It reminds me about a book that I read few years ago. Share with you the reading notes at that moment as an echo to his sharing.
Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast Food Nation: What the all-american meal is doing to the world. England: Penguin.
Summary
Started from the history of McDonald, author introduced the brief background and beliefs behind this one of the largest fast food restaurant chain nowadays. In the contingency of the raise of dual working couples, post WWII economic growth, the building of sophisticated road network, the popularity of owning cars, technololgical advencement made frozen food possible...... the business and running style of fast food chain boomed at the same time.
Accompanied by the rapid growth of fast food industry, various kind of argibusiness also appeared. The corporate owned feedlot of cattle and poultry, the slaughter house ran in the mode of mass production, meatpacking industry to provide frozen food to the chains, also massive production of potatos for fries.
All these business are being run under the golden rule of "maximizing profit and revenue", "standardization", and "enhancing productivity" as fast food industry does. Followed these rules, employees' benefits and the food safety are always being put in a very low priority. They mainly employ low education level and new, even illegal, immigrants as cheap labour. The company also deprived them from receiving medical benefits, minimum wages stated by the law, and the provision of safety working environment. Workers are being regarded as a "cog" in a gain machine, which could be readily replaced when wore out.
With the backs of the gaint revenue, these companies are capable to exert their power on altering any potential legislations require them to work out the problems. They could hire an army of attorney to raise a lawsuit, or to move those politicians as their lobbyist in the congress by their contibutions in the next election.
Reflection
Who makes the booming of fast food culture possible? Of course, it's undeniable that the businessmen are keep trying to create endless desires on us. They persuading us to buy more and enjoy more. In the case of fast food, that are the relatively low money price and carefully calculated chemical flavors move us.
But on the other hand, it is the greediness inside us make us the easy prey of the value of consumerism. Fast food chain operators greedy for revenue, so they exploit their staff and the environment. Consumers greedy for more food than what actually needed. Ranchers greedy for having fatter and faster growing cattle, so they feed their cow with animal protein and induced the threat of mad cow diseases……
Could we just get "enough" things from the environment and share the surplus with other? Without the control on our greediness, fast food revolution will appears in the future again and again. With different forms, but similar result.
小夾子 Little Clip 2006-12-06 01:44
多謝人呆兄的回應
洋洋數十字， 盡見人呆兄你近年的學習生活一定獲益不小! 加油人呆兄!
你說的不錯，就以自家身處的房間為例，已經隨手可以拿來不少一時物慾薰心買下來的小擺設、文具、書……電腦又盡是林林總總的下載軟件、小程式、文件……「想要」和「需要」的分爭，總是每天都在我們身上發生。真真是苦呀！
cur_po 2006-11-30 11:04
死野呀~~咁好提醒呀，都好同意你的講法，記得幾年前的snoopy、hello kitty的熱潮嗎? 當時d人為了換到心頭，不惜排長龍啦，而且將買回來、食唔晒的食物即場丟棄。目的是這些由發展中國家(當然包括中國啦)，以超低工資、超展工時的勞動人民身上換回來的塑膠公仔，表面上，我們是第一層得益者，因我們可以換齊一套多到唔知有幾多種、幾多特別版的玩具(但.....，現在這些玩具，你現在又點處理呢?)，第二層是收這些訂單的老闆，從微薄的工酬中，把工廠得以延續。
唔使講，商家佬就是幕後黑手啦，間唔中，做一兩單大型活動，攪下d image building / marketing的工作，又得左。這一點我唔想多講，反而是這情況，更多促使發展中國家與已發展國家之間的貧窮懸殊，一面繼續剝削，一面繼續大魚大肉、酒池肉林，我們成日話讚助幾多萬比咩國家救援、捐幾多物資比佢地，但其餘.....我們可能是『幕後黑手』中的其中一名要員......