Why was creating such a sympathetic portrait of fast food pioneer Carl Karcher relevant to Schlosser's argument against the fast food industry?

While Schlosser includes the story of rags-to-riches fast food entrepreneur Carl Karcher, the founder of Carl's Drive-in Barbeque and later Carl's Jr. restaurants, he makes it clear that Karcher's successful beginning did not last. Karcher's story is in many ways symbolic of the hopeful rise and inevitable fall of the fast food industry that Schlosser writes about in his book.

Karcher was a hard-working, poor entrepreneur who capitalized on the meteoric growth of southern California and its car culture to build a fast food empire at the end of World War II. In the 1980s, however, Karcher and other members of his family were accused of insider trading, and he came to an agreement with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) in which he paid more than half a million dollars. He was eventually also pushed out as head of the company, though he was later able to return to lead it. While he recovered his position and fortune, his company had become a huge business that was missing a great deal of the personal touch and hopeful dreams of his early enterprise. Therefore, Schlosser's inclusion of Karcher's story does not negate his argument that the fast food industry has declined over the years.