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k_lee_reads_it's review against another edition
3.0
I've found lots of interesting information and ideas in this book.
My favorite thought is--
"The key to getting people to eat better isn't that they should spend more money, or even that they should spend more time. It's making the actual cooking of a meal into an easy choice, the obvious answer. And that only happens when people are as comfortable and confident in the kitchen as they are taking care of the other endless chores that come with running a modern family-- paying bills, cleaning the house, washing the car. It only happens, in other words, when we can cook well. It doesn't take advanced culinary acumen to know that making a pasta-and-ground beef one-skillet dinner from scratch isn't actually any more difficult than using a box, but it does take education and training."
My favorite thought is--
"The key to getting people to eat better isn't that they should spend more money, or even that they should spend more time. It's making the actual cooking of a meal into an easy choice, the obvious answer. And that only happens when people are as comfortable and confident in the kitchen as they are taking care of the other endless chores that come with running a modern family-- paying bills, cleaning the house, washing the car. It only happens, in other words, when we can cook well. It doesn't take advanced culinary acumen to know that making a pasta-and-ground beef one-skillet dinner from scratch isn't actually any more difficult than using a box, but it does take education and training."
bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition
2.0
This book was advertised as Nickel and Dimed about food. I loved Nickel and Dimed because it was an interesting look at how hard it is in America to get by with a minimum wage job.
This book was like Nickel and Dimed but working in food. The author trudges in farmwork, Walmart and Applebee's--all in minimum wage (or lower) jobs.
The writing seemed scattered. There were actually several different aspects that the author would try to incorporate in each section. For instance, she would talk about the lives of her co-workers, her living situation, the work itself, the corporations that mistreated her as an employee, and the poor food quality. So inevitably the book would seemed scattered.
I'm also not sure what the reader is supposed to take away. Don't shop at Walmart. Got it. Don't eat at Applebee's. Got it. But don't eat food from farms because the workers are mistreated and there are pesticides? I'm not sure it's realistic that we all have organic garden in our yards. So what's the reader to do?
Interesting book but not very cohesive.
This book was like Nickel and Dimed but working in food. The author trudges in farmwork, Walmart and Applebee's--all in minimum wage (or lower) jobs.
The writing seemed scattered. There were actually several different aspects that the author would try to incorporate in each section. For instance, she would talk about the lives of her co-workers, her living situation, the work itself, the corporations that mistreated her as an employee, and the poor food quality. So inevitably the book would seemed scattered.
I'm also not sure what the reader is supposed to take away. Don't shop at Walmart. Got it. Don't eat at Applebee's. Got it. But don't eat food from farms because the workers are mistreated and there are pesticides? I'm not sure it's realistic that we all have organic garden in our yards. So what's the reader to do?
Interesting book but not very cohesive.
bleucaldwell's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a little slow and sometimes felt a little scattered, but overall I found the information to be pretty interesting. I listed to the audiobook, so I wasn't annoyed by the footnotes that a lot of people mention here. Any information from footnotes must have been either incorporated smoothly into the narration or left out entirely. I liked narrator Hillary Huber's voice a lot, and it really seemed to fit the author. The style came across as very conversational, and it very much felt like the author was just relating her story to me in a casual and entertaining way.
sighb0rg's review against another edition
3.0
"The American Way of Eating," was a welcome change from the myriad of other books and films currently out regarding the state of our food in the US. At times humorous and light-hearted, McMillan provides readers with what I am coming to understand may be a rare glimpse into the work behind how we all get our food in this country. Maybe because I have worked in the restaurant industry all my life, grown and picked my own food, and worked at food banks and farmer's markets, my views are slightly skewed in this area. Regardless, I enjoyed reading about the movements and changes happening in Detroit, learning how garlic is harvested, and seeing how so many people also are struggling to put healthy food on their table and in their mouths. While McMillan offers no concrete strategies of her own based on her experiences, there are glimmers of hope in the determination of the people she works alongside and those she meets on her journey.
mhall's review against another edition
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.
lizlogan's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating. I enjoyed her research and the personal touch that her experience gave the work, but at times it ran long on her experience and short on information. Her assault while unfortunate had no place in the book and merely seemed like a tactic to shame her attacker - which he deserved, but not in a book about American food habits.
ndavis8880's review against another edition
4.0
Good Food Shouldn’t be a Privilege
It never occurred to me that being within walking distance to a grocery store that sells fresh produce, and within driving distance to countless others, was a privilege, but now I can clearly see that it is. I’m going to be a lot more mindful of all the work that went into getting that produce close to me, especially the farm workers at the beginning of the process. It’s disgusting that a system exists to pay working people so little for work that I’m not sure “skilled” workers could do.
This book reenforces my belief that the poor are often the most generous. And the fact that a person can work and still be poor and unable to meet all their basic needs is something every US citizen should be ashamed of. There’s got to be a better was to make society more equitable.
It never occurred to me that being within walking distance to a grocery store that sells fresh produce, and within driving distance to countless others, was a privilege, but now I can clearly see that it is. I’m going to be a lot more mindful of all the work that went into getting that produce close to me, especially the farm workers at the beginning of the process. It’s disgusting that a system exists to pay working people so little for work that I’m not sure “skilled” workers could do.
This book reenforces my belief that the poor are often the most generous. And the fact that a person can work and still be poor and unable to meet all their basic needs is something every US citizen should be ashamed of. There’s got to be a better was to make society more equitable.
thisislizwa's review against another edition
4.0
I read a lot about food politics and yet this book still has a fresh take on the American food system. The section on farm work was particularly enlightening.
smithakp's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely applaud Tracie for immersing herself into these industries as she did, understanding the lives of the people involved so closely with them, and utilizing her proximity to delve into the ecosystem and detailed processes of each step along the way. (And my heart goes out to her for some of the traumatic experiences she went through...)
My only complaint is that I wonder if Applebees and Walmart were the ideal locations to examine. Her experience would have been very different--and, I daresay, no less valid--if she'd examined other stores and restaurants. Granted, she wasn't trying to presume that what she saw is The Way Things Are For Everybody. But I am curious as to what her takeaways would have been if she'd immersed herself in other companies instead.
My only complaint is that I wonder if Applebees and Walmart were the ideal locations to examine. Her experience would have been very different--and, I daresay, no less valid--if she'd examined other stores and restaurants. Granted, she wasn't trying to presume that what she saw is The Way Things Are For Everybody. But I am curious as to what her takeaways would have been if she'd immersed herself in other companies instead.