Summary

Beginning at the time of European colonization through the 21st century, several generations of food reformers have tried to influence the American diet in the name of health, science, or progress. Throughout time, different groups of activists believed that they understood the basic principles of nourishing foods. Furthermore, each group believed that they were empowered not only to use their knowledge to form their own eating habits but also to influence what others ate. Yet the advice they proffered was far from stable and was successively replaced by newer scientific information and different sets of political, social, and cultural concerns. Although food reform initiatives have been generally grounded in the medical science of their day, they were also influenced by other factors—including class friction, ethnocentrism, and competing moral concerns.