"How America Eats" is my first read into the world of food culture, in this instance concentrating on the multi-cultural American experience. I have become interested in my own food journey and its connection to personal health, so a quick look through Kindle revealed this title as a possible place to start.

Author Jennifer Jensen Wallach reviews the evolution of American food choices and habits in this 241-page work, published by Roman and Littlefield in 2013. "How America Eats" includes acknowledgements, an introduction, eight numbered chapters, and notes on sources. The book starts out as a chronological history beginning with the Pilgrims and Virginia colonists; however, the last half of the book is more of a conversation of themes presented in the first half of the book.

The first four chapters describe what the author calls "foodways" in the initial years of the American experiment. Chapter 1, "The Cuisine of Contact" focuses on the initial English colonization efforts in New England and Virginia in the early 17th century and the colonists' interaction with Native American cultures they encounter. Chapter 2, "Food and the Founding", follows the foodways developed by the colonists in the generations leading to our nation's independence. Chapter 3, "Foodways in the Era of Expansion and Immigration" and Chapter 4, "Technology and Taste", follows American foodways development through its contact with foreign cultures found in its immigrants and with the rise of the Industrial Age. Chapter 5, "Gender and the American Appetite", discusses in details themes revealed earlier in the book, in this case the evolution of gender roles in the household due to the rise of industrialism and the wage earner. Chapter 6, "The Pious or Patriotic Stomach", speaks to Americans' perception of food beyond that of mere sustenance, while Chapter 7, "Food Habits and Racial Thinking", looks at American foodways development in light of the many cultures suborned to the American ideal. Chapter 8, "Food and Politics", shows how politics over and extended period has come to impact food choices--voluntary and involuntary. The Notes on Sources section contains references to the many secondary sources used in the writing of the book broken down by chapter. Unfortunately the author does not use footnotes or include a formal bibliography.

This book has been a fascinating read for me, introducing the idea that much of American food culture has been established for quite some time and not necessarily in a healthy way. For example, early in the book Wallach introduces the idea that Native Americans readily accepted the fact that they would be hungry for a time between food source availabilities, while the English colonists could not abide empty larders and stomachs, thus making them vulnerable in times of food shortages. Perhaps that tendency, nutured over time, manifests itself in the epidemic of obesity that dominates this country. Another significant point developed by this author is the concept of food culture imperialism, whereby American culture absorbs native or foreign foodways and assimilates them into the American mainstream without feeling the need to respect the originating culture.

My only gripe with Wallach is scholarship--the lack of footnotes overcomes the detailed Notes on Sources that she provides. Anyone looking to follow in Wallach's footsteps will have some work to do.

Despite that flaw, "How America Eats" is a good place to start studying a significant aspect of American culture. ( )