The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table

“Like all myths, the idea that only the affluent and educated care about their meals has spread not because it is true, but because parts of it are. Healthier food is more expensive; that much is true. So is the fact that it can be hard to find in poor neighborhoods. And yet it requires an impossible leap of logic to conclude from these facts that only the rich care about their meals.”

This quote introduces a central theme in the book: that diet is dictated more by class and context than by palate. The quote highlights how low-income people do, in fact, eat worse than their wealthier counterparts, creating a host of issues from diabetes to higher rates of obesity. The myth that this is a choice, however, obscures the reasons for this pattern of behavior, which are rooted in the inequalities of American society.

“Food has always been one of America’s great paradoxes. Even before the vast abundance of industrial agriculture came to bear on our meals, our nation’s affluent feasted on fresh vegetables and fine sweets while our poor made do with far less.”

The contrast between abundance and deprivation is one that McMillan returns to consistently throughout the book. In this quote, she shows how this dynamic has its roots in the earliest days of American society. This isn’t just a problem of diet, McMillan says; the indifference of America to its citizens’ access to healthy food is an abandonment of its founding promise as a land of opportunity.

“I wait for Pilar to take me aside and politely explain that she won’t be needing my help again. I decide that when the moment comes, I’ll shake my head in embarrassment and accept my fate quietly. But no.”

McMillan shows her frustration and shame at working much more slowly than her more experienced colleagues in the fields. Her inability to match their pace shows that, despite being perceived as unskilled, farm laborers are highly accomplished at what they do. This quote also hints at the factor that makes McMillan’s time in the fields bearable: the charity and patience of her fellow workers.