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meghan111's review
4.0
This book clearly stated a couple facts that I "knew" to be true but hadn't ever articulated in my own head. The most striking was a response to the argument that the French spend a greater proportion of their income on food because they just appreciate it so much more than (bovine, tasteless) mainstream Americans. McMillan addresses this squarely by explaining how French people also have to spend much less than Americans for their health care, child care, and other government benefits, and when you look at the whole package, Americans cut their food budget by a percentage equal to their additional spending on health insurance and child care. Anyway, it's not really because of a lack of education or appreciation for the taste of expensive heirloom
vegetables, etc., but because of the struggle to get by, the need to work long hours to keep treading water, the lack of options. This book's main argument is that class matters, and that food is a precious shared resource which in America has been left to the vagaries of capitalism, leaving gaps in distribution of fresh foods,
and migrant farm workers who earn in the low five figures for a year's work of punishing physical labor.
Striking thing #2: McMcillan straight up acknowledges that it takes skill to be a farmworker, to stock shelves at Wal-Mart, and to work in the kitchen at Applebee's. You have to be able to prioritize, use logic, multitask, and implement an efficient system to do a good job. In many towns and cities, the vast majority of fresh produce is bought at a Walmart, duh. And the person in charge of the fresh produce at Walmart - the produce manager - might be someone who doesn't have experience or affordable health care or much of a paycheck. This person, with little support, might be in charge of overseeing the quality of produce for an entire town, and "produce managers aren't necessarily given any better training to manage a town's fresh food supply than they are to stock sneakers." (p. 234)
This is great because the author isn't just a blogger with a book deal, but rather someone who's done serious research into food justice, backed up with a ton of end notes and citations. This is great because the author keeps reminding us that class matters, in America, right now.
vegetables, etc., but because of the struggle to get by, the need to work long hours to keep treading water, the lack of options. This book's main argument is that class matters, and that food is a precious shared resource which in America has been left to the vagaries of capitalism, leaving gaps in distribution of fresh foods,
and migrant farm workers who earn in the low five figures for a year's work of punishing physical labor.
Striking thing #2: McMcillan straight up acknowledges that it takes skill to be a farmworker, to stock shelves at Wal-Mart, and to work in the kitchen at Applebee's. You have to be able to prioritize, use logic, multitask, and implement an efficient system to do a good job. In many towns and cities, the vast majority of fresh produce is bought at a Walmart, duh. And the person in charge of the fresh produce at Walmart - the produce manager - might be someone who doesn't have experience or affordable health care or much of a paycheck. This person, with little support, might be in charge of overseeing the quality of produce for an entire town, and "produce managers aren't necessarily given any better training to manage a town's fresh food supply than they are to stock sneakers." (p. 234)
This is great because the author isn't just a blogger with a book deal, but rather someone who's done serious research into food justice, backed up with a ton of end notes and citations. This is great because the author keeps reminding us that class matters, in America, right now.
pattydsf's review
3.0
I started this book because I like to suggest some non-fiction when my book group picks books. As I read this I decided it was not what the group would usually be looking for. It is different from other food books we have read, but not that different. We have read Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and The Dirty Life by Kristen Kimball. Both of those books were from more of a producer's viewpoint.
McMillan is looking at America's food from a eater's point of view, in my opinion. She is looking to see why a nation that produces so much good food, does not manage to get that food to all of our citizens. The movement for better food; ideas like Comunity Sustained Agriculture (CSA) and farmer's markets have not made a big difference for inner-city families.
Although I found McMillan's experiences fascinating, I am not sure I see any solutions to the problem she is concerned about. I am not sure she felt she found any solutions either. We have the food, we have amazing processing and transportation systems in place, but I don't see any way to make the systems work differently. If we want all people to have the ability to eat healthy meals all the time, we will have to make changes to much more that our food systems.
One of McMillan's concerns is food deserts - places in this country where getting fresh food is almost impossible. While I was reading this book, I mentioned food deserts to my hairdresser. This was an entirely new idea to her. I believe this is the kind of person who should be reading this book. Tracie McMillan, I think, is writing for people who have not thought about food very much. For those readers, she is telling a new tale and I think they would see their grocery stores in a whole new light.
McMillan is looking at America's food from a eater's point of view, in my opinion. She is looking to see why a nation that produces so much good food, does not manage to get that food to all of our citizens. The movement for better food; ideas like Comunity Sustained Agriculture (CSA) and farmer's markets have not made a big difference for inner-city families.
Although I found McMillan's experiences fascinating, I am not sure I see any solutions to the problem she is concerned about. I am not sure she felt she found any solutions either. We have the food, we have amazing processing and transportation systems in place, but I don't see any way to make the systems work differently. If we want all people to have the ability to eat healthy meals all the time, we will have to make changes to much more that our food systems.
One of McMillan's concerns is food deserts - places in this country where getting fresh food is almost impossible. While I was reading this book, I mentioned food deserts to my hairdresser. This was an entirely new idea to her. I believe this is the kind of person who should be reading this book. Tracie McMillan, I think, is writing for people who have not thought about food very much. For those readers, she is telling a new tale and I think they would see their grocery stores in a whole new light.
spauffwrites's review
3.0
An illuminating picture of the food system in America, sort of along the same lines as Fast Food Nation, etc. Pretty interesting if you've never read anything like that before. The chapters on her work in Wal-Mart were particularly interesting and will make you think twice before shopping there.
jesslroy's review
4.0
The journey from farm to store to restaurant is one that many of us as consumers never think twice about. This book was written from an interesting perspective attempting to show the true struggles of those living and breathing in America's food world.
Particularly striking to me as a large portion of the store/local items were centered around Detroit. As someone who was born and raised just outside the city, I'm always appreciative of a view that shows the positive and growth aspects of the city, particularly in the realm of food and betterment of the citizens.
Overall, good read for those interested in food chain. Story wove throughout helps paint a picture of the things many of us, as middle-class consumers, take for granted daily.
Particularly striking to me as a large portion of the store/local items were centered around Detroit. As someone who was born and raised just outside the city, I'm always appreciative of a view that shows the positive and growth aspects of the city, particularly in the realm of food and betterment of the citizens.
Overall, good read for those interested in food chain. Story wove throughout helps paint a picture of the things many of us, as middle-class consumers, take for granted daily.
kiwiwonder's review
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Tracie says from the start that it's mostly *her* experience, rather than aiming to be the experience of everyone in the (somewhat artificial) situations she's put herself in, so the book isn't trying to be something it's not. Instead, it walks the line very expertly between general factual book, and investigative reporting. Well written in a very conversational style, yet eye opening at the same time.
jennyp0208's review
3.0
McMillan takes a year to do undercover reporting in the food industry - first as a California agricultural worker, then at the Walmart produce department, and finishing up at an Applebee's in the kitchen. The project is interesting but the author's voice grates on me. At least she acknowledges how privileged she is to just walk away from not one but 4 separate jobs (both field positions and both Walmarts) when it got hard/boring/she got the info she was looking for. Another issue is the book is so clearly from a coastal elite perspective and again, I give her credit for acknowledging this (Q&A, starting p326) but it doesn't fix the gap in the book. She should have at least visited a midwest "Breadbasket" farm even if she didn't work on it, to discuss the Government pressures to grow what isn't for food to make ends meet and the consolidating of land as family farms are priced out of the market, which directly leads into the mass packaged/processed food industry buying the monoculture crops.
Overall, solid idea, decent execution, good effort to understand beyond the coasts, but falls short from fully understanding "The American Way of Eating."
Overall, solid idea, decent execution, good effort to understand beyond the coasts, but falls short from fully understanding "The American Way of Eating."
soccermom's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.25
cdbaker's review
3.0
I liked this book. I learned more about industrial vegetable farming and about how things work 'behind the scenes' at Walmart's produce section. I wasn't particularly surprised by most of the revelations, but I like more information.
I've seen complaints about this book being too much about the author's own experiences doing these jobs. While there is a lot of first person narrative, I always found the author to be very up-front about her privilege that, as hard as it was for her, she always had the option to get out. She clearly tried to get to know the people around her and tell their stories. There are problems with every book, really, but I think that we need more pieces of investigative journalism like this, not less.
I've seen complaints about this book being too much about the author's own experiences doing these jobs. While there is a lot of first person narrative, I always found the author to be very up-front about her privilege that, as hard as it was for her, she always had the option to get out. She clearly tried to get to know the people around her and tell their stories. There are problems with every book, really, but I think that we need more pieces of investigative journalism like this, not less.
laynescherer's review
4.0
There is a lot happening in this book- social and political commentary, personal insight and struggle, and lots of first hand research. I enjoyed this book and the views into the different aspects of food culture in America, but I wonder what do I do now to help improve these issues?
bhsmith's review
3.0
Tracie McMillan put herself in the middle of three crucial steps in the American way of eating: growing of food, selling of food, cooking of food. The American Way of Eating chronicles her time as a field-hand in California, a WalMart produce section employee in Detroit and an Applebees expediter in New York. While she was working these jobs, she also immersed herself in the lifestyle of each profession by subsisting on only her earned wages, finding affordable housing and transportation, eating within her income, etc. Her efforts to really get inside each of these three professions is commendable.
The result of her time working in each of these professions was interesting, though, sadly, not shocking or overly insightful. I've never worked as a field-hand or in a produce department, so reading about her experiences was certainly new. (I did a summer-long stint as a waiter in a steakhouse, so a few anecdotes from her time at Applebees rang a bell) However, the insight that I feel was meant to shock and awe was really not that surprising. Are you shocked to find out that the people picking your garlic in a California field are illegal workers, make barely a living wage, are cheated by their employers and live in relative poverty? Are you shocked to learn that produce at WalMart is not terribly fresh, gets "crisped" every so often to make it appear fresher, and is just another product of the manufacturing and logistics infrastructure our country runs on? Or, are you shocked that they don't actually cook any food at Applebees, but rather just warm up and assemble ingredients that have already been processed and shipped to the store? None of these things are shocking or surprising... just moderately interesting.
Despite the lack of shock that I think was intended to be sprinkled throughout this book, McMillan certainly weaves a compelling tale of her time in each of these jobs, and especially of the people she interacts with who live this life day in and day out.
Also, this book was incredibly well researched. Sometimes entire chapters are simply a breakdown of the extensive research McMillian did for this book. (Yeah, those chapters can be a bit dry, but they're also crucial to the story) Sometimes the data is overflowing from her narrative and tucked away into footnotes throughout the entire book. Never did I doubt that McMillian did her research to make sure her experiences were corroborated by actual data.
For some this will probably be a very eye-opening book about the way America feels about food. I felt like it was much less of an expose and just a finely crafted travelogue of how food gets from the field to the plate.
The result of her time working in each of these professions was interesting, though, sadly, not shocking or overly insightful. I've never worked as a field-hand or in a produce department, so reading about her experiences was certainly new. (I did a summer-long stint as a waiter in a steakhouse, so a few anecdotes from her time at Applebees rang a bell) However, the insight that I feel was meant to shock and awe was really not that surprising. Are you shocked to find out that the people picking your garlic in a California field are illegal workers, make barely a living wage, are cheated by their employers and live in relative poverty? Are you shocked to learn that produce at WalMart is not terribly fresh, gets "crisped" every so often to make it appear fresher, and is just another product of the manufacturing and logistics infrastructure our country runs on? Or, are you shocked that they don't actually cook any food at Applebees, but rather just warm up and assemble ingredients that have already been processed and shipped to the store? None of these things are shocking or surprising... just moderately interesting.
Despite the lack of shock that I think was intended to be sprinkled throughout this book, McMillan certainly weaves a compelling tale of her time in each of these jobs, and especially of the people she interacts with who live this life day in and day out.
Also, this book was incredibly well researched. Sometimes entire chapters are simply a breakdown of the extensive research McMillian did for this book. (Yeah, those chapters can be a bit dry, but they're also crucial to the story) Sometimes the data is overflowing from her narrative and tucked away into footnotes throughout the entire book. Never did I doubt that McMillian did her research to make sure her experiences were corroborated by actual data.
For some this will probably be a very eye-opening book about the way America feels about food. I felt like it was much less of an expose and just a finely crafted travelogue of how food gets from the field to the plate.