Fast Food Nation Study Guide
The following questions are intended to provide a focus for reading the novel. The study guide is optional, but it may
be used to complete assignments in each subject area throughout the school year. Questions with asterisks (*) will be
areas of focus for major projects in a variety of classes.
Introduction
1. How does the amount spent on fast food compare with the amount spent on other items in our society?
2. What does the author say about independent farmers?
3. What does the author say about the political clout of the meat packing industry?
4. According to the author, why did he write this book?
Chapter 1, "The Founding Fathers"
5. What restaurant chain did Carl Karcher start?
6. Why did General Motors want to buy trolley systems throughout the U.S.?
*7. What was the "Speedee Service System" and how was it different from what other fast food restaurants were doing?
8. What were some of the characteristics of the men who started the fast food industry?
*9. What were some of the other fast food restaurants that were inspired by the approach to food service that
McDonalds established? Which restaurants are still present and which are not?
*10. What environmental factors or changes in society/America brought on the birth and advancement of the fast food
industry?
*11. On page 24, the author uses the word niche in reference to a coffee shop and a Scottish theme. What does niche
mean?
Chapter 2, "Your Trusted Friends"
12. What are some of the parallels between Ray Kroc and Walt Disney?
13. What is "synergy" in marketing and what are some of the ways that fast food companies practice it?
*14. Why, in the 1980s, did companies start marketing to kids and what were some of the ways in which they did this?
*15. How successful have efforts been to limit advertising aimed at children? What does the author say about marketing
fast food products in the schools?
Chapter 3, "Behind the Counter"
16. How does McDonald's decide where to build new restaurants?
17. Why are so many fast food employees teenagers?
18. What is "throughput?" Where did the term come from and how does it apply to the fast food industry?
19. What is meant by "McDonald's English?"
20. What is the average job turnover rate in the fast food industry?
21. How has the "real value" of wages at fast food restaurants changed over time?
22. How has the fast food industry responded to efforts to unionize its workers?
23. What are the benefits and costs of having teenagers work after school?
24. What does the author say about robbery and murder in fast food restaurants? Who is often responsible for
committing robberies of fast food restaurants?
25. How has the fast food industry responded to efforts by OSHA to reduce workplace violence?
Chapter 4, "Success"
26. What was different about the way McDonald's franchised businesses? How does it compare with other fast food
chains?
27. How does the failure rate of franchises in general compare with that of other businesses?
28. Among franchises what is "encroachment?"
29. What are some of the disadvantages of running a franchise?
Chapter 5, "Why the Fries Taste Good"
30. What connection does J. R. Simplot have to the fast food industry?
31. What is the "fallacy of composition?"
32. What makes McDonald's french fries taste different from the fries of other fast food restaurants?
33. What are some of the similarities and some of the differences between "artificial flavors" and "natural flavors?"
Chapter 6, "On the Range"
35. What are some of the problems facing cattle ranchers?
34. What are "captive supplies" of cattle?
36. What was the impact of the Chicken McNugget on the poultry industry?
37. What are the conditions or terms of business under which most poultry farmers operate?
38. How does the nutritional value of a Chicken McNugget compare with that of a hamburger?
Chapter 7, "Cogs in the Great Machine"
39. What changes did IBP introduce to the meat packing industry?
40. What were the links between IBP and organized crime?
41. What has been the relationship between labor unions and modern meat packing plants?
42. How do wages in meat packing plants today compare with wages in the early 1900s, after the workers became
unionized?
43. How high is the employee turnover rate in the meat packing industry and why don't the meat packing plants see this
as a problem?
44. Where do meat packing companies go to recruit new employees?
45. What is the impact of a meatpacking firm on small communities?
Chapter 8, "The Most Dangerous Job"
46. How does the injury rate in meat packing compare with the injury rate in other occupations?
47. Why don't more workers complain about safety conditions in the plants?
48. What does the author describe as the most dangerous type of work in these plants and what kinds of injuries do
these workers risk?
49. How has the authority of OSHA changed over time?
Chapter 9, "What's in the Meat"
50. Compared with several decades ago, how common are food-related illnesses today?
51. How has the centralization of food production influenced the spread of food-related illnesses?
52. What authority does the U.S. Government have to demand the recall of tainted meat?
53. What was the first national hamburger chain & what did it do to try to change the image of the hamburger?
54. What are the effects of E. coli 0157:H7 on the human body? What are some of the ways people can be infected?
55. What is fed to cattle that might facilitate the spread of pathogens?
56. How does the risk of contamination for ground beef compare with the risk of contamination of whole cuts of beef?
57. Why is the author concerned about the use of older dairy cattle to make ground beef?
58. How has the meatpacking industry generally responded to health concerns about the nation's beef?
59. Why was the "Streamlined Inspection System" launched by the USDA?
60. What are the advantages and disadvantages of irradiating meat?
61. What kind of meat is selected for consumption in most public schools?
Chapter 10, "Global Realization"
*62. In a discussion of fast food corporations why is it important to talk about their overseas operations?
*63. In foreign countries, what group does most fast food advertising target?
*64. In what ways might there be a connection between the obesity rate in America and the fast food industry?
*65. Why is obesity a problem for American society as a whole?
*66. What kind of business is the most frequent target of anti-American protests in foreign countries and what kinds of
groups engage in these protests?
*67. What are ways in which the fast food industry has contributed to imperialism today?
Epilogue, "Have It Your Way"
68. In what ways are restaurants like Conway's Red Top and In-N-Out different from McDonald's and most other fast
food chains?
69. What does the author think should be done about advertising unhealthy foods to children?
70. What does the author say about the safety of the U.S. food supply compared with that of other countries?
71. What does the author think Congress should do about food safety and about working conditions in meatpacking
companies?
72. What can consumers do to change food safety and working conditions in the fast food industry?
Sophomore Supply List 2011-2012: Recommended School Materials
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binders with space for each school subject
5-6 binder dividers for each subject
note cards (100)
post-its, all sizes (100)
pens and pencils
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highlighters
loose leaf paper
Spanish, French, or Latin dictionary
if applicable