MATERIAL OF THE MOMENT:

CHEW ON THIS                            
Authors: Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Date: May, 2006
Ranking: 5/5
Age Range: Mature tweens and up*.

Written by the same author as the hugely popular, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser attempts to reach teenagers with his latest book, Chew on This (co-authored with Charles Wilson) that again takes on the fast food industry, exposing the mistreatment of animals in slaughterhouses and employees in restaurants, the shocking effects too much fast food can have on growing bodies, and the impact of the industry on schools, communities, and the environment.

Like Fast Food Nation, Chew on This presents anything but a pretty picture when it comes to the fast food industry and all the harm it has caused and continues to cause. However, Schlosser and Wilson also provide a brief history of the industry and show how the very origins of fast food lie with its original teenaged creators. The book also provides a fascinating section on the connections between Disney and McDonalds in the early days when Micky-Dees was first starting up, and moreover, the effects of marketing on pre-school children and brand loyalties.

Almost everyone knows how gross the creation of fast food is now, but it doesn't hurt to throw in some truly disgusting facts to hammer this point home, and Schlosser and Wilson don't shy away from doing this (protective parents, beware the section describing the creation of McDonalds chicken mcnugget):

• A single fast-food hamburger may contain meat from hundreds, even thousands, of different cattle.
• Each can of soda contains more than ten teaspoons of sugar.
• A single animal infected with E. Coli 0157:H7 can contaminate thirty-two thousand pounds of ground beef.
• Chickens in slaughterhouses are sometimes killed by being thrown against walls or stomped on.
• Leftover waste from a cattle slaughterhouse is sometimes added to chicken feed.
• Leftover waste from a chicken slaughterhouse is sometimes added to chicken feed, turning the doomed birds into cannibals.

But where the book truly shines, in my opinion, are the parts where the authors engage with real American teenagers who have taken stands: a 17 year-old from Montreal who stands up for his rights as a student employee and forms the first-ever McDonalds union; a teen from Alaska who launches a "Stop the Pop" campaign.

Empowering teenagers to stand up for themselves against fast food giants by providing real examples is the true gift this book provides. When you get right down do it, what teenager wouldn't enjoy the thought of "sticking it to the man"? And when that "man" happens to be the huge type of industry the fast food industry is, "sticking it" just seems all that sweeter.

All in all, a very topical, compelling, well-written book that has certainly convinced me that the burger I got at BK prior to flying home at Christmas was my last!

*In terms of reading levels, I would generally recommend readers be at least 11 years-old. Some of the subjects discussed can be quite shocking as the authors do not shy away from including some graphic descriptions. However, I also happen to know a very mature 10 year-old who received the book for a Christmas present, became hooked, and has been spewing out facts to her friends and family ever since..."word-of-mouth" activism in motion!