What's in the Meat

Eric Schlosser's chapter "What's in the Meat" in Fast Food Nation provides a shocking look into the rather obscure (at least to the public) industry of meatpacking. Fast Food Nation as a whole seems intended to provoke a response, and that is exactly what this chapter does. While in early chapters Schlosser relies heavily on the recounting of historical stories and histories, this chapter seems to focus most prominently on facts with only a few follow-up stories to reinforce the point. While many view this factual approach as rather dry and ineffective, the pure shock value of the facts Schlosser provides are enough to convince any reader of his position regarding the meatpacking industry.

As is his style, Schlosser does begin this chapter with a story. This story recounts the illness of a man who contracted e. coli. The gory and gruesome details are enough to discourage anyone from eating red meat ever again. Schlosser details the specific symptoms of e. coli poisoning that range from extreme stomach cramps to a low fever to bloody diarrhea. While these symptoms can be extremely uncomfortable and painful, the more severe symptoms included, brain damage, kidney failure, internal bleeding, and even death. The fact that all of these symptoms can stem from "as few as five [e. coli] organisms" from a seemingly harmless piece of meat is indeed shocking and convincing. (Schlosser, 201)

Schlosser's second factual assault is based on the statistics of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths resulting from e. coli poisoning. He also includes statistics on the different pathogens present in meat. Schlosser states that "every day in the United States, roughly 200,000 people are sickened by a foodborne disease, 900 are hospitalized, and fourteen day." (195) That happens every day. Despite the convincing statistics, the feeling that "this could never happen to me" still persists. However, that feeling is eradicated when the reader learns that a recent USDA study found that "78.6 percent of the ground beef contained microbes that are spread primarily by fecal material." (Schlosser, 197) Schlosser concludes one paragraph with a rather abrupt and disturbing sentence: "There is shit in the meat." (197) These facts are rather convincing.

Perhaps the most disturbing facts that Schlosser presents involve the lack of cooperation from the meat industry regarding health and safety standards and the inability of the government to force them to comply. Schlosser makes the important distinction that although "the U.S. government can demand the nationwide recall of defective softball bats, sneakers, stuffed animals, and foam-rubber toy cows... it cannot order a meatpacking company to remove contaminated, potentially lethal ground beef from fast food kitchens and supermarket shelves." (196) When a foam toy represents more of a safety hazard to a young child than poisoned food, there is a serious problem. Schlosser continues to recount the various ways the meatpacking industry has avoided regulation and the ineptitude of the government in enforcing the few regulations that do exist. The complete and utter denial of any responsibility for public safety by the industry is perhaps best demonstrated by a quote Schlosser provides that states, "The presence of bacteria in raw meat, including E. coli O157:H7, although undesirable, is unavoidable, and not cause for condemnation of the product." (207) This laissez-faire attitude speaks not only to the irresponsibility of the meatpacking industry, but also the ability of the government to do anything about it.