| Description |
xii, 275 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm |
| Series |
California studies in food and culture ; 7 |
|
California studies in food and culture ; 7
|
| Contents |
Introduction : the British-American Culinary heritage -- 1. The American table in 1880 : the tastes of the upper crust -- 2. How the other half ate -- 3. The rise of the giant food processors -- 4. The New England kitchen and the failure to reform working-class eating habits -- 5. The "servant problem" and middle-class cookery -- 6. The new nutritionists assault the middle classes -- 7. Scientists, pseudoscientists, and faddists -- 8. New reformers and new immigrants -- 9. The great malnutrition scare, 1907-1921 -- 10. "Best for babies" or "preventable infanticide"? : the controversy over artificial feeding of infants, 1880-1930 -- 11. "Food will win the war" -- 12. The newer nutrition, 1915-1930 -- 13. A revolution of declining expectations -- 14. Workers and farmers during the "prosperity decade" -- 15. The old (restaurant) order changeth -- 16. Too rich and too thin? |
| Summary |
"In this study Harvey Levenstein tells of how from 1880 to 1930, as America's industries and cities swelled, various reformers tried to use the new nutritional science to make Americans eat more economically and healthily, sometimes with bizarre results. He shows how the disappearance of servants from middle-class kitchens, the rise of large corporations producing labor-saving foods and devices, and competition from new leisure activities led to declining expectations from middle-class housewives - both in terms of what they should feed their families and of how much they and their families should weigh. Meanwhile, while the middle class took to dieting, millions of the poor people continued to live on inadequate, unhealthy diets."--BOOK JACKET |
| Notes |
Originally published: New York : Oxford University Press, 1988 |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-260) and index |
| Subject |
Food habits -- United States -- History.
|
|
Diet -- United States -- History.
|
| LC no. |
2003040211 |
| ISBN |
0520234391 alkaline paper |
|
