Chew On This: Everything You Don’t Want To Know About Fast Food

A key theme of Schlosser and Wilson’s book is that of disruptive entrepreneurship and the contributions of people like Walt Disney, who believed that “new ways of doing things […] were always better than the old ways, regardless of the consequences (28). The new ways, in food as well as entertainment, were always faster, cheaper, more standardized and efficient. They would mean that more people than ever would be able to eat in restaurants, and also that a select few at the top of a corporation would stand to inherit enormous wealth. 

Schlosser and Wilson identify a dominant personality type amongst the fast food corporations’ disruptive entrepreneurs. These men tended to be plucky, future-minded and placed a greater emphasis on expansion and wealth creation, rather than quality. Rather than being born rich or famous, or being highly educated, the fast food giants were “self-made men who worked hard and took risks in pursuit of their dreams. They were door-to-door salesmen, orphans and high school dropouts” (16). In this way, they are linked to the American Dream and attain iconic status. However, the darker side of disruptive entrepreneurship is its lack of accountability. Repeatedly, whether the promotion and easy availability of their products has contributed to epidemics of obesity or tooth decay, or where their taste for sameness has meant that smaller, individual growers go out of business, they try to pass the buck and place the onus on individuals, rather than take responsibility for the system they have created.