Food Fights: How History Matters to Contemporary Food Debates

by Charles C. Ludington (Editor), Matthew Morse Booker (Editor)

What we eat, where it is from, and how it is produced are vital questions in today's America. We think seriously about food because it is freighted with the hopes, fears, and anxieties of modern life. Yet critiques of food and food systems all too often sprawl into jeremiads against modernity itself, while supporters of the status quo refuse to acknowledge the problems with today's methods of food production and distribution. Food Fights sheds new light on these crucial debates, using a historical lens. Its essays take strong positions, even arguing with one another, as they explore the many themes and tensions that define how we understand our food—from the promises and failures of agricultural technology to the politics of taste.

In addition to the editors, contributors include Ken Albala, Amy Bentley, Charlotte Biltekoff, Peter A. Coclanis, Tracey Deutsch, S. Margot Finn, Rachel Laudan, Sarah Ludington, Margaret Mellon, Steve Striffler, and Robert T. Valgenti

Review
The 'good food movement' of the past twenty years has become a powerful voice, but debates around food are lamentably lacking in historical perspective. This dynamic collection introduces that valuable history into our political, social, ecological, and aesthetic discussions about food in America.–Jeffrey M. Pilcher, University of Toronto



Food Fights lives up to its title–a collection of essays that not only shows divergent subjects and recommendations but also invites this disagreement, showcasing controversies in the contemporary world of food and the light that history sheds on these debates.–Paul Freedman, Yale University

About the Author
Charles Ludington is teaching associate professor of history at North Carolina State University.

Matthew Morse Booker is associate professor of history at North Carolina State University