Revolution At The Table: The Transformation Of The American Diet

Today, many Americans constantly worry about the effect of their eating habits on their weight and health. However, for much of the nineteenth century, most Americans were rarely concerned with the nutritional quality of their meals, and instead focused on eating as much as possible. According to Harvey Levenstein, author of Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet, the inception of present-day eating habits has its roots in the “eating revolution,” which occurred between the 1880s and 1930s. At the turn of the twentieth century, the American middle class began to eat much more “economically and healthily,” than they had in the past. Levenstein attributes this change in food habits to both economic and social factors,
such as technological and industrial advances and the changing role of women in society, respectively. The pamphlet that the Borden Company published for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, publicizing their “highest quality” condensed milk, is both an example of the mass production, financing, and marketing of food which existed during this time, as well as the popularity of nutritious, easy-to-prepare fare amongst women who were increasingly pursuing work outside of the home.