The small ears of corn once grown by Native Americans have now become row upon row of cornflakes on supermarket shelves. The immense seas of grass and herds of animals that supported indigenous people have turned into industrial agricultural operations with regular rows of soybeans, corn, and wheat that feed the world. But how did this happen and why? In A Rich and Fertile Land, Bruce Kraig investigates the history of food in America, uncovering where it comes from and how it has changed over time.

From the first Native Americans to modern industrial farmers, Kraig takes us on a journey to reveal how people have shaped the North American continent and its climate based on the foods they craved and the crops and animals that they raised. He analyzes the ideas that Americans have about themselves and the world around them, and how these ideas have been shaped by interactions with their environments. He details the impact of technical innovation and industrialization, which have in turn created modern American food systems.

Drawing upon recent evidence from the fields of science, archaeology, and technology, A Rich and Fertile Land is a unique and valuable history of the geography, climate, and food of the United States.
 

Bruce Kraig is professor emeritus of history at Roosevelt University. He is the author of Hot Dog: A Global History, also published by Reaktion Books.

— Andrew F. Smith, editor of "The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink"

— Rachel Laudan, author of "Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History"

— Paul Freedman, Yale University

— Florence Fabricant, New York Times, "Front Burner"

— Tim Morris, lection

— Times Literary Supplement