The American Way of Eating

Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table

De: Tracie McMillan

Narrado por: Hillary Huber

What if you can't afford nine-dollar tomatoes? That was the question award-winning journalist Tracie McMillan couldn't escape as she watched the debate about America's meals unfold, one that urges us to pay food's true cost-which is to say, pay more. So in 2009 McMillan embarked on a groundbreaking undercover journey to see what it takes to eat well in America. For nearly a year, she worked, ate, and lived alongside the working poor to examine how Americans eat when price matters.

From the fields of California, a Walmart produce aisle outside of Detroit, and the kitchen of a New York City Applebee's, McMillan takes us into the heart of America's meals. With startling intimacy she portrays the lives and food of Mexican garlic crews, Midwestern produce managers, and Caribbean line cooks, while also chronicling her own attempts to live and eat on meager wages. Along the way, she asked the questions still facing America a decade after the declaration of an obesity epidemic: Why do we eat the way we do? And how can we change it? To find out, McMillan goes beyond the food on her plate to examine the national priorities that put it there. With her absorbing blend of riveting narrative and formidable investigative reporting, McMillan takes us from dusty fields to clanging restaurant kitchens, linking her work to the quality of our meals-and always placing her observations in the context of America's approach not just to farms and kitchens but to wages and work. The surprising answers that McMillan found on her journey have profound implications for our food and agriculture, and also for how we see ourselves as a nation. Through stunning reportage, Tracie McMillan makes the simple case that-city or country, rich or poor-everyone wants good food.

Fearlessly reported and beautifully written, The American Way of Eating goes beyond statistics and culture wars to deliver a book that is fiercely intelligent and compulsively readable. Talking about dinner will never be the same again.

©2012 Tracie McMillan (P)2012 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A worthy book." ( Booklist)

Eye-opening

Exceptional. I enjoyed every minute of it. On completion of the book, I wonder what can be learned from other countries.

A bit disappointing

I was browsing through audible and came across the “American Way of Eating” by Tracie McMillan and narrated by Hilary Huber. What caught my attention was this idea of why it is so difficult for so many Americans to eat well. In her book she describes how she takes on a series of unskilled jobs from farm to plate – laboring as a farmhand where she picked grapes, sorted garlic, onions and peaches and later cut garlic. Then she goes on to stock shelves at Wal-Mart and finally works as an expeditor at Applebee’s.

I am always interested in the invisible members of society and to that end I can say Hilary Huber does a wonderful job bringing this story to life. In the field there are some interesting stories about how people are living and what people are eating. Then after she leaves the fields we rather lose that perspective instead it mostly about take home pay and what she encounters at work.

Unfortunately the point of her book was supposed to be more about why it is so difficult for American’s to eat well. By the end of her book I could not really see the connection between the work she did and people’s food choices. I know what it is like to wake up and work in a crappy job all while trying to make ends meet. I know how hard it is to figure out how to pay for the basic necessities of life and while I have always chosen to buy whole food instead of fast or convenience food – her story made it seem like this is not an option.
I think I am disappointed in this book because I wanted more about social change, people making different conscious efforts to support a better food structure. I wanted more time in the fields to see how they did eat and more in depth stories about their health that kind of thing.

So for me the book missed its own mark. I think it was entertaining though just not sure if it is really all that informative.

Very Interesting

Great read. I only gave it 3 stars but the overall subject is still good, and it can serve as an eye opener for the uninitiated or just an interesting read for those already schooled on the "food" movement.

Great Storytelling!

I am familiar with how it can be disturbing to go behind the kitchen of modern food processing in America, so I was a bit hesitant about this book, not wanting to hear another horror account. Yet I was pleasantly surprised. While disturbing realities are revealed, they are presented in such a way that I did not have nightmares. Rather, this is a journey of beautiful storytelling of one journalist's quest to answer the question of why healthy food is so hard to get and how it got to be that way in America.

The narrator does a splendid job of communicating the intonation, the inflection, and the story the author wanted to share in a way that makes her book an easy-listen.

Interesting Story, Great Narration

This book was a little slow and sometimes felt a little scattered, but overall I found the information to be pretty interesting. 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.

Making healthy food affordable to every American

This is an overlooked topic that deserves attention. We need to eat healthier and need to know how to do that for all ages. Schools need home ec and cooking back in schools instead of cutting electives. I wished the author were able to go under cover with the seed suppliers, farmers and in the suburbs. Thanks to the author for uncovering some of what happens behind the scenes!

Educational!

Very informative, yet a little frustrating that our country doesn’t have any emphasis on food security/health.

Important story. New perspective.

Would you listen to The American Way of Eating again? Why?

I did listen twice to pick up what I missed the first time around.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is important. I learned that the food I eat is harvested by people who are oppressed and as the food moves along the chain, the people that handle the food are only slightly less oppressed. It doesn't matter whether I buy garlic at Whole Foods or Walmart, the garlic harvesters suffer greatly in their work. The story makes me sad and also made me learn how extremely complicated the situation is. I thought I knew about these things.

What does Hillary Huber bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Hillary Huber's voice sounded like you would expect the author to sound, so it felt like a first person account.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I frequently think of the boy who damaged his thumb picking peas and the boy who accompanied his mother picking grapes and selling food to the workers. My children don't know how blessed they are.

Any additional comments?

There are many complicated problems related to America's food supply. Food here is so abundant that our poor people are obese. There are other costs to the abundance.

Sincere story with insincere voice

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have just listened to the book for 10 minutes. It seems like a very sincere and intelligent storytelling which I like very much. But the narrator's voice has such a sneer in it that I need to constantly fight the distraction. I'd really love a more proper voice to go with the book.

Excellent.

This book was excellent. Incredibly interesting content coupled with a reader whose voice was soothing, made for an excellent experience.