Drive-Thru Dreams - Adam Chandler Page 0,74

farms, and grandparents that await them. We will remain torn about it because that is who we are. A fast-food nation stuffed with fries, full of kindness and drive-thru dreams.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I owe a tremendous debt to Bryn Clark, who mercilessly cut a ton of terrible dad jokes from this book (and kindly let more than a few stay) and who edited this manuscript with both vision and patience. Thanks also goes to the rest of the Flatiron team, including Marlena Bittner, Noah Eaker, Kimberly Escobar, Jasmine Faustino, Keith Hayes, Bob Miller, Jeremy Pink, and Tal Goretsky, who designed this book’s rad cover. Anyone in this world is lucky to have advocates as savvy and irrepressible as Keith Urbahn and Matt Latimer at Javelin Literary, who went to the mattresses for this project.

Exceptional, very special praise is due to Emily Saladino, who read about and graciously shared more Taco Bell with me in the past few years than any human should reasonably be asked to. At this time, I would also like to honor my various credentialed and uncredentialed mental health teams including Hadass Gerson, Michael Maze, and Jacob Silverman. For their friendship, support, and help, I’m grateful to Scott Beauchamp, Lisa Bonos, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, Hassan Damluji, Nicholas Dawidoff, Jason Diamond, Naomi Firestone-Teeter, Michael Furman, Rebecca Goldfarb, Jorge Hernandez, Liel Leibovitz, Nicole Loving, Paul Lucas, Lilit Marcus, Sara Mirsky, Gabrielle Moss, Lizzie O’Leary, Spencer Peeples, Jonathan Polland, Brooks Rich, Albert Rubinsky, Dan Sacks, Joe Saka, Sadia Shepard, Maya Sigel, Ben Smith, Charlie Smith, Nicole Soussan, Evan Susser, Adam Teeter, Andy Weil, Bari Weiss, the crew at the Atlantic Avenue McDonald’s, the regulars at Fresh Salt, and anyone not listed here who may feel slighted. Speaking of which, thank you for everything, Nada Chandler and Amelia Cohen-Levy, Robert Lewy and Noma Blechman, Jason and Molly Methner, Ellen and Paul Orseck, and the rest of the fam.

Additional love to assorted colleagues and teachers: James Bennet, Jo Ann Beard, Russell Berman, Nicky Besuden, Jeremy Elias, Caitlin Frazier, Samuel Freedman, Kathy Gilsinan, Brad Girson, Jeffrey Goldberg, David Graham, Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, Jim Hamblin, Alana Newhouse, Joe Pinsker, David Samuels, Vijay Seshadri, David Sims, and Sarah Yager. I’d also like to shout out the vital work of the many who tirelessly report on the goings on in the food industry and the fast-food world. Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone who gave me their time, especially Sara Dappen, John Helling, Aslam Khan, Jimmy Looney, Ginger Mills, Shashi Matta, Mark Ocegueda, Michael Pollan, Bill Samuels, Jr., and Randy Simon.

NOTES

Please note that some of the links referenced throughout this work may no longer be active.

INTRODUCTION

apparently embroiled in a seven-layer feud with a diabolical hoaxer: Mark Thiessen, “Hoax Prompts Free Tacos in Alaska Town,” Associated Press, June 30, 2012, archive.boston/news/nation/articles/2012/06/30/hoax_prompts_free_tacos_in_alaska_town/.

“That’s right. Officially, Bethel is not getting a Taco Bell”: KYUK, June 12, 2012, archive.kyuk/bethel-taco-bell-rumor-a-hoax/.

the local Chamber of Commerce told the Los Angeles Times: Kim Murphy, “Taco Bell Hoax: Alaska Town (Pop. 6,000) Left Reeling,” Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2012, articles.latimes/2012/jun/14/nation/la-na-nn-taco-bell-alaska-20120614.

the dramatic transport of 950 pounds of beef: “Hoax Prompts Free Tacos in Alaska Town,” Associated Press, June 29, 2012, cbsnews/news/hoax-prompts-free-tacos-in-alaska-town/.

“If we can feed people in Afghanistan and Iraq”: Ibid.

The marketing genius of Operation Alaska: Jerry A. Hendrix, Darrell C. Hayes, and Pallavi Damani Kumar, Public Relations Cases (Boston: Wadsworth, 2013), 311.

Operation Alaska would be adapted: Elie Ayrouth, “Taco Bell’s #OperationAlaska Is Now a Commercial, Here Are the Official Videos,” Food Beast, July 9, 2012, foodbeast/news/taco-bells-operationalaska-is-now-a-commercial-here-are-the-official-videos/.

a sign more recognizable worldwide than the Christian cross: “McDonald’s Bigger Than Jesus Christ,” Marketing Week, July 21, 1995, marketingweek/1995/07/21/mcdonalds-bigger-than-jesus-christ/.

about 1 percent of the entire world’s population breaks bread: Mamta Badkar and Gus Lubin, “18 Facts About McDonald’s That Will Blow Your Mind,” Business Insider, April 20, 2012, businessinsider/19-facts-about-mcdonalds-that-will-blow-your-mind-2012-4.

80 percent of Americans frequent at least monthly: Andrew Dugan, “Fast Food Still Major Part of U.S. Diet,” Gallup, August 6, 2013, news.gallup/poll/163868/fast-food-major-part-diet.aspx.

96 percent of Americans annually embrace: Ibid.

Not even the internet comes close: Monica Anderson, Andrew Perrin, and Jingjing Jiang, “11% of Americans Don’t Use the Internet. Who Are They?,” Pew Research Center, March 5, 2018, pewresearch/fact-tank/2018/03/05/some-americans-dont-use-the-internet-who-are-they/.

some of the straightest highways ever built: John Metcalfe, “The Straightest Roads in the World Are in Midwest America,” CityLab, March 11, 2015, citylab/transportation/2015/06/the-straightest-roads-in-the-world-are-in-midwest-america/395582/.

“Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings”: Michael Specter, “Freedom from Fries,” New Yorker, November 2, 2015, newyorker/magazine/2015/11/02/freedom-from-fries.

CHAPTER 1: THE NATIONAL MEAL

Pete Saari picked up his phone: Author interview with White Castle VP Jamie Richardson, April 12, 2017.

“Literally, you hear some of these things”: Ibid.

the