As George Ritzer points out in the The McDonaldization of Society, society has become increasing rationalized. Americans strive to eat in ways that are quick and cost efficient, and fast food restaurants are a great way to do this. Chain restaurants are all the same, because then people can get exactly what they expect, no matter where they are. In an effort to be more rational, fast food restaurants focus on quality, instead of quality. Although people do work at fast food restaurants, they are working in a machine-like way with the help of many actual machines. In the industry, employers have a lot of control of their workers, giving them simple, specific tasks, and by providing a similar experience at all fast food restaurants, they have control over customers as well. Although becoming increasingly rational has many benefits, it is also very dehumanizing and makes life less exciting.
The Tomato Trail, discusses the production of tomatoes, which has become increasingly rational. Now, countless people in many different locations play a small, machine-like role in production. Growth is no longer natural, but instead controlled at each step. All of the tomatoes in each box look the same. Although it may seem efficient, the quality of a tomato produced this way is worse than one produced locally and the costs to the environment are great.
I think that the entire food system has become rationalized. Corporations want efficiency and predictability. There are benefits to rationalization and mass production, but there is a great loss of quality as well. If Americans moved away from this type of eating to actually cooking their own food, we would benefit greatly. Actually caring about the food we eat and putting in the time may be less efficient, but we would be healthier and have a better experience.
Do the benefits of McDonaldization and rationalization out weight the costs?
If the food industry continues to become increasingly rational, what is the next step?
Emma, I had very similar concerns as you did. When we say that people should be eating healthy are we actually implying that they should be eating food that has not been caught up in the mess of McDonaldization. If that is the case then can we ever actually get away from it?
ReplyDeleteYou've done a particularly nice job of very concisely summarizing these readings. Particularly with the longer Tomato Trail piece, you've summed up its main points in a single paragraph in a very clear and concise way. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are huge costs in this rationalization that people do not even recognize. Environmental costs are often mentioned, but it is certainly a good point to mention the health and quality costs. We all seem to enjoy a real, fresh, delicious meal, but we settle for such low quality foods in day-to-day life.
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