Paradox of plenty : a social history of eating in modern America

A sweeping social history of food and eating in America, exploring the economic, political, and cultural factors that have shaped the American diet from 1930 to the present. This book is intended for those interested in US food habits and diets during the 20th century, American history, American social life and customs. America Has Always Been Blessed With An Abundance Of Food, But When It Comes To The National Diet, It Is A Land Of Stark Contrast And Paradox. In The Early Months Of The Depression, For Instance, There Were 82 Breadlines In New York City Alone, And Food Riots Broke Out In Such Places As Henryetta, Oklahoma, And England, Arkansas. Yet At The Same Time, Among Those Who Were Better-off, Absurd Weight-loss Diets Were The Rage - The Pineapple-and-lamb-chop Diet, The Mayo Diet Of Raw Tomatoes And Hard-boiled Eggs, And Even A Coffee-and-donuts Diet. Why Do Americans Eat What They Eat? And Why, In A Land Of Plenty, Do So Many Eat So Poorly? In Paradox Of Plenty, Harvey Levenstein Offers A Sweeping Social History Of Food And Eating In America, Exploring The Economic, Political, And Cultural Factors That Have Shaped The American Diet From 1930 To The Present.^ Levenstein Begins With The Great Depression, Describing The Breadlines And The Slim-down Diets, The Era's Great Communal Eating Fests - The Picnics, Barbecues, Fish Fries, And Burgoo Feasts - And The Wave Of Vitamania Which Swept The Nation Before World War Ii, Breeding Fears That The National Diet Was Deficient In The So-called Morale Vitamin. He Discusses Wartime Food Rationing And The Attempts Of Margaret Mead And Other Social Scientists To Change American Eating Habits, And He Examines The Postwar Golden Age Of American Food Processing, When Duncan Hines And Other Industry Leaders Convinced Americans That They Were The Best-fed People On Earth. He Depicts The Disillusionment Of The 1960s, When Americans Rediscovered Hunger And Attacked Food Processors For Denutrifying The Food Supply, And He Shows How President Kennedy Helped Revive The Mystique Of French Food (and How Julia Child Helped Demystify It).^ Finally, He Discusses Contemporary Eating Habits, The National Obsession With Dieting, Cholesterolphobia, Natural Foods, The Demographics Of Fast-food Chains, And The Expanding Role Of Food Processors As A Source Of Nutritional Information. Both Colorful And Informative, Paradox Of Plenty Is The Sequel To Levenstein's Highly Acclaimed Revolution At The Table, Which Chronicled American Eating Habits From 1880 To 1930. With This Volume He Establishes His Reputation As The Leading Historian Of The American Diet. Prologue: Depression Paradoxes -- 1. Depression Dieting And The Vitamin Gold Rush -- 2. The Great Regression: The New Woman Goes Home -- 3. From Burgoo To Howard Johnson's: Eating Out In Depression America -- 4. One-third Of A Nation Ill Nourished? -- 5. Oh What A Healthy War: Nutrition For National Defense -- 6. Food Shortages For The People Of Plenty -- 7. The Golden Age Of Food Processing: Miracle Whip Uber Alles -- 8. The Best-fed People The World Has Ever Seen? -- 9. Cracks In The Facade: 1958-1965 -- 10. The Politics Of Hunger -- 11. Nutritional Terrorism -- 12. The Politics Of Food -- 13. Natural Foods And Negative Nutrition -- 14. Darling, Where Did You Put The Cardamom? -- 15. Fast Foods And Quick Bucks -- 16. Paradoxes Of Plenty. Harvey Levenstein. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [259]-322) And Index. This remarkable book, the sequel to the author's Revolution at the Table (1988), analyses changes in the American diet and nutritional ideas from 1930 to the present. Much more than a study of eating habits, Paradox of Plenty is a sophisticated analysis of the dynamics of cultural change that deserves a wide audience among economic historians, political historians, women's historians, medical historians, and social historians. One of Levenstein's many perceptive insights is that the history of eating is inextricably tied up with a broader political economy and culture. With admirable balance, he carefully disentangles the roles of food producers and processors, home economists, faddists, nutritionists, and political pressure groups in shaping broader cultural ideas of nutrition and taste. As in his earlier book, the author shows how food experts repeatedly recommended major changes in diet on the basis of flimsy evidence. The book will prove to be a valuable source of information on regulation of the food industry; changes in food distribution, processing, packaging, and preservation; and consumption patterns and food budgets among various ethnic and socio-economic groups. Carefully attentive to social class, Paradox of Plenty shows how food became a less important marker of social distinction between the 1930s and the 1960s, only to assume renewed symbolic importance in the 1970s and 1980s. Similarly sensitive to gender issues, the book charts the changing the role of food preparation in assessments of women's success as wives and mothers, the growing mania for slimness, and the impact of the increasing number of working mothers on American dining habits. The book's title, a variant on David Potter's People of Plenty, underscores two of Levenstein's central themes: persistent public concern over the extent of hunger and malnutrition in the midst of agricultural abundance and periodic American obsessions with dieting and obesity. The Depression highlighted both of these themes: the 1930s not only witnessed a growing political debate about the causes of and cures for malnutrition; it also saw a growing cultural obsession among the middle class with weight loss and vitamins. The book's core is a systematic examination of how major events of the twentieth century intersected with changing eating habits and ideas about food. The Depression, for example, encouraged a renewed emphasis on home cooking and an uncomplicated, straightforward cuisine. World War II spurred a heightened concern with poor nutrition. The early post-war era witnessed heightened fears of additives, pesticides, cholesterol, and saturated fats. Especially enlightening is Levenstein's, discussion of the growing cultural interest in health and organic foods during the 1960s and 1970s and the ways this was linked to broader countercultural values. "America has always been blessed with an abundance of food, but when it comes to the national diet, it is a land of stark contrast and paradox. In the early months of the Depression, for instance, there were 82 breadlines in New York City alone, and food riots broke out in such places as Henryetta, Oklahoma, and England, Arkansas. Yet at the same time, among those who were better-off, absurd weight-loss diets were the rage - the Pineapple-and-Lamb-Chop Diet, the "Mayo Diet" of raw tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs, and even a Coffee-and-Donuts Diet. Why do Americans eat what they eat? And why, in a land of plenty, do so many eat so poorly?" "In Paradox of Plenty, Harvey Levenstein offers a sweeping social history of food and eating in America, exploring the economic, political, and cultural factors that have shaped the American diet from 1930 to the present. Levenstein begins with the Great Depression, describing the breadlines and the slim-down diets, the era's great communal eating fests - the picnics, barbecues, fish fries, and burgoo feasts - and the wave of "vitamania" which swept the nation before World War II, breeding fears that the national diet was deficient in the so-called "morale vitamin." He discusses wartime food rationing and the attempts of Margaret Mead and other social scientists to change American eating habits, and he examines the postwar "Golden Age of American Food Processing," when Duncan Hines and other industry leaders convinced Americans that they were "the best-fed people on Earth." He depicts the disillusionment of the 1960s, when Americans rediscovered hunger and attacked food processors for denutrifying the food supply, and he shows how President Kennedy helped revive the mystique of French food (and how Julia Child helped demystify it). Finally, he discusses contemporary eating habits, the national obsession with dieting, cholesterolphobia, "natural" foods, the demographics of fast-food chains, and the expanding role of food processors as a source of nutritional information." "Both colorful and informative, Paradox of Plenty is the sequel to Levenstein's highly acclaimed Revolution at the Table, which chronicled American eating habits from 1880 to 1930. With this volume he establishes his reputation as the leading historian of the American diet."--BOOK JACKET America has always been blessed with an abundance of food, but when it comes to the national diet, we are a land of stark contrast and paradox. Levenstein offers a sweeping social history of food and eating in America, exploring the economic, political, and cultural factors that have shaped our diet since 1930 The signs of deprivation all around them-the breadlines, the people rummaging through garbage cans and selling apples on the streets, the hobos at the back door asking politely for a bite to eat, the heartrending stories from Appalachia-hardly altered most Americans' deep-rooted attitudes toward food. In this sequel to the author's "Revolution at the Table", American eating habits and fads are scrutinized from the 1930s to the present day. Topics discussed include health foods, the introduction of ethnic cuisines to the American diet, convenience food, the fitness and health craze, and more.