Point of view is present in anything I write, but I really try to let the subject and facts speak for themselves.
Eric SchlosserThe federal government has more power to recall a defective stuffed animal who's little glass eye may fall off than to recall contaminated ground beef that could sicken or even kill hundreds if not thousands of people. The meat-packing industry is so powerful that it's managed to prevent the government from having this basic power of recalling a defective product.
Eric SchlosserThe current fast food that we have is inexpensive when you buy it, but the long-term costs of eating it and the long-term costs to society, are much too high. This cheap food, when you add up all the total costs, is much too expensive.
Eric SchlosserThe way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000โฆ. Now our food is coming from enormous assembly lines where the animals and the workers are being abused, and the food has become much more dangerous in ways that are deliberately hidden from us. This isnโt just about what weโre eating. Itโs about what weโre allowed to say. What weโre allowed to know.
Eric SchlosserToday the U.S. government can demand the nation-wide recall of defective softball bats, sneakers, stuffed animals, and foam-rubber toy cows. But it cannot order a meatpacking company to remove contaminated, potentially lethal ground beef from fast food kitchens and supermarket shelves.
Eric Schlosser