KCSOS Webteam

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
by Eric Schlosser

What does it have to do with Kern County?

Bakersfield is # 1 in California in having more fast food options as it has supermarkets. How can we as engaged citizens encourage commercial development that is diverse yet balanced?

27% of adults in Kern County are obese on the body mass index scale, 7% have diabetes and 11% have heart disease.

E. coli outbreaks and food-borne illnesses, which author Eric Schlosser researched extensively in the late 1990’s, are still occurring. What measures must be taken to ensure a safe, yet still affordable food supply?

Local adults 50 and over remember a time when most of our shopping and restaurant visits were to locally owned neighborhood establishments. The historical significance of our now widely franchised American marketplace deserves our recognition, study, and discussion.

Each of us as citizens needs to look at and examine the effect our food choices as a society have on our national and personal health, our culture, and our environment.

One Book, One Bakersfield cultivates a culture of reading and discussion in Bakersfield by bringing our diverse city together around one great book. Reading great literature provokes us to think about ourselves, our environment, and our relationships. Talking about great literature with friends, family and neighbors often adds richness and depth to the experience of reading. Discussing the themes of great books can build bridges of understanding between nearby neighbors and far-apart neighborhoods. The idea behind One Book, One Bakersfield is to have all of Bakersfield — adults, new readers, students and families — reading the same book at the same time to create a city-wide read and conversation. In its tenth city-wide read One Book, One Bakersfield has chosen Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser.

Participate

One Book One Bakersfield 2008 - a city-wide reading group - invites everyone to read Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser.

Get the book:

The Branches of the Kern County Library
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Russo's Book Store

Read:

November through March: Participate in programs and discussions beginning in late February-March

Review:

This web site for upcoming program listings, discussion questions and other resources.

Talk and Think about the book:

Attend a One Book Program, create your own reading group, discuss it at your worksite or around your dinner table!

SAVE THE DATE!
Thursday, February 7, 2008

Eric Schlosser will talk about these themes and more in Bakersfield to be followed by a wide variety of programs, activities, presentations, and discussions.