Award-winning journalist and author Eric Schlosser will warn students about the toll McDonald’s chicken nuggets and Taco Bell chalupas can take on the environment at a free lecture at 7 p.m. tonight in the Ryan Family Auditorium.
Schlosser, author of the New York Times bestseller “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal,” will address the way the fast-food industry has transformed America’s economy, workforce and popular culture, said Matt McCormick, co-chairman of Students for Environmental and Ecological Development, the event’s sponsor.
“Instead of talking about some of the more esoteric environmental issues, I think (Schlosser’s book) is something a lot of people can really connect with,” said McCormick, a Weinberg senior.
McCormick said fast-food restaurants severely damage the environment with paper and plastic waste and with mass-production agricultural techniques. He added that the restaurant chains also frequently exploit their workers.
McCormick said Schlosser’s lecture — which comprises a presentation, question-and-answer period and book signing — will focus on fast food and the environment. But also up for discussion
will be topics such as the black markets in marijuana, migrant labor and pornography — all featured in Schlosser’s other book, “Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market.
In addition to being an author, Schlosser also is an accomplished journalist. He has won several awards for his reporting and writing; is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly; and has contributed to The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and U.S. News and World Report.
Schlosser is SEED’s first speaker this year. The group’s mission is “to promote concern for the planet in community decisions and in daily life through education and action.” The group has furthered their aim this year through several service projects, which include attempting to improve campus recycling and restoring forest land along the north branch of the Chicago River, McCormick said.
He said he hopes listening to Schlosser will encourage students to think more about their habits as consumers.
“(‘Fast Food Nation’) is very much like a modern-day version of ‘The Jungle,'” McCormick said. “It really does expose a lot of very unpleasant things about food that we just sort of accept and don’t really question. It’s something that’s extremely relevant to Northwestern students in more ways than most people probably recognize.”
Students such as Alex Glaser said they are looking forward to hearing Schlosser speak.
“He’s like Michael Moore without being loud-mouthed and obnoxious,” said Glaser, a Communication sophomore. “He puts things in a more scholarly way. I haven’t eaten fast food since reading ‘Fast Food Nation,’ but I guess that’s pretty common after reading it.”
