from the pressure and the pain of the break up. It actually calmed me to a point that I became understanding to the situation and accepted it the way it was.

Food is everything. It provides benefits that are essential to everyone. Without food, nothing would be possible or accomplished.

Blog Entry #1: Is America's Food Supply Safe?

            In the passage, “Is America’s Food Supply Safe” by Dr. David Acheson, he explains how the Food and Drug Administration takes numerous measures to keep the food that America consumes safe. Acheson illustrates the precautions by explaining certain ways that are taken to assure that that food is safe to eat, like using scientific methods to illustrate the cause of contamination and how to stop it from growing. Another thing that he states in the passage is how there are investigators all over the country who are ready to hunt and prevent contamination in America’s food. Dr. David Acheson’s idea in the passage is that even though there might be questionable people who challenge the F.D.A.(Food and Drug Administration), They’re taking every step to ensure that America’s food is harmless and limit the questions about the recent outbreaks.
            One reason why the F.D.A. takes this approach is due to the fact that they want to avoid an uncontrollable outbreak. If the F.D.A. mistakenly overlooked an outbreak, then issues would arise eventually leading to fatalities if they don’t treat it. For example, a few years ago there was an outbreak in spinach. The spinach had an strand of E.coli, which made many Americans sick and some even died. This outbreak was due to the contamination of the manure that was mixed in with the dirt where the spinach was growing. After the outbreak, the F.D.A. took even more steps to guarantee that the food was safe, such as commit to more checkups in the food manufacturers and visited the farms and slaughterhouses to make sure that quality control and safety was administered.
            Another reason the F.D.A. takes these approaches is so they can illustrate and inform the situations that can happen if food isn’t handled properly and to inform people about the precautions that are being taken into account while keeping the food safe. The F.D.A. always evaluates everything from food to drugs, like medicines and vitamins. They always label or stamp a food product that hasn’t been evaluated to warn customers that the F.D.A hasn’t tested that specific product. The F.D.A. also puts guidelines on food and drugs to assist in the safety and proper handling so that consumers would avoid any illnesses or potential outbreaks. For example, when I walk into the store and shop for food, I always look for the handling guidelines on certain products because it illustrates that the F.D.A. has checked the product and made sure that the product for quality control and that it’s safe to eat as long as the instructions and guidelines are followed.
            In conclusion, the F.D.A. ensures safety by adding more workers to numerous places and by informing the people on how to make sure that we don’t fall victim to illnesses or outbreaks. The passage clearly informs people about the steps the F.D.A. takes to prevent any harm in America. As Dr. David Acheson stated in the passage, “The F.D.A. works hard every day to ensure the safety of America’s food.”