ESL 098 Study Questions

Fast Food Nation Food, Inc.Super Size Me

  1. What are some similarities and differences between the meatpacking industry and the fast food industry?
  2. Describe the relationship between the meatpacking industry and the fast food industry.
  3. Why does the fast food industry target children? Describe the methods that the industry uses to do this. Why is influencing elementary school children in particular so important to soft drink manufacturers?
  4. How are the workers treated “behind the counter”?
  5. What suggestions does Schlosser offer for dealing with the fast food industry?
  6. A marketing expert has called the 1980s “the decade of the child consumer.” Why?
  7. Why is McDonalds a friend and a foe?
  8. Schlosser says that the fast food industry has transformed the American diet, popular culture, the economy, the workforce and agriculture. How?
  9. Give a brief history of the fast food industry.
  10. Why have the fast food and meatpacking industries opposed new worker safety, food safety and minimum wage laws?
  11. Explain why McDonalds has been able to be so successful.
  12. A lot of people wish for lower prices – sometimes demand them. Describe how this kind of thinking has changed our society.
  13. Schlosser says that, “There is shit in the meat.” Explain what he means and describe how it happens.
  14. What was Morgan Spurlock’s purpose in making Super Size Me?
  15. What are some of the similarities and differences between Fast Food Nation, Food, Inc. and Super Size Me?
  16. Be able to draw the process that results in the chicken sandwich or McNuggets, hamburger and/or the French fries in a fast food meal.
  17. Compare & contrast the experience of chicken farmers, cattle ranchers and corn/soybean farmers.
  18. Discuss corn and the many ways it is used in the US. What effects has the reliance on corn had on the country?