Eating American

"Eating American" is a book chapter written by anthropologist Sidney Mintz. In his chapter, Mintz explains his ideas regarding the "American Cuisine." He arrives on this topic after giving a lecture about domestication. Students in the lecture had questioned his statement that there is no American cuisine. Mintz defends his statement. He explains that the American people have come from all parts of the world, each bringing its own culture, and it's own food. In additon, people migrated to different regions of the United States and eating habits differed between regions. Mintz admits that regional cuisines have existed to some extent. When it comes to trying to formulate a cuisine for the country as a whole however, Mintz points out that most of the foods that first come to mind as "American" such as hamburgers, hot dogs, and spaghetti have actually originated from other cutures. He also notes that the American diet is constantly changing. In the modern day, american caloric intake has become increasingly based on fats and sugars. At the same time, fast food is becoming increasingly popular as the current American culture allots less time for eating.

Discussion Questions:
1) Is there an American cuisine? What does it consist of?
2) How do our culture and changes in our culture affect the types of foods we eat?