Q. What was the biggest challenge of adapting the subject matter of "Fast Food Nation" to be accessible to kids? On your tour for "Chew on This," are you finding that young audiences are receptive to finding out, say, where that strawberry color in their yogurt really comes from? Do they care?
A. Our main goal was to make the writing clear and accessible. We didn't want to write something that was condescending or glib. We just wanted to show kids what they never see in a fast food ad: where the food comes from, how it's made, and what's in it. We also decided to put the stories of young people at the heart of the narrative. We follow the lives of teen workers, a family trying to hold onto their cattle ranch, and a 16-year-old boy struggling with obesity. The fast food industry lends itself easily to such an approach. This is an industry that feeds — and feeds off — the young.
So far, kids seem to be pretty surprised and amazed where their food comes from — especially to see the bugs used as food coloring in some of their milkshakes.
Q. President Clinton just successfully negotiated a deal with the big soft drink manufacturers to get sugary drinks out of school vending machines — one of the prime culprits for kids' obesity problems. Seems like a big victory, although the agreement doesn't go into effect until 2010! What's the reason for the delay?
A. The best thing about this soda agreement is that it is a bipartisan agreement brokered by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, who had heart bypass surgery in part because of his diet, and Republican Governor Mike Huckabee, who has suffered from diabetes. The childhood obesity crisis isn't a partisan issue. Republican and Democratic kids are becoming unhealthy. The sugars in soda make up a large part of the extra caloric intake in the diets of young people, and soda consumption has played a role in the rise of childhood obesity. Ideally, their deal would take effect immediately. But we're happy the companies have agreed to do the right thing.
Q. What else do you think schools could do improve kids' diets — considering that 30 percent of public high schools sell "branded fast food"? And are schools really more of a factor or parents?
A. We both believe in parental responsibility and personal responsibility. We also believe in corporate responsibility — and that fast food companies should not be selling unhealthy foods in the nation's schools or advertising their products at schools.
Parents play a leading role in determining what kinds of foods a child will like. Yet schools play an enormous role, too. If students see that the ladies and men in the cafeteria are the worst-paid workers in the building-and that they have low morale — it sends an important message about the role of food in our culture. We think the Edible Schoolyard program in Northern California is a template that other schools can follow. Children there learn that food is an integral part of life. They learn about nutrition by growing, harvesting and preparing foods.
Q. When it comes to fast food, is the United States definitely the worst? Indian street food, like fried pakoras, comes to mind; and fried fish and chips can't be too healthy either.
A. The heavily processed industrial foods are the worst. What particularly worries us about fast food in America is the very high level of man-made trans-fats in the cooking oils. The National Academy of Sciences has said no amount of trans fat is good for a person to eat. In Denmark, McDonald's removed trans fats from their fries. They have yet to do so in America.
Q. Some of the most depressing statistics in "Chew on This" have to do with the wages of teenage workers who get part-time jobs at fast-food outlets and never advance (or get benefits). What percentage of young workers, roughly, will get promoted to manager or have a shot at advancing at companies like McDonald's or Burger King?
A. At the major chains, about 9 out of every 10 workers are crewmembers, and only 1 in 10 are managers. The crewmembers usually don't get benefits and their hours are generally limited to 30 hours or so a week. The big companies don't like to pay young people overtime, and they keep it to a minimum.
Q. How worried are you about bird flu and mad cow disease? Is the fast food industry prepared to deal with potential outbreaks?
A. The centralized, industrialized food system we have today is ideal for spreading dangerous pathogens. Nobody should panic about mad cow or avian flu, but we need a much stronger and tougher food-safety system.
Q. Everyone seems to know about the French farmer, Jose Bove, who vandalized the McDonald's in the south of France and became a national hero. Has there ever been a significant protest against fast food in America?
A. Most of the big protests against McDonald's have been abroad, where the company has come to symbolize in many people's minds all that is wrong and right with America. In our book, we talk about a protest on a much smaller scale: It's the story of a 12-year-old girl in Alaska, Kristina Clark, who started a campaign at her school to remove soda because so many of the people close to her were suffering from diabetes and dental problems. She won.
Both of us believe in the power of one person to change the world. And we want young people to start thinking about the world around them and how they can make a difference.