One main idea from Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer is how our attitude changed after the experience that happened in past. Good example is Foer’s grandmother. She spend half her life running away from Nazis. I believe that everyone has changed inside toward his life at least once. All those experiences changed people to a new person. Some people believes are so strong that they will never break them, even if it’s only one way out. Foer’s grangmother is that kind of person. In Foer’s book we can find a lot of stories but the one about grandmother drew my attention the most. Once she says “A farmer, a Russian, Gold bless him, he saw my condition, and he went into his house and came out with a piece of meat for me…I didn’t eat it”(Foer,16). Foer’s grandmother is a Jewish. Jewish people eat only kosher meats. She didn’t ate for a few days and she still refused that meat(because it’s wasn’t kosher). She was dying, she was barely moving and she still refused that meat. We can see how some people’s believes are strong. Even at the very last moment of his life.

Mcdonald's

Once I went to McDonald’s with my friends. It was like 2 years ago. Each of us ordered a hamburger and french fries. I knew from beginning that there is a new guy at desk. I repeated twice times what I ordered. After 2 minutes he come again and asked what were our orders. After a long wait(really long) he brought our orders. But he brought only hamburgers and he went again asked other people to make extra french fries. While we were waiting for French fries, come to us a manager to apologize for the mess. We weren’t angry and we said to him everything is ok. Probably the new worker was stressed because everyone were looked at him, specially the manager and he didn’t want to mess up. He was doing his best but the results were opposite. I knew that so I was pleasant to him. I don’t want him to lose a job because of me. This situation shows us how not difficult job can affect people to make mistakes. First days at work and he already mess up with order. Extra stress made manager watching him and fear of job loss. All those impacts affect his work. He really was doing his best but at the end everything turned against him.

Opiod

Homeostasis maintain processes in our body. It means body create its own balance to survive. If homeostasis is in danger, it send a signal to the “control center”. In homeostatic the “control center” is the brain. The “control center” take a proper response to that signal and send signal back to the effector (muscle, organs). After that the changes occurs to correct the balance, with positive or negative effect. This also works when people are hungry. People feel hungry because brain send signal to the stomach. It’s not like our stomach is hungry, it feels hungry because brain send that king of signal. People eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. But our brain can’t send the signal ”I’m full” back because of palatable food(food including sugar, fat and salt).This is happening during consuming fast food. Instead of sending signal “I’m full” back to stomach, food activate the region of brain that is called reward center. The reward center is responsible to feel feelings like happiness, excitement. Because of that people eat more and more to feel that “happiness”. After when signal was sent to the “reward center” it’s released “opiod”. Opiod is very similar to the drug called opium. Opium is used to produce heroin and other drugs. Opium makes our body feel great and we want to eat more and more to feel that pleasure. That’s why food containing a lot of sugar, fat and salt will make people come back to feel that happiness.

Stroking

According to Eric Shlosser,  “Stroking” is the way how managers motivate their employees. Stroking is a form of praising. Many teenagers don’t get that at home. Because of that teenagers feel that they are needed and welcome in job more than at home. “Stroking can make a worker feel that his or her contribution is sincerely valued”(Fast Food Nation). McDonald’s is trying to inculcate “team spirit” to all crew members. If one worker arrived late to work, he should feel that he is making life harder for everyone else. He don’t want to make his friends life harder so he will be doing his best to avoid that kind of situation. We can see how McDonald's is manipulated workers to do things like McDonald want to do.

Uniformity

In Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation word “uniformity” stands for lack of diversity or variation. In all McDonald’s over the US, you can buy a product that will taste the same in numerous locations. It’s that because McDonald’s requires from all their suppliers the same way of rising the chickens or cattle. “A brand offers a feeling of reassurance when its products are always and everywhere the same” (Fast Food Nation p.5). Also McDonald is reducing cattle suppliers. Its mean that McDonald is trying to have just one or few suppliers, so they will be sure that rising method is the same(meat will taste the same). All McDonald’s restaurant have the same preparation for each meal. Each worker is training to how he/she supposed to cook each meal. It also applies to store design. All restaurants looks same. So when a customer enters the store he feel familiar with each locations.

Encroachment

Encroachment occurs when restaurants belonging to the same chain are opening near each other. In other words, one company is trying to take over the place that belongs to another company. New location is more amazing for customers because it is new. People think that they can buy a better food and cheaper at new place. They are familiar with that place even if they are first time there. Because all fast food place looks the same. Color on the walls looks familiar cause is similary to others place they were already and that’s why they know they can get delicious food in new place as well. New fast food is driving away customers from old place to new one(not usually better). I think that, habits those people is changing also. They are no longer walking to old place because is old.

                                                                                                                                       Lukasz