Plot

When contaminated meat is placed in the freezer next to that used for a fast food chain's most famous sandwich, a marketing executive seeks to find out who did it and why, taking a journey through the dark side of American alimentation.

Don Anderson is the marketing director for Mickey's fast food chain. He's the inventor of their bestselling hamburger, the Big One. Independent research has shown the presence of cow's feces in the Big One. Don is sent to Cody, Colorado, to verify if the main supplier of Mickey's beef is efficient as it appears, and the production process is up to code. During his investigation, he discovers the horrible truth behind a simple hamburger; the reality is not like it's portrayed. Don discovers what the mass production system involves, from the temp-workers like Amber to the exploitation of irregular immigrants. It's not only the meat being crushed in the machinery, but our society.—1felco

In California, the VP of Marketing of the Mickey's Fast Food Don Anderson is responsible for the hamburger "Big One", the number one in selling in Mickey's chain of fast food restaurants. When an independent research in the meat patties produced in Cody, Colorado, indicates the presence of cow manure, Don is sent to the facility to investigate possible irregularities in the meatpacking production plant and also the major supplier of kettle. Along his surveys, Don finds the truth about the process and how meat is contaminated. Meanwhile, a group of illegal Mexican immigrants arrive in Cody to work in the dirty jobs in the plant while a group of activists plot how to expose the terrible situation of the Mickey's industry.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Schlosser opens with the ironic delivery of a pizza to the top-secret military base, Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. He describes various high-tech capabilities of the base and its extensive defensive system, speculating that if the worst were to happen and the entire base were entombed in the mountain, anthropologists of the future would discover random fast-food wrappers scattered among military hardware. Both, suggests Schlosser, would provide important clues about the nature of American society.

Evolution: An account of the evolution of fast food and how it has coincided with the advent of the automobile. Schlosser explains the transformation from countless independent restaurants to a few uniform franchises. This shift led to a production-line kitchen prototype, standardization, self-service, and a fundamental change in marketing demographics: from teenager to family-oriented.

Marketing to kids: Regarding the topic of child-targeted marketing, Schlosser explains how the McDonald's Corporation modeled its marketing tactics on The Walt Disney Company, which inspired the creation of advertising icons such as Ronald McDonald and his sidekicks. Marketing executives intended that this marketing shift would result not only in attracting children, but their parents and grandparents as well. More importantly, the tactic would instill brand loyalty that would persist through adulthood through nostalgic associations to McDonald's. Schlosser also discusses the tactic's ills: the exploitation of children's naivete and trusting nature. He sees that reductions in corporate taxation have come at the expense of school funding, thereby presenting many corporations with the opportunity for sponsorship with those same schools. According to his sources, 80% of sponsored textbooks contain material that is biased in favor of the sponsors, and 30% of high schools offer fast foods in their cafeterias.

In his examination of the meat packing industry, Schlosser finds that it is now dominated by casual, easily exploited immigrant labor and that levels of injury are among the highest of any occupation in the United States. Schlosser discusses his findings on meat packing companies IBP, Inc. and on Kenny Dobbins. Schlosser also recounts the steps involved in meat processing and reveals several hazardous practices unknown to many consumers, such as the practice of rendering dead pigs and horses and chicken manure into cattle feed.

Schlosser notes that practices like these were responsible for the spread of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, aka Mad Cow Disease), as well as for introducing harmful bacteria into the food supply, such as E. Coli O157:H7. Then he discusses the fast-food industry's role in globalization, linking increased obesity in China and Japan with the arrival of fast food. He discusses of the effect that the threat of BSE had on US Federal Government policy towards cattle farming. He concluded that, given the swift, decisive and effective action that took place as a result of this interest and intervention, many of the problems documented are solvable, given enough political will.

Don Anderson (Kinnear) is the Mickey's hamburger chain marketing director who helped develop the "Big One", its most popular menu item. When he learns that independent research has discovered a considerable presence of fecal matter in the meat, he travels to the fictitious town of Cody, Colorado to determine if the local Uni-Globe meatpacking processing plant, Mickey's main meat supplier, is guilty of sloppy production. Don's tour shows him only the pristine work areas and most efficient procedures, assuring him that everything the company produces is immaculate.

Suspicious of the facade he's been shown, Don meets rancher Rudy Martin (Kristofferson), who used to supply cattle to the Uni-Globe plant. Rudy and his Chicana housekeeper (Gavia) both assure him that because of the plant's production level, several safety regulations are ignored or worked against; workers have no time to make sure that the manure coming from the intestines stays away from the meat. Don later meets with Harry Rydell (Willis), executive VP of Mickey's, who admits being aware of the issue, but is not concerned.

Amber (Johnson) is a young, upbeat employee of Mickey's, studying for college and living with her mother Cindy (Arquette). While her life seems to be set, she continually faces the contrast between her current career and her own ambition, emphasized by her two lazy co-workers (Dano and Hensarling) who, having heard of armed robberies at fast food restaurants in the area, start planning their own.

Amber and Cindy are visited by Cindy's brother Pete (Hawke), who encourages Amber to leave town and start a real career. Amber eventually meets a group of young activists (Himelstein, Lavigne, and Pucci) who plan to liberate cattle from Uni-Globe as their first act of rebellion. They proceed to sneak up to a holding pen at the plant, but after breaking down the fence, they are shocked that the cattle make no attempt to leave. Upon hearing the police, they retreat and contemplate why the cattle decided to stay in confinement.

Raul (Valderrama), his love interest Sylvia (Moreno), and Sylvia's sister Coco (Talancón) are illegal immigrants from Mexico, trying to make it in Colorado. They all go to Uni-Globe in hopes of finding a job - Raul becomes a cleaner, while Coco works on a meat processing conveyor belt. Sylvia, however, cannot take the environment, and instead finds a job as a hotel maid. Coco develops a drug habit, and begins an affair with her exploitative superior, Mike (Cannavale).

In a work accident, a friend of Raul's falls in a machine, and his leg is mangled. Raul, attempting to save him, falls and is injured. At the hospital, Sylvia is told that Raul was on amphetamines at work. Because Raul is now unable to work, Sylvia has sex with Mike in order to find a job at Uni-Globe. She ends up working on the "kill floor."