In Chapter 1 of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, some readers find it counterproductive to the author Schlosser's argument...

Schlosser provides a somewhat sympathetic portrait of Carl Karcher to highlight the origins of the fast food industry.

Schlosser chooses Karcher to open his work because it demonstrates how the industry began with good intentions. Karcher was a self-made man. He struggled with poverty, worked very hard to achieve his dream, and saw an opportunity in California's changing dynamics to do so. Highlighting Karcher's rise demonstrates how those who started the fast food industry were...

Schlosser provides a somewhat sympathetic portrait of Carl Karcher to highlight the origins of the fast food industry.

Schlosser chooses Karcher to open his work because it demonstrates how the industry began with good intentions. Karcher was a self-made man. He struggled with poverty, worked very hard to achieve his dream, and saw an opportunity in California's changing dynamics to do so. Highlighting Karcher's rise demonstrates how those who started the fast food industry were instrumental in the preparation of its product. For example, Karcher opened the first Carl's Jr. in 1956. Karcher was not only the proprietor of the Carl's Jr. chain of restaurants. He was also a worker. Schlosser details how Karcher would work after hours to perfect his "secret sauce." Karcher was knowledgeable about every aspect of the operation because it was his dream. Schlosser's analysis shows how Karcher studied the patterns of his rivals and sought to integrate similar approaches in his food products. Karcher made decisions that enhanced the financial health and food quality in his restaurants.

Karcher's intimacy with his food products stands in vast contrast to the practices in today's industry. As his work progresses, Schlosser shows how financial gain motivates decisions. Poor food quality and its unsanitary preparation as well as kitchens abounding with rodents and insects are realities of the modern fast food industry. Given how close he was to his food products, Karcher would repudiate such conditions. Schlosser's sympathetic view of Karcher allows us to see how the origins of the industry are vastly different than what it is today. As a result of Schlosser's viewpoint, it is clear that inventors of the industry like Karcher would not stand by what it has become.