177. The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan

BOOK REVIEW: The American Way of Eating - Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan

Food is so easy to come by these days, what with supermarkets and grocery stores popping up just like mushrooms after the rain. We are able to taste fruits, vegetables and a variety of other food products from any part of the world we wish to. America is no different to us, but just what is going on behind the scenes of America's most famous supermarket and also dining scene as well as in the fields. This book answers these and more.

When award-winning and working-class journalist Tracie McMillan saw foodies swooning over $9 organic tomatoes, she couldn't help but wonder: what about the rest of us? Why do working Americans eat the way they do? And what can they do to change it?

To find out, this plucky author went undercover in 3 jobs that feed America, living and eating off her wages in each. Reporting from California fields, a Walmart produce aisle outside of Detroit and the kitchen of a New York Applebee's, she examines the reality of America's food industry in this "clear and essential" work of reportage.

Chronicling her own experience and that of the Mexican garlic crews, Midwestern produce managers, and Caribbean line cooks with whom she works, the author goes beyond the food on her plate to explore the national priorities that put it there. 

Fearlessly reported and beautifully written, this book goes beyond statistics and culture wars to deliver a book that is fiercely honest, strikingly intelligent, and compulsively readable. In making the simple case that - city or country, rich or poor - everyone wants good food, the author guarantees that talking about dinner will never be the same again.

Tracie's account of her time in Applebee's was something I could relate to, the harsh working conditions of the kitchen scene where men dominate and ladies are seen as too "light" for that sort of work. Sexual harassment is so common that ladies just grit their teeth to make ends meet, just to place food on the table.

Written so personally and thoughtfully, it made me think of food and how it doesn't come easy for everyone. It makes me have a higher appreciation for what I see on my plate. Loved this book to bits and highly recommended for foodies everywhere!