Fast Food Nation

The chapter begins with a description of Colorado Springs, particularly the suburban sprawl that was happening at the time the book was written. Schlosser attributes the population growth of Colorado Springs in part to military installations, specifically the US Air Force. He also attributes this growth to an influx of transplanted residents from Southern California, many of whom were businessmen and entrepreneurs. This created a change in political demographics, as Colorado and other western states began leaning Republican. Schlosser examines how the standard of living evolved in places like Colorado Springs, which had slowly become corporatized. Despite the new industries being brought to Colorado, such as telecommunications and computer software development, the fast food industry was still the largest employer (64). Schlosser examines the makeup of the fast food workforce, of which adolescents form the majority. Fast food chains target these young people to work at their stores, which helps keep the cost of labor low. Additionally, Schlosser discusses the various strategies and principles the fast food industry borrows from the manufacturing industry. Chief among these is the idea of “throughput,” which Schlosser defines as “the speed and volume of its flow” (68). Fast food kitchens operate like an assembly line in which employees are stationed to perform specific tasks.