ESL 70
Chew on This “Introduction”
Discussion Questions
1. What does Schlosser say is the point of the book?
2. What in general are you going to learn in Chew on This?
3. Why does he say, “food is one of the most important things you’ll ever buy?”
4. Why does he say that we don’t think much about fast food?
5. Why do you think fast food is not the “kind of food you can make in your kitchen from
scratch.”
6. What are some of the more detailed things you’re going to learn in Chew on This?
7. What do you suppose “the real price” of fast food is?
8. According to the author, why do people keep eating fast food?
9. What does the title, Chew on This mean?
ESL 70
Chew on This
Discussion Questions: “The Pioneers”
1. How were hamburgers invented?
2. Why were hamburgers assumed to be dirty at first? What helped change that reputation?
3. Who changed hamburgers into America’s favorite food? When? How?
4. How did the culture of California change restaurants?
5. How did the McDonald brothers change their carhop restaurant in 1948?
6. What is a corporate logo and why is it important? What is a good example of this?
7. What other restaurants copied McDonald’s model?
8. What did the people who started these businesses have in common? What are they called?
9. How did Ray Kroc change McDonald’s?
10. What is a franchise? Who benefits from a franchise? How?
11. Why did the new McDonald’s restaurants have to be the same?
12. What influence did the McDonald’s idea of franchising have on other businesses?
13. What is the ultimate effect of sameness? Do you think it’s good or bad?
ESL 70
Chew on This: “Youngster Business”
Discussion Questions
1. What does “brand preference” mean? How do the corporations establish that? (38)
2. What did Ray Kroc and Walt Disney do to become successful? (40)
3. What is “synergy?” Give an example. (42)
4. How did Kroc market McDonald’s? (45)
5. Who became the successful McDonald’s mascot? Why was the first actor fired? (47)
6. How was McDonaldland similar to Disneyland? (48)
7. Why were the ways that children nag their parents studied at a university? (50)
8. What does “brand stickiness” mean and how does it work? (53) What is another word for it?
9. Is it acceptable to produce ads for young children? Why or why not? (56)
10. Why do fast food restaurants build playlands and give out toys? (57)
11. Who makes the “Happy Meal” toys given out at McDonald’s? Why is that a problem? (58)
ESL 70
Chew on This: “McJobs” Discussion Questions
1. How have small towns across the U.S. changed because of the fast food and automobile
industry? What has been lost as a result?
2. What is “suburban sprawl?” Describe a local example.
3. How does McDonald’s choose the best places for new restaurants? Where do they place them?
4. Where do fast food chains put attractive girls? Why? Is this an acceptable practice? Why or why
not?
5. Who manages most of the fast food restaurants? Is this acceptable? Why or why not?
6. Who does the fast food industry like to hire the most? Why?
7. How is the food cooked at Taco Bell? What is food preparation at fast food restaurants similar
to? In what way?
8. What kinds of workers do fast food restaurants need?
9. How long does a typical fast food restaurant worker stay at the job? What are some reasons
they leave?
10. What is a “McJob?”
11. What do studies show about kids that work more than twenty hours a week while attending
high school?
12. Why doesn’t McDonalds give “excellent” or “exceptional” evaluations?
13. What happened when Pascal tried to start a union at McDonalds (in Canada)?
Discussion Questions: Chew on This, “Secret of the Fries”
1. What aspect about fries was important to Ray Kroc?
2. Who was JR Simplot?
3. Why did Ray Kroc switch to frozen fries?
4. What has happened to small farmers in Idaho who grew potatoes?
5. What kind of profit can fast food restaurants make on French fries?
6. Who runs a “corporate farm?”
7. Why do scientists analyze French fries in a laboratory? What do they then do?
8. What was so special about the taste of McDonald’s fries?
9. What happens to food during processing techniques? How is this problem remedied?
10. How is a smell created?
11. Why is it important for corporations to get young children to eat fast food?
12. How are smells and memory connected? Why is this important to fast food companies?
13. Why does it matter that flavor companies don’t have to list ingredients of additives?
14. How many ingredients might there be in an additive?
15. What’s the difference between natural and artificial flavors?
16. What does “mouthfeel” mean?
17. How do artificial flavors compare to real flavors for children?
18. How is the color red used in Dannon strawberry yogurt made?
19. What’s wrong with children eating unnaturally colored and flavored food?
20. Why did some Hindu followers sue McDonald’s?
ESL 70
Stop the Pop: Discussion Questions
1. How did the outside world change the Yupik culture?
2. How does fast food get to the Alaskan village of Kasigluk?
3. Why did school officials allow fast food to be sold in schools? Do you think this still happens in
schools?
4. What do you think is wrong with allowing fast food chains in schools?
5. What was the purpose of the National School Lunch Act, passed in 1946?
6. Why do schools depend on the sale of junk food and sodas?
7. On page 138, the author describes an eighth grader who has chips for breakfast and more chips
for lunch. What did you eat for lunch when you were in high school?
8. Describe your neighborhood in terms of food choices; is it a “food desert” or does it have
healthy choices in supermarkets?
9. Describe the “educational materials” that the corporations send to the schools. Are they really
educational? Have you ever seen such materials in your school?
10. When corporations give away “free” prizes, what are they really doing? Give an example. Did
you or your children ever win any of these “free” prizes in elementary school?
11. What is the most profitable item on the menu at fast food restaurants? What kind of profit do
the restaurants make?
12. How much soda does the average American drink each year? How much do you drink?
13. What are some effects of drinking too much soda on children?
14. What happened to Eskimos’ teeth after sodas were introduced? Why (besides the taste) did
they start drinking soda?
15. What is “baby bottle syndrome?”
16. Where does the title, “Stop the Pop” come from? Was the student Kristina successful with her
efforts? What happened?
17. What legislation did Mary Kapsner in Alaska try to get passed in order to help the native people?
What happened – did it pass?
ESL 70
Chew on This: “Meat” Discussion Questions
Directions: Write down the answers to the questions assigned to your group, and be ready to present
your answers to the class in complete sentences in Academic English.
Example: Q: How has the slaughtering of chickens changed in recent times?
A: Chickens used to be slaughtered by having their necks chopped off with an axe, after which
they would run around. It was clean, quick, and painless. However, now they are hung upside down with
a chain attached to their legs, and carried to a tank of electrified water to knock them out. Then a
rotating blade slits their throats, but sometimes, a chicken doesn’t get knocked unconscious, so it moves
its head out of the way. Then the bird is boiled alive at the next step; it’s a cruel process.
1. How has the meatpacking industry changed since the early 1900’s? (161)
2. What is a “trust?” (162) A “trust buster?”
3. How does the town of Greeley, Colorado smell, and how does it affect people? (164)
4. The sign at the entrance of Greeley says, “ALL AMERICAN CITY.” What is ironic about that? (165)
5. What happens to cow waste? (166)
6. What is a “lagoon?” What problems can a lagoon cause? (167)
7. What can happen when manure decomposes? (168)
8. How has the poultry business changed since the fast food industry started? (169)
9. Why did people start to eat more chicken? Does this make sense? Why or why not? (170)
10. How have chickens changed over the years? (172)
11. What’s wrong with Chicken McNuggets? (173)
12. What does the subheading “Mccannibals” refer to? (176)
13. Describe the health condition of today’s chickens.
14. Describe how frustrated workers at poultry plants treat chickens.
15. What is The Jungle? (184-5)
16. What difference did the unions that started in the 1950’s make in the lives of workers? (185)
17. What happened to unions in the 1970’s as a result of the fast food industry? How did it affect
meatpacking workers? (186)
18. What kinds of accidents and injuries do meatpackers suffer? (189)
19. Why are OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) inspections rare at meatpacking
plants? (190)
20. Why don’t workers complain about the line speeds and injuries? (190)
21. What is E. coli and how does it get into hamburger? What’s the solution? (192)
ESL 70
Chew on This: “Big” Discussion Questions
1. Who is Sam Fabrikant? How old is he? How much did he weigh and how much fast food did he
eat? (202-204)
2. What had his mother and brother already done, and what was the outcome? (206)
3. What effects did the extra weight Sam was carrying have? (206)
4. How many adults in the U.S. are overweight? How many children? (207)
5. What does the term “morbidly obese” mean? (207)
6. Why aren’t people very successful when they go on diets? (209)
7. How many kids walk to school nowadays? (210) Did you walk to elementary school? Junior
High? High School? Why or why not?
8. The fast food industry says it’s “personal responsibility,” in other words, it’s your own fault for
eating too much fast food, if you get fat. However, what does the fast food industry do to their
food that may lay some blame on them as well? (210)
9. What does the “80-20 rule” mean?
10. How have the sizes of sodas and fast food meal portions changed over the years? (211)
11. What happens to children who become obese, both psychologically and physically? (213)
12. What is the most serious disease linked to obesity, and what are some effects of this disease?
(213-214) Should we be concerned?
13. How can eating unhealthy foods damage the brain? (217) The aorta? (218-219) The backbone?
(220) The liver? (221) the heart? (222)
14. How much “Transfat” should someone eat? Why?
15. What are the risks of the gastric bypass surgery? (226)
16. What happened to Sam after the surgery? (230) How did Sam have to eat after the surgery?
(232-233)?
17. Do you think Sam could have solved his problem of obesity by diet and exercise instead of
surgery? Discuss.
HW for Monday: Write a paragraph on ONE of the following questions. (Type it, at least 150 words.)
1. Do you think it’s appropriate to operate on teenagers? Why or why not?
2. Given the statistics of bariatric surgeries in Chew on This, do you think Americans are too quick
to operate in order to combat obesity? Why or why not?
3. Who is to blame for obesity in this country – the fast food industry or the individual? Explain
your answer.
ESL 70
Discussion Questions: “Your Way”
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Where does McDonald’s earn most of its profits? (236)
What is meant by a “McWorld?” (236)
What is the “100 Meters Program?” (237)
What often happens in foreign countries when anti-American feelings grow?
What is mad cow disease? How did it affect the fast food market? 242
What is meant by “animal rights?” Do you think animals should have rights? If so, what should
they be? 242
How has the fast food business changed over the years? 244
Who is Alice Waters? 247
What is the Edible Schoolyard? What is unique about its curriculum? Has it been successful?
Could that work at middle schools in Bakersfield? What would it need to make it work? 251
List the actions the author thinks Congress should take. 253 Discuss whether you agree with
him.