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bhsmith's review against another edition
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.
sav_22's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
devoftheshire's review against another edition
3.0
I agree with a lot of the reviewers. Too much for one book. I imagine an entire book could be written on each of the "food jobs" she had through out the book. I don't feel I really gained anything from this book. Yes migrant farm workers are paid shit, retail workers are paid shit, and restaurant workers are also paid shit. I would like it to be different as I am in the restaurant industry; the question is how. As Americans we like cheap -.wal-mart is the perfect example if this. We are willing to continue to shop at this place that is known to treat employees badly,because they have LOW prices. We are our own worst enemy. This book did nothing to answer the question of making a change, but rather painted a well documented copy if what we already know.
caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite as surprising or groundbreaking as it's made out to be. One strength is her own upbringing on Hamburger Helper so she came to the issue of healthy food as a typical American consumer. Her section on Walmart emphasizes how important and groundbreaking the supply chain is when it comes to making food available. She finds over and over again that people at all income levels prefer fresh fruits and vegetables if they can only find them (they're not at the "party store" as convenience stores are known in Detroit) and can afford them.
katrinky's review against another edition
3.0
Part anecdotal recount of a year spent working undercover at several stops along the U.S. food chain, part numbers-laden analysis of immigrant rights, labor politics, poverty, urban decay and growth and gentrification, and, of course, said food chain, "The American Way of Eating" took me a long time to read because it was like taking an entire class. McMillan is an accessible writer, and has good timing for switching from dry history and stats-quoting to harrowing stories of working the Valentine's Day rush at the Bed-Stuy Applebee's in Creole Brooklyn. Some information that I'll keep in my back pocket, other than the broad sense I have that I am entirely right not to shop at WalMart ever, at all, working in fields is hard work and has racism and xenophobia built right on into the deal, and Applebee's has nary a fresh item between its hallowed walls:
-Citizens of the US catch a lot of flak for having "no food culture," based in large part on the fact that we spend a lower percentage of our incomes on food than, say, the French. But here's the thing: we have to pay for communication, higher education, transportation, and health care with our incomes, too; THE FRENCH DO NOT. So cut us a freaking break.
-WalMart is so fabulously successful mostly because they own their own distribution system, too. The money saved on contracting with, packing, shipping, and selling groceries themselves means they can ask for lower prices that then drive smaller local businesses under.
-Also, WalMart throws away a billion pounds of food away a year.
-Also, their food is never, ever, ever fresh.
-Speaking of which, Applebees straight up LIES about when their food expires. And everything comes out of a plastic bag. The expo person is pulling flakes of melted plastic out of your vegetables until the second they are delivered to your table.
-Detroit is considered such an infamous food desert in large part because most of the massive amount of food that DOES come into the city is shipped out immediately, as in, within twelve hours of arriving at the produce terminal, to the suburbs. It's TRYING not to be a food desert. The urban gardening scene is growing, in more ways than one.
-Sexism: TOTALLY EXISTS IN THE FOOD SYSTEM. WHO KNEW?!
-Citizens of the US catch a lot of flak for having "no food culture," based in large part on the fact that we spend a lower percentage of our incomes on food than, say, the French. But here's the thing: we have to pay for communication, higher education, transportation, and health care with our incomes, too; THE FRENCH DO NOT. So cut us a freaking break.
-WalMart is so fabulously successful mostly because they own their own distribution system, too. The money saved on contracting with, packing, shipping, and selling groceries themselves means they can ask for lower prices that then drive smaller local businesses under.
-Also, WalMart throws away a billion pounds of food away a year.
-Also, their food is never, ever, ever fresh.
-Speaking of which, Applebees straight up LIES about when their food expires. And everything comes out of a plastic bag. The expo person is pulling flakes of melted plastic out of your vegetables until the second they are delivered to your table.
-Detroit is considered such an infamous food desert in large part because most of the massive amount of food that DOES come into the city is shipped out immediately, as in, within twelve hours of arriving at the produce terminal, to the suburbs. It's TRYING not to be a food desert. The urban gardening scene is growing, in more ways than one.
-Sexism: TOTALLY EXISTS IN THE FOOD SYSTEM. WHO KNEW?!
stephanieohdee's review against another edition
4.0
Better than expected, McMillan manages to consistently recognize and keep her privilege (as a white, educated woman) in check while still putting a spotlight on the extremely disconcerting conditions of the industrial food system (from the farm to the table) and the exploitative working conditions.
zanreads's review against another edition
5.0
What a book! In the same genre as Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed," Tracie McMillan takes you undercover at America's biggest grocer, America's top chain restaurant, and works alongside the migrant workers in California picking the produce that we eat everday.
The book really make me think and consider every purchase I make with a new appreciation of the difficult lives of the the people that make food available to all of us. A must read!
The book really make me think and consider every purchase I make with a new appreciation of the difficult lives of the the people that make food available to all of us. A must read!
artemis8's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting look at a young woman's experiences working in the fields of California, a Walmart in Detroit, and an Applebee's in Brooklyn. Fair pay, planning a budget, safety practices are all addresses. McMillan's writing style was very easy to follow and her experience in each part of the food chain was fascinating.