# "Fast Food Nation"



## jggavl (Mar 14, 2002)

Hi All,I am reading the book "Fast Food Nation." Has anyone out there read it? It should be required reading for anyone with IBS and especially us LEAPers. You really don't know what you are eating at fast food restaurants. For example chicken can be flavored with beef flavoring and we all know about the french fries. I haven't eaten much fast food in the past but now it is completely off limits for me.Annie


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

Was that written by Janet Jackson?


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## jggavl (Mar 14, 2002)

MIKE,You really should read this book. It was written by Eric Schlosser. It explains why so many people have reactions to fast food - they add so many "flavors" which are made in the lab. I read many posts from people who have had reactions to fast food. The book also goes into many disturbing facts about the fast food industry.Annie


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## Julia37 (May 9, 2001)

Annie,I got the book from the library because you mentioned it. It's mesmerizing - like a horror show, I was disgusted but couldn't put it down!














Mike, I agree if you haven't read it you will find it informative. I already avoid anything labeled "natural flavors" because it usually means MSG, which makes me sick. Turned out my mother had read it and ever since she won't eat fast food meat - she had a choice between regular hot dog and veggie and she chose veggie, even though she said it tasted yucky. Of course that's not an option for me with my soy allergy. But meat hot dogs have soy products also...Also she said, "If a lot of people had bad reactions to it many would be sick all the time - hmm, many people are sick all the time..."Enough said, eh?I find it so sad and stupid the way the meatpacking workers are treated. I got a bad start in life, I could have ended up in a place like that. I worked in factories and garages and saw some very stupid things with people not following safety procedures - they acted like I was the uptight, stupid one. Now I see my refusal to put up with #### has done more for me than almost anything else, but I feel sorry for those poor workers, especially the one who couldn't read.


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

The average American consumes over 20 pounds of chemicals in their food per year, and a fast food junkie over 40! Thats a lot of adaptation fo the organism to make in less than one generation (in the 50's Ozzie and Harriet prototyipcal diet we wwere eating maybe 8 pounds or so per year..e.asy to detox). It's no wonder so many are suffering from food intlerance symptoms.I will get the book since it has come so highly recommended!







MNL


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## jggavl (Mar 14, 2002)

JULIA,I'm glad to hear that you read "Fast Food Nation." I thought that the book was very informative, especially for those of us with food intolerance and allergies. I ate very little fast food before but now it is completely off limits. Annie


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## StressedOut (Nov 14, 2001)

Hi all, I would recommend the Eric Schlosser book to everyone. It's really absorbing and as well as talking about synthetic flavour factories it talks about the social effects of the fast food industry and it's effect on farming.I used to think of having fast food as a bit of a treat but since reading that book I won't go in any of them. Partly because I don't want to support minimum wage giant companys and also cos I don't want any of that synthetic "food" anywhere near my digestive system!Enjoy reading it!


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## Julia37 (May 9, 2001)

Well I can't say any particular thing is off limits since my diet is already so limited. I can't eat much at the big 3 (McD's, BK, and Wendy's) because they cook everything in soy oil, to which I'm allergic. But when I travel I usually carry an oil-free bagel with me, and I might end up making do with a fast food hamburger, because I'm not allergic to the meat - also a baked potato at Wendy's, although the only thing I can put on it is mustard.I generally haven't eaten at those places much because of the oil. I work in downtown Chicago and there are a few good healthy fast food places there that offer food cooked in canola oil with fresh veggies, etc. But one of them, Taza, recently closed. Damn I miss that chicken! There's still Schlotzky's - no soy oil in that yummy sourdough bread or on their chips! But otherwise I can't eat at a downtown restaurant for less than $10, which is a strain on the budget at this point.Not just fast food, in any restaurant the deli meat is likely to be processed and the soups, dressings and sauces made from the same mixes as in fast food. Some lie and say it's "homemade" when it's made from a mix. The only way to be safe is with fresh meat and veggie dishes.I already knew about the social problems because I lived them when I was young. Sounds like not much has changed.


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