Harbinger of Books

I was browsing through audible and came across the “American Way of Eating” by Tracie McMillan and narrated by Hilary Huber. What caught my attention was this idea of why it is so difficult for so many Americans to eat well. In her book she describes how she takes on a series of unskilled jobs from farm to plate – laboring as a farmhand where she picked grapes, sorted garlic, onions and peaches and later cut garlic. Then she goes on to stock shelves at Wal-Mart and finally works as an expediter at Applebee’s.

I am always interested in the invisible members of society and to that end I can say Hilary Huber does a wonderful job bringing this story to life. In the field there are some interesting stories about how people are living and what people are eating. Then after she leaves the fields we rather lose that perspective instead it mostly about take home pay and what she encounters at work.

Unfortunately the point of her book was supposed to be more about why it is so difficult for American’s to eat well.  By the end of her book I could not really see the connection between the work she did and people’s food choices.  I know what it is like to wake up and work in a crappy job all while trying to make ends meet. I know how hard it is to figure out how to pay for the basic necessities of life and while I have always chosen to buy whole food instead of fast or convenience food – her story made it seem like this is not an option.

I think I am disappointed in this book because I wanted more about social change, people making different conscious efforts to support a better food structure. I wanted more time in the fields to see how they did eat and more in depth stories about their health that kind of thing.

So for me the book missed its own mark. I think it was entertaining though just not sure if it is really all that informative.