ABOUT THIS BOOK

How six groundbreaking women redefined American food—what we eat, how we eat it, and why it matters.

From wartime nutrition science to modern food activism, Six Women Who Shaped What Americans Eat examines the pivotal roles six women played in rewriting the rules of American cuisine. Michelle Mart offers a rich and accessible narrative that connects dietary trends, food marketing, and public health movements to the voices of the women who helped drive them.

Part one highlights Hazel Stiebeling’s development of dietary guidelines and RDAs, Poppy Cannon’s promotion of processed foods for convenience and gourmet meals, and Julia Child’s introduction of French cuisine with an emphasis on fresh ingredients and culinary techniques. Part two shifts the focus to women who challenged the food system itself: Frances Moore Lappé’s advocacy for vegetarianism and sustainable practices, Marion Nestle’s exposure of food corporations’ manipulative practices, and Alice Waters’s emphasis on locally sourced, organic ingredients and sustainable food systems. Thoughtful and timely, this book explores how culture, politics, and personal vision collided in the kitchens and campaigns of six food pioneers—leaving a lasting imprint on what America eats today.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Michelle Mart is professor of history at the Pennsylvania State University, Berks Campus and author of Pesticides, A Love Story: America’s Enduring Embrace of Dangerous Chemicals and Eye on Israel: How America Came to View Israel as an Ally.

REVIEWS

“Mart’s book is both eye-opening and also deeply nostalgic. . . . Anyone interested in food and why we think the way we do about it will benefit from this fascinating study.” —Elizabeth D. Blum, author of Love Canal Revisited: Race, Class, and Gender in Environmental Activism

“Each woman is contextualized within her time period, making this a good introduction to modern American food history.” —CHOICE

“Food historians and scholars of consumption will appreciate Mart's use of figures both well and lesser known as a means to explore how prominent women influenced attitudes and questions about food throughout the twentieth century.” —American Historical Review

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“Michelle Mart is an author who knows the material and knows her subjects, putting important food history leaders into a cohesive, compelling arc. Six Women Who Shaped What Americans Eat is a beautiful portrait offering crisp and clear writing for academic and non-academic readers alike.” —Benjamin R. Cohen, author of Pure Adulteration: Cheating on Nature in the Age of Manufactured Food

“Michelle Mart vividly narrates the careers and contexts of these fascinating women from the past century of American food, illustrating how their varying commitments, interventions, and passions reshaped what we eat and how we think about it.” —Anna Zeide, author of Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry

“Using six fascinating and influential figures from the past century, Michelle Mart reveals the tension in our abundant, affordable food system with its hidden and unequally shared environmental and health costs. Defenders and critics of modern food—or anyone who asks, what should we eat?—will benefit from this compelling book.” —Matthew Morse Booker, co-editor of Food Fights: How History Matters to Contemporary Food Debates

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

Part I. The Bounties of the Modern American Food System

Chapter 1. Hazel Stiebeling and the Science of Diet Guidelines

Chapter 2. Poppy Cannon and the Wonders of Processed Food

Chapter 3. Julia Child and the Elevation of American Cuisine

Part II. The Hidden Costs of Abundance

Chapter 4. Frances Moore Lappé and Criticisms of the Global Food Industry

Chapter 5. Marion Nestle and the Battle against Big Food

Chapter 6. Alice Waters and a Reimagined Food System

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Index