Eric Schlosser

I never consciously set out to model myself after Upton Sinclair.

'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 Nation' isn't about my journey into the dark world of fast food and the prison book is not about my journey into the prison world. I'm not using myself as any kind of narrative link.

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.

I'd like to think that, in the United States, you can criticize a company that makes hamburgers without having to worry about what might happen to you.

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

I'm just angry at the sort of things that are winding up in ground beef. I'm angry that other people - mainly children - are going to be sickened by eating a hamburger.

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

The fear of murder has grown so enormous in the United States that it leaves a taint, like the mark of Cain, on everyone murder touches.

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.

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.

Even academic elites are drawn to the figure of the murderer, which has long been a focus of attention for psychiatrists, sociologists, and criminologists.

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.

The thing that's been inhibiting long-form investigative reporting is fear - fear of being sued, of being unpopular, of being criticized by very powerful groups.

Journalists aren't supposed to be cheerleaders.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

If you eat, you should be concerned about the people who are providing you with food.

I'm a huge supporter of animal rights - and I've been an outspoken critic of the cruelties routinely inflicted on livestock at factory farms. But it really bothers me that the mistreatment of pigs and chickens and cows seems to attract a lot more attention and spark a lot more outrage than the abuse of immigrant workers.

I'm all in favor of animal rights, but I'd like to see the food movement take a much stronger stand in defense of basic human rights. If you're a vegan or a vegetarian, you should care about the people who are picking your fruits and vegetables by hand.

McDonald's revolutionized fast food. They introduced a way to eat food without knives, forks or plates. Most fast foods can be eaten while steering the wheel of a car and the restaurants are usually drive through.

One of my favorite dishes in the world used to be steak tartare, which is raw ground beef seasoned and then served.