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Profs and Pints DC presents: “America’s Food Fights—a History,” a look back through time at the political battles that shaped how our nation eats, with Allen Pietrobon, professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University.
Just around the corner is Thanksgiving, a holiday that brings together around our nation’s dinner tables vegans and meat lovers, people who are watching their weight and people eager for a second serving of pie.
How did figuring out what to serve folks get so complicated?
Come to DC’s Little Penn Coffeehouse to hear that question tackled and learn why and how the American diet has changed dramatically over the years. Serving up the knowledge will be historian Allen Pietrobon, who previously has given fantastic Profs and Pints talks on subjects such as prohibition, our nation’s past pandemics, and the development of American suburbs.
He’ll discuss the watershed moments since World War II that that radically changed how and what we eat, transforming what had been a relatively wholesome and nourishing food system into a food culture laden with fats, sugar, and ultra-processed unhealthy foods. Among them, the urban riots of 1967-68 helped give rise to a federal policy that fostered the proliferation of fast-food restaurants across America. Government actions aimed at alleviating the economic problems of the 1970s led to our diets being infused with far more meat and ultra-processed foods saturated with fats and sugars.
You’ll learn how an unholy alliance between the U.S. government, ad agencies, and major food corporations helped to transform America into what food writer Greg Crister calls “the fattest nation on earth.” As a result, our healthcare system currently spends one trillion dollars annually to combat diet-related diseases, which account for six in ten American deaths.
Professor Pietrobon also will examine how our dietary choices became more politicized over recent decades, with kale, quinoa, and other “healthy” foods being regarded as ethical by some and elitist by others. Today, as a new generation of Americans is pushing back against a food system that became ultra-industrialized over the past 70 years, a renewed focus on eating healthier holds hope that we might be starting to reverse unhealthy trends.
No matter what you order to eat while you watch, it’s a talk you’ll savor. You’ll leave equipped to serve up food knowledge at the Thanksgiving dinner table. (Advance tickets: $12. Door: $15, or $13 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in.)
Image: Part of a Thanksgiving card printed in 1913.
