Fast food is popular because it's convenient, it's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu.
Fast food chains spend a large amount of marketing to get the attention of children. People form their eating habits as children so they try to nurture clients as youngsters.
I'm a huge supporter of animal rights - and I've been an outspoken critic of the cruelties routinely inflicted on livestock at factory farms. But it really bothers me that the mistreatment of pigs and chickens and cows seems to attract a lot more attention and spark a lot more outrage than the abuse of immigrant workers.
McDonald's revolutionized fast food. They introduced a way to eat food without knives, forks or plates. Most fast foods can be eaten while steering the wheel of a car and the restaurants are usually drive through.
One might expect that the families of murder victims would be showered with sympathy and support, embraced by their communities. But in reality they are far more likely to feel isolated, fearful, and ashamed, overwhelmed by grief and guilt, angry at the criminal-justice system, and shunned by their old friends.
I've been called communist, socialist, anti-American.
The fast-food industry is in very good company with the lead industry and the tobacco industry in how it tries to mislead the public, and how aggressively it goes after anybody who criticizes its business practices.
I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.
By the way, I'm not a vegetarian. I have a lot of respect for people who are vegetarian for religious or ethical reasons.
Studies have found that preparing your own food is usually healthier and less expensive than buying fast food. But most people just don't have the time.
'Fast Food Nation' isn't about my journey into the dark world of fast food and the prison book is not about my journey into the prison world. I'm not using myself as any kind of narrative link.
I'm all in favor of animal rights, but I'd like to see the food movement take a much stronger stand in defense of basic human rights. If you're a vegan or a vegetarian, you should care about the people who are picking your fruits and vegetables by hand.
One of my favorite dishes in the world used to be steak tartare, which is raw ground beef seasoned and then served.
McDonald's has been extraordinary at site selection; it was a pioneer in studying the best places for retail locations. One of the things it did is study very carefully where sprawl was headed.
Journalists aren't supposed to be cheerleaders.
Yes, a cheeseburger and fries is probably my favourite meal. But I don't eat ground beef anymore.
Like Hollywood movies, MTV and blue jeans, fast food has become one of America's major cultural exports.
The thing that's been inhibiting long-form investigative reporting is fear - fear of being sued, of being unpopular, of being criticized by very powerful groups.
The fear of murder has grown so enormous in the United States that it leaves a taint, like the mark of Cain, on everyone murder touches.
Very few people realize that the U.S. government does not have the power to order the recall of contaminated meat.
