Logos
Shlosser uses logos as rhetoric to outline and emphasize the fact that fast food has negatively impacted American culture especially when it comes to our health. He uses facts such as "...in 1996 (the USDA) found that 7.5% of ground beef samples taken at processing plants were contaminated with Salmonella, 11.7 % were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, 30% contaminated with staphylococcus aureus, and 53.3% were contaminated with Clostridium perfringens" All of the pathogens listed above make people sick. Listeria which was found in 11.7% of the meat usually causes hospitalization and is fatal in one of every 5 cases, shocking! "In the USDA study showed that 78.6% of ground beef contained microbes that are spread primarily from fecal matter." This fact can be easily summarized by stating that the meat is full of crap. To show the amount of change that fast food has brought in a brief period of twenty years Shlosser says "Twenty years ago, teenage boys in the United States drank twice as much milk as soda; now they drink twice as much soda as milk" Soda is the drink that generally accompanies every fast food meal and drinking an excessive amount as is becoming the case, can cause calcium deficiencies which increases the likelihood of bone problems in the future. To generalize how much the fast food industry has grown he provides the fact that "In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000 they spent more than $110 billion" In just a matter of 30 years, Americans spent about 18 times more than what they used to spend on fast food. Such an alarming increase on the amount we spend on fast food can only represent more danger for our health.