A Moment With ... Eric Schlosser ’81

Eric Schlosser ’81

Ruby Washington/The New York Times/Redux

Published in the Nov. 19, 2008, Issue

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

Your 1995 story on immigrant workers in The Atlantic, “The Strawberry Fields,” seemed to set you on your journalistic path. How did social justice become your cause?

In discussions about , you pushed for better slaughterhouse worker safety — slowing the carcass production line, for instance.

The Slow Food movement battles a perception of elitism. Is there a place at that table for those on food stamps?

You and Katrina vanden Heuvel ’81, editor of , have called for a new New Deal. How would it play out in food policy?

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How will you ensure that your Thanksgiving turkey was raised and slaughtered by workers who themselves were treated humanely?

What practical food reforms can we make in our own lives?

Interview conducted and condensed by Karla Cook, editor of the Web site The Food Times (www.thefoodtimes.com)