Modern food, moral food : self-control, science, and the rise of modern American eating in the early twentieth century /
American eating changed dramatically in the early twentieth century. As food production became more industrialized, nutritionists, home economists, and so-called racial scientists were all pointing Americans toward a newly scientific approach to diet. Food faddists were rewriting the most basic rule...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Chapel Hill [North Carolina] :
The University of North Carolina Press,
[2013]
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to this title online (unlimited users allowed) |
| Summary: | American eating changed dramatically in the early twentieth century. As food production became more industrialized, nutritionists, home economists, and so-called racial scientists were all pointing Americans toward a newly scientific approach to diet. Food faddists were rewriting the most basic rules surrounding eating, while reformers were working to reshape the diets of immigrants and the poor. And by the time of World War I, the country's first international aid program was bringing moral advice about food conservation into kitchens around the country. In this book, the author argues that the twentieth-century food revolution was fueled by a powerful conviction that Americans had a moral obligation to use self-discipline and reason, rather than taste and tradition, in choosing what to eat. The author weaves together cultural history and the history of science to bring readers into the strange and complex world of the American Progressive Era. The era's emphasis on science and self-control left a profound mark on American eating, one that remains relevant in everything from the ubiquity of science-based dietary advice to the tenacious idealization of thinness. -- Provided by publisher. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xiii, 300 pages) : illustrations |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-294) and index. |
| ISBN: | 1469612755 9781469612751 1469607719 9781469607719 |