ERIC SCHLOSSER

Like Hollywood movies, MTV and blue jeans, fast food has become one of America's major cultural exports.

I've been called communist, socialist, anti-American.

I really like hamburgers and French fries, and I don't consider myself some kind of gourmand.

'Fast Food Nation' appeared as an article in 'Rolling Stone' before it was a book, so I was extending it from the article, and by that time, everyone could read the article.

Fast food is popular because it's convenient, it's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu.

Different people, in good faith, can look at the same fact and interpret it differently. But that's where an interesting conversation begins.

It's not a question of McDonald's vanishing from the face of the earth. It's a question of these companies assuming some more responsibility for what they're selling.

Journalists aren't supposed to be cheerleaders.

I can understand why a single parent, working two jobs, would find it easier to stop at McDonald's with the kids rather than cook something from scratch at home.

Since 1966, hundreds of books have been published that follow murderers along their paths of destruction. Every serial killer, it seems, now has a biographer or two.

There is a growing market today for local, organic foods produced by small farmers. And farmers' markets have played a large role in making that happen.

I try to persuade people to act in ways that are not only in their own interest, but in the interest of society at large.

As a matter of fact, most cases of food poisoning are never linked back to their source.

Firstly, should we be selling and buying irradiated meat? I think that's up to the consumer, ultimately. But the second point is, this irradiated meat should be clearly and unmistakably labeled as irradiated meat.

The importance of recalls is to show that contaminated meat is getting out the door. And when you look at these recalls, in many ways the most disturbing thing about these recalls is how little of the meat actually winds up back at the plant.

I'd been eating fast food all my life without thinking about it. And the more I learned about the subject, the more intrigued I became.

Fast food chains spend a large amount of marketing to get the attention of children. People form their eating habits as children so they try to nurture clients as youngsters.

One might expect that the families of murder victims would be showered with sympathy and support, embraced by their communities. But in reality they are far more likely to feel isolated, fearful, and ashamed, overwhelmed by grief and guilt, angry at the criminal-justice system, and shunned by their old friends.

By the way, I'm not a vegetarian. I have a lot of respect for people who are vegetarian for religious or ethical reasons.

Studies have found that preparing your own food is usually healthier and less expensive than buying fast food. But most people just don't have the time.

It's possible to go to the market, buy good ingredients, and make yourself a healthy meal for less than it costs to buy a value meal at McDonald's.

Hey, I used to eat at McDonald's: I liked the taste of the food, especially the French fries.

The fast-food industry is in very good company with the lead industry and the tobacco industry in how it tries to mislead the public, and how aggressively it goes after anybody who criticizes its business practices.

Yes, a cheeseburger and fries is probably my favourite meal. But I don't eat ground beef anymore.

I think there should be very strict limits on the pathogens that can be sold in your meat. There should be limits on disease-causing pathogens. Tests should determine whether the meat is contaminated or not, and you shouldn't be allowed to sell contaminated meat.