Best-selling Author Delivers the “Skinny” on the Fast Food Industry for UNCW Presents Leadership Lecture Series
8/23/2005 4:18:36 PM
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Wilmington, NC– Eric Schlosser, author of the national bestseller, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal will speak at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28 in Kenan Auditorium at the University of North Carolina Wilmington to launch the UNCW Presents Leadership Lecture Series. This event is co-presented with UNCW’s Health Promotion Services. Schlosser will reveal the inner workings of the fast food industry and argue that it is not only hastening the destruction of our landscape, but widening the gap between rich and poor, fueling an epidemic of obesity, and propelling American cultural imperialism abroad. It will be followed by a Q&A session and book signing.
Schlosser examines American culture during the past 30 years and highlights a relationship between the increasing number of fast food establishments and an array of destructive trends in our society. He feels that as American culture becomes global culture, there’s an increasing need to transcend the hype of our pre-packaged daily lives and examine the intersection between the individual and corporate. Schlosser admits that, “executives who run the fast food industry are not bad men. They are businessmen. They will sell whatever sells at a profit.” For Schlosser, though, “the real price never appears on the menu…[profits are] made possibly by losses imposed on the rest of society.”
Preferring to let his artfully assembled mass of statistics and quotations make their own case, Schlosser displays his fury subtly. Fast Food Nation serves a fat helping of frightening data aimed to make people think as eaters. He is particularly concerned with the fast food industry’s efforts to market directly to kids, evidenced by the alliance between McDonald’s and Disney, among others. To Schlosser, these companies “feed off the young,” successfully. Ninety-six percent of American children recognize Ronald McDonald, only Santa Clause rates higher.
Schlosser’s intensive archival research and first-hand reporting have established him as one of America’s leading cultural critics.
Schlosser has been a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly since 1996. After graduating from Princeton with a degree in American History, Schlosser tried his hand at several professions(playwright, novelist, script writer) before finally turning to non-fiction. What began as a simple magazine article turned into an international best-seller. Fast Food Nation was on The New York Times bestseller list for nearly two years. Praise for Schlosser’s debut has been issued from all around the world.
He has also appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN Evening News, NBC Nightly News, FOX News, The O’Reilly Factor, and Extra!
His other works include: Marketing to Children & the Obesity Epidemic; Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market; Food Safety & Contamination: What the Public Doesn’t Know; Social Activism; Worker Safety; Illegal Immigration; and The War On Drugs. He is currently working on a book about the American prison system, exploring the question, “How does the land of the free come to have the largest prison population in the history of the world?”
Shannon Hooker, Assistant Director for UNCW Presents says, “Students often talk about gaining the Freshman 15, but the effects of a fast food diet go beyond gaining a few pounds—they can be long lasting and dangerous. While this is generally acknowledged the fast food industry continues to boom. Mr. Schlosser did years of research to try to explain why. His book’s success suggests he may have hit close to the mark.”
BOX OFFICE AND TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are free for UNCW students, faculty and staff, and $6 for the general public. To reserve tickets, or for additional information about the Leadership Lecture Series, call Kenan Auditorium Box Office at 910/962.3500 or 800/732.3643 outside the Wilmington area, or by visiting the web at www.uncw.edu/arts. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP LECTURE SERIES
The Leadership Lecture Series invites nationally and internationally-known speakers who enlighten, challenge, inspire and demonstrate that all people have the ability to lead if they have the desire to make a difference. Sponsored by UNCW Presents, the series serves as a forum for intellectual inquiry and discussion offering the campus and community opportunities to discuss and explore the political, cultural, and economic trends and issues that shape and affect our communities today. By inviting a speaker to the campus, the university does not endorse any particular position. For more information about the series, please visit www.uncw.edu/arts.
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