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Fast-Food Nation Essay

“I’m Lovin’ It”
In Eric Schlosser’s Book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, he argues that today’s slaughterhouses and meatpacking industries are revoltingly unsafe, unsanitary, and employees are treated unfairly and with little or no respect. Presenting his audience with solid and factual information about the industry, Schlosser is able to illustrate how slaughterhouses really operate. Because the industry has made little or no effort to change its style, I find it necessary that the country take action to slow the speed of the plants, strive to allow employees to work under adequate conditions, and also be treated with respect.
“Meatpacking is now the most dangerous job in the United States”, says Schlosser as he describes the industry (172). The injury rate is approximately thirty-three times higher than the nations average manufacturing. Consisting of mostly illegal immigrants and unskilled workers, the business suffers from unsafe and unsanitary conditions that are rarely paid any attention to. Employees work long hours for low wages in extremely dangerous situations. According to Schlosser, “One of the leading determinants of the injury rate at a slaughterhouse today is the speed of the disassembly line” (173). He explains that some plants around the country can disassemble up to “400 cattle per hour – about half a dozen animals every minute” (173). Because most of the slaughterhouses only receive profit margins as low as a few pennies per pound of beef, the employees are pressured to work at faster speeds to obtain higher profits. Companies are afraid to make changes to the industry because “slowing the pace to protect workers can lead to a competitive disadvantage” (175). It is understandable that the industry is very competitive, but putting human beings at risk to acquire higher profits is unacceptable. It would make sense that if each plant is required to slow down their systems the industries would still be...