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Devoured: From Chicken Wings to Kale Smoothies -- How What We Eat Defines Who We Are
A provocative look at how and what Americans eat and why—a flavorful blend of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Salt Sugar Fat, and Freakonomics that reveals how the way we live shapes the way we eat.
Food writer and Culinary Institute of America program director Sophie Egan takes readers on an eye-opening journey through the American food psyche, examining the connections between the values that define our national character—work, freedom, and progress—and our eating habits, the good and the bad. Egan explores why these values make for such an unstable, and often unhealthy, food culture and, paradoxically, why they also make America’s cuisine so great.
Egan raises a host of intriguing questions: Why does McDonald’s have 107 items on its menu? Why are breakfast sandwiches, protein bars, and gluten-free anything so popular? Will bland, soulless meal replacements like Soylent revolutionize our definition of a meal? The search for answers takes her across the culinary landscape, from the prioritization of convenience over health to the unintended consequences of “perks” like free meals for employees; from the American obsession with “having it our way” to the surge of Starbucks, Chipotle, and other chains individualizing the eating experience; from high culture—artisan and organic and what exactly “natural” means—to low culture—the sale of 100 million Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos in ten weeks. She also looks at how America’s cuisine—like the nation itself—has been shaped by diverse influences from across the globe.
Devoured weaves together insights from the fields of psychology, anthropology, food science, and behavioral economics as well as myriad examples from daily life to create a powerful and unique look at food in America.
396 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 3, 2016
79 people are currently reading
2237 people want to read
About the author
Sophie Egan
4 books50 followersSophie Egan, MPH is an author, lecturer in the Stanford Earth Systems Program, contributor to The New York Times, and leader at the intersection of food, health, and the environment. Her newest book is How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet (Workman, 2020). Sophie is also founder of Full Table Solutions, LLC, a consulting practice focused on food systems transformation. For over five years, Sophie served as the Director of Health and Sustainability Leadership and Editorial Director for the Strategic Initiatives Group at The Culinary Institute of America. In that role, Sophie led nationwide movements to help improve millions of meals served each day. Sophie has written for The Washington Post, EatingWell, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, Bon Appétit, WIRED, and Sunset magazine. Her first book, Devoured: How What We Eat Defines Who We Are (William Morrow, 2016), is a journey into the American food psyche. She holds a master of public health, with a focus on health and social behavior, from University of California, Berkeley, where she was a Center for Health Leadership fellow. She also holds a bachelor of arts with honors in history from Stanford University. In 2016, she was named one of the UC Global Food Initiative’s 30 Under 30. In 2018, she earned a certificate from the Harvard Executive Education in Sustainability Leadership program. You can find her in the mountains, on Twitter at @SophieEganM, and online at sophieegan.com.
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August 19, 2022The subtitle ("How What We Eat Defines Who We Are") isn't entirely fitting or indicative of what this book is actually about, which focuses on American food culture. I had the thought while reading that if Michael Pollan and Mary Roach were smashed together into a book baby, you'd get Devoured. It's definitely an enjoyable read for anyone interested in American food culture.
July 21, 2016
When I think about food, it's usually in the context of "what am I going to make for dinner" or gnashing my teeth in irritation about coworkers evangelizing about their latest fad diets. Food is a huge part of our culture and our identity, (a fact that I was made well aware of when creating a faerie world in which people don't eat.) But what is American food culture? Egan takes a stab at discussing it in this book.
Egan begins talking about a hypothetical American office worker's typical eating day. In fact, a large chunk of the book talks about the relationship between food and work. Some of it was quite enlightening. If you snack (and who doesn't?) you eat more than people who just eat meals, because the not-meal nature of a snack falls outside of what you consider your daily intake. She talks about how typical the snack-heavy day is for a "typical" worker, especially with the donuts that someone else brings in, the company-provided chocolates, the portable lunch eaten at a computer (aptly named "Sad Desk Lunch.") This will seem eye-openingly familiar to anyone who works a white-collar corporate job, and baffling to people whose work doesn't involve a monitor and a keyboard.
Considering her hypothetical worker is in his thirties and works at Google, I can't say that there's much typical about him except the snacking all day. But it did make me think about the times when I had a Kind bar instead of cooking myself breakfast, and about how much chocolate I consume now that I'm in a desk job, though the emergency chocolate at home can remain unconsumed for half a year or more.
Egan also focuses primarily on millennials, as she herself is one. (This really bothered me, because if millennials are doing research and writing books, that means millennials are adults, and if millennials are adults, that means I'm one too--when the heck did that happen?) She focuses on some millennial-driven change that is positive and some that is negative. On the positive side, she puts brunch, a "secular church" or way of lingering over a meal to savor pleasure and camaraderie with friends regardless of the time cost. She also includes fusion food (creating new and wonderful dishes, based on creativity over adherence to tradition), food trucks, and alternate packaging for wine. On the negative side, she puts over-proteined diets, energy bars and other packaged food (Soylent she finds particularly egregious), eating at your desk, stunt foods (such as oreo shakes or Doritos Locos tacos) and diets of any kind. This is the first place I've heard about a study that proved what I myself believed my whole life: dieting of any kind will make you fatter in the long run.
Egan also discusses briefly the history of certain aspects of American cuisine, such as our love of Italian food and the rise of Trader Joe's and the democratization of wine. She touches on what the cover promises "How What We Eat Defines Who We Are" but that's just a brief five categories which don't seem obvious or inclusive, and also don't really tell us anything about us personally, not even anything as obvious as "conservative housewives are more likely to use cheese in baked dishes" or "high-educated single women consume the most kale." I'd give it 5 stars if it actually delivered what the cover promised, (and if she stopped using "like" when she meant "such as" which probably bothers no one but me.)
But even though the book doesn't deliver on what the cover promises, it still contains a lot of fascinating information. Egan hasn't done much of her own firsthand research, but she's got access to quite a few excellent secondary sources, including the renowned author Brian Wansink, with whom she studied, and some food-industry giants whom she interviewed.
This is a fun and informative read if you're interested in food and culture, though if you're a die-hard dieter in the throes of your newest food cult, you'll probably get indignant that the author isn't a disciple of the one true word. The rest of us will get something out of it.
Egan begins talking about a hypothetical American office worker's typical eating day. In fact, a large chunk of the book talks about the relationship between food and work. Some of it was quite enlightening. If you snack (and who doesn't?) you eat more than people who just eat meals, because the not-meal nature of a snack falls outside of what you consider your daily intake. She talks about how typical the snack-heavy day is for a "typical" worker, especially with the donuts that someone else brings in, the company-provided chocolates, the portable lunch eaten at a computer (aptly named "Sad Desk Lunch.") This will seem eye-openingly familiar to anyone who works a white-collar corporate job, and baffling to people whose work doesn't involve a monitor and a keyboard.
Considering her hypothetical worker is in his thirties and works at Google, I can't say that there's much typical about him except the snacking all day. But it did make me think about the times when I had a Kind bar instead of cooking myself breakfast, and about how much chocolate I consume now that I'm in a desk job, though the emergency chocolate at home can remain unconsumed for half a year or more.
Egan also focuses primarily on millennials, as she herself is one. (This really bothered me, because if millennials are doing research and writing books, that means millennials are adults, and if millennials are adults, that means I'm one too--when the heck did that happen?) She focuses on some millennial-driven change that is positive and some that is negative. On the positive side, she puts brunch, a "secular church" or way of lingering over a meal to savor pleasure and camaraderie with friends regardless of the time cost. She also includes fusion food (creating new and wonderful dishes, based on creativity over adherence to tradition), food trucks, and alternate packaging for wine. On the negative side, she puts over-proteined diets, energy bars and other packaged food (Soylent she finds particularly egregious), eating at your desk, stunt foods (such as oreo shakes or Doritos Locos tacos) and diets of any kind. This is the first place I've heard about a study that proved what I myself believed my whole life: dieting of any kind will make you fatter in the long run.
Egan also discusses briefly the history of certain aspects of American cuisine, such as our love of Italian food and the rise of Trader Joe's and the democratization of wine. She touches on what the cover promises "How What We Eat Defines Who We Are" but that's just a brief five categories which don't seem obvious or inclusive, and also don't really tell us anything about us personally, not even anything as obvious as "conservative housewives are more likely to use cheese in baked dishes" or "high-educated single women consume the most kale." I'd give it 5 stars if it actually delivered what the cover promised, (and if she stopped using "like" when she meant "such as" which probably bothers no one but me.)
But even though the book doesn't deliver on what the cover promises, it still contains a lot of fascinating information. Egan hasn't done much of her own firsthand research, but she's got access to quite a few excellent secondary sources, including the renowned author Brian Wansink, with whom she studied, and some food-industry giants whom she interviewed.
This is a fun and informative read if you're interested in food and culture, though if you're a die-hard dieter in the throes of your newest food cult, you'll probably get indignant that the author isn't a disciple of the one true word. The rest of us will get something out of it.
June 12, 2016
Sophie Egan's Devoured: How What We Eat Defines Who We Are probes the mores of American food culture to find out what unites and divides us. Egan argues that food mirrors the American mindset, reflecting our common habits, tendencies, and livelihoods. There are several themes she seems to develop throughout the book, including the impact of the overbearing work culture on our food choices, how individualism and the need for self-expression colors our eating choices, and how social functions like the Super Bowl and holidays drive food sales.
Each chapter explores a different chunk of American food culture, from our growing dependence on cheese and spaghetti, to the "democratization" of wine through the production of cheaper brand names, and food entrepreneurism and innovation at fast casual establishments like the Doritos Locos Taco at Taco Bell. There is a bit of disjointedness to the book, as Egan has a difficult time connecting the chapters to validate her thesis. In fact, there doesn't seem to be a thesis outside of "we are defined by the food we eat." Perhaps this book could have been strengthened if the subtitle had been flipped from "how what we eat defines who we are" to "who we are defines what and how we eat." The causation is flipped to the more apt expression of how our overlapping traits as Americans determines what we pick off the shelves and what we order at our restaurants. From there, she could have weaved the narrative of how American culture imbues in its citizens a spirit of individualism and curiosity, and how that, for example, contributes to our demand for convenience and portable snacks in lieu of breakfast, the proliferation of foreign foods and restaurants in American towns and cities, and the popularity of "cheffing" or adding items not stated on the menu to your order. Not only would the thesis have been clearer, but the narrative would have been tighter and the chapters more related.
Egan's writing style is piss-poor. It goes from stable prose to chatty digressions marked by unhandy and cheesy attempts at humor and wit. The tone is mostly chatty and casual, perhaps too much. This could have been a more interesting read had the subject been given a tad bit more gravitas. Combined with an incoherent thesis and disjointed elaborations of different facets of American cuisine and food culture, Egan's unwieldy writing pattern yields a book that is remarkably unexceptional and short of its potential.
Each chapter explores a different chunk of American food culture, from our growing dependence on cheese and spaghetti, to the "democratization" of wine through the production of cheaper brand names, and food entrepreneurism and innovation at fast casual establishments like the Doritos Locos Taco at Taco Bell. There is a bit of disjointedness to the book, as Egan has a difficult time connecting the chapters to validate her thesis. In fact, there doesn't seem to be a thesis outside of "we are defined by the food we eat." Perhaps this book could have been strengthened if the subtitle had been flipped from "how what we eat defines who we are" to "who we are defines what and how we eat." The causation is flipped to the more apt expression of how our overlapping traits as Americans determines what we pick off the shelves and what we order at our restaurants. From there, she could have weaved the narrative of how American culture imbues in its citizens a spirit of individualism and curiosity, and how that, for example, contributes to our demand for convenience and portable snacks in lieu of breakfast, the proliferation of foreign foods and restaurants in American towns and cities, and the popularity of "cheffing" or adding items not stated on the menu to your order. Not only would the thesis have been clearer, but the narrative would have been tighter and the chapters more related.
Egan's writing style is piss-poor. It goes from stable prose to chatty digressions marked by unhandy and cheesy attempts at humor and wit. The tone is mostly chatty and casual, perhaps too much. This could have been a more interesting read had the subject been given a tad bit more gravitas. Combined with an incoherent thesis and disjointed elaborations of different facets of American cuisine and food culture, Egan's unwieldy writing pattern yields a book that is remarkably unexceptional and short of its potential.
May 10, 2016
Covers a lot of the same ground as Pandora's Lunchbox, Salt Sugar Fat, The Dorito Effect, but if you enjoy those books, as I have, you'll like this one too. Sophie Egan has a conversational style and seems ready to try anything. A few of the topics in Devoured that I don't recall seeing in the other books of this type are "stunt foods" such as KFC's Double Down, and products that promote what they DON'T contain, such as gluten-free.
May 17, 2016
There's some promise here. And an interesting topic. But ultimately I found myself drowning in facts. Lots of little bits of facts. (Number of items for sale in a grocery store, say.) Many of the facts are interesting, but after a while it's too much like reading an almanac. And while she makes good and interesting points, they too are overwhelmed by all the tiny little facts.
I can imagine that having gathered them all, one wants to use them. and many of them are the kind of thing you want to immediately go and tell someone else. Some of her observations are also intriguing--the way our culture shapes our beliefs about food is something I find fascinating. But ultimately I would have preferred a much more sparing use of facts and a good deal more well-thought out observational synthesis.
I can imagine that having gathered them all, one wants to use them. and many of them are the kind of thing you want to immediately go and tell someone else. Some of her observations are also intriguing--the way our culture shapes our beliefs about food is something I find fascinating. But ultimately I would have preferred a much more sparing use of facts and a good deal more well-thought out observational synthesis.
August 24, 2016
Fascinating! It's no secret I find the subject of food interesting but this comprehensive exploration of American food culture exceeded my expectations. To use a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad pun - I devoured it! Author Sophie Egan discusses in depth how and why we eat the way we do here in the twenty-first century United States of America. From the sad desk lunch to family dinners to our reliance on convenience foods our habits are NOT in line with those of our ancestors. She also tackles how wine gained popularity (much of the credit goes to none other than Joe Coulombe aka "Trader Joe" and his famous, or infamous, "Two Buck Chuck") false shortages in the days prior to the iconic American Super Bowl holiday (anyone remember the cries of lack of chicken wings or avocados?) and the popularity of "absence" foods, that is those lacking fat, carbs, sodium, etc. And, pleasing to my proud Italian roots (are you reading this Dad?) why Italian American food has had such a significant impact on our society and why it has been so eagerly embraced by the majority of those with working taste buds (pasta, pizza, cheese, bread - duh!) I was so throughly impressed with the research, quality of writing, and down-to-earth humor I was able to overlook her status as a millennial and simply savor this engaging read.
May 16, 2016
The writing was so horrible that I couldn't make it more than 20 pages into the book. Everything was a hipster, conversational type comment and there was no coherency to the narrative. I had high hopes for the book but it wasn't worth the time.
June 18, 2017
This was a very interesting look at the American food culture. I found much of it fascinating. I am not an American, but I believe that Canadian food tastes most likely follow behind what is trending in American cuisine. There are some really interesting historical information of how different economic times, and the influence of immigrants on cuisine. One of the more disturbing facts in the book is that the average American spends more money on food in restaurants than they do in a grocery store. Super fun read!
November 23, 2020
This was a rather enjoyable read. The author poured a lot of work into it and it shows. I think the subtitle could have been reversed. "How who we are defines what we eat".
The author did a great job at analyzing food trends and linking them with American's culture and society. I really liked her takes on work ethics, stunt foods and individuality, which were new ideas for me.
The last chapter (on immigration) was a let down compared to the rest, as I feel the analysis was focused on white America, leaving BIPOC out of the equation.
The author did a great job at analyzing food trends and linking them with American's culture and society. I really liked her takes on work ethics, stunt foods and individuality, which were new ideas for me.
The last chapter (on immigration) was a let down compared to the rest, as I feel the analysis was focused on white America, leaving BIPOC out of the equation.
February 23, 2018
Great piece divulging the depths of American food culture. Sophie provides insight into the behavioural economics and advertising schemes that go into our daily food products, and ties it to Americans cultural values as a whole. For example, snacking arises from the constant need to be efficient and working all day. She says, "what's driving this constant munching is a combination of being efficiency oriented - I suppose we can use our hands to feed our mouths while we use our eyes to look at shoes - and our concerns about following the latest nutritional guidance, which, in some cases, has been the slow trickle approach to calorie intake." Egan traces American values of work productivity and reflects how these conceptions affect our daily habits. Therefore, no longer is it looked down upon to eat your lunch at your desk table and stare at your computer in an office. Go you Ted, you are working even during lunch! But this doesn't give our minds a break and decreases our overall proficiency.
Egan proposes that instead of pumping our foods with salt, fat and sugar we focus on "farming for flavor". In other words creating more wholesome produce to begin with, which tastes amazing and fresh, avoiding the need to overload it with buttery sauces and cheesy crusts. Additionally, health nutritionists should stop studying single-nutrient studies (for example studying effects of goji berries) and and do more wholesome, full-context studies of how people eat.
Loved this part : "Brunch is a secular church, Sunday service for socially starved. Something for the nothings. Specifically, something soulful and restorative." We all have the need to be socially content in our lives and the tradition of brunch amongst millennial gives us a reason to meet with each other, linger over a fine meal and catch up over our lives. I thought this chapter was insightful and funny over the young lives of millennials and how brunch has become the way to socialize in a wholesome manner on the weekends.
Other quotes: "Just as we feel guilt about indulgence and pleasure in our food, we feel guilt about leisure. When we aren't eating healthy, we feel guilty. We've got to clear out these plagues on our conscience. Because the problem isn't that we never treat ourselves - it's how we feel about it when we do."
"A deeper and much-less-discussed reason for dieting is an underlying fear of death in this country. In general, we medicalize aging - from treating wrinkles with injections and creams to prolonging life no matter the tradeoffs. Most of us are uncomfortable talking about or even thinking about dying. It's often not until it comes time to care for a dying parent or relative that we really confront the idea of our own mortality. And when we do, it can involve IV's and hospital beds and long, expensive, agonizing procedures that are enough to scare the wits out of every one of us. We are left helpless, and researching the secrets to longevity and then following them religiously is the best we can do to channel our anxiety into action."
Egan proposes that instead of pumping our foods with salt, fat and sugar we focus on "farming for flavor". In other words creating more wholesome produce to begin with, which tastes amazing and fresh, avoiding the need to overload it with buttery sauces and cheesy crusts. Additionally, health nutritionists should stop studying single-nutrient studies (for example studying effects of goji berries) and and do more wholesome, full-context studies of how people eat.
Loved this part : "Brunch is a secular church, Sunday service for socially starved. Something for the nothings. Specifically, something soulful and restorative." We all have the need to be socially content in our lives and the tradition of brunch amongst millennial gives us a reason to meet with each other, linger over a fine meal and catch up over our lives. I thought this chapter was insightful and funny over the young lives of millennials and how brunch has become the way to socialize in a wholesome manner on the weekends.
Other quotes: "Just as we feel guilt about indulgence and pleasure in our food, we feel guilt about leisure. When we aren't eating healthy, we feel guilty. We've got to clear out these plagues on our conscience. Because the problem isn't that we never treat ourselves - it's how we feel about it when we do."
"A deeper and much-less-discussed reason for dieting is an underlying fear of death in this country. In general, we medicalize aging - from treating wrinkles with injections and creams to prolonging life no matter the tradeoffs. Most of us are uncomfortable talking about or even thinking about dying. It's often not until it comes time to care for a dying parent or relative that we really confront the idea of our own mortality. And when we do, it can involve IV's and hospital beds and long, expensive, agonizing procedures that are enough to scare the wits out of every one of us. We are left helpless, and researching the secrets to longevity and then following them religiously is the best we can do to channel our anxiety into action."
January 18, 2021
I read everything Sophie Egan's father Tim has ever written. he has written about her, I have seen them share a stage together in discussing interesting topics, she is from my beloved Pacific Northwest. I eat food. My work touches on food. For these reasons I chose to read this book. I was happy to see that she is connected with the Hartman Group for many of her insights. I worship at the altar of the Hartman Group in nearby Bellevue, Washington when it comes to sustainable/food related consumerism, great smart, insightful people. I will read S. Egan's new book "How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet," in some part because I hope that will provide what I felt was missing from "Devoured." Devoured lacked a, "what do we do about it" formula after mostly discussing the bad eating habits of upper middle class Americans. Her stories were entertaining, insightful, provocative, while also seemingly anecdotal, personal, subjective, and based on qualitative research, not as much data. I work in agriculture and food and am smitten with the approach of a venture fund named iSelect who aims to solve our healthcare crisis by investing in food related solutions that will reduce the poor eating habit related diseases of diabetes, heart disease, some cancers....etc by making healthy food taste good, easy to consume, and cheap. As they say, think Impossible burgers for the price of a bag of Ramen noodles. Our industry and Devoured, I think, do not spend enough time addressing the habits of the majority of mainstream middle to lower class Americans who are doing all they can to put food on the table without the luxury fo regard for what food. So few people can shop at Wholefoods, work at desk jobs with company available food (or even at desks), and frankly even binge on Doritos Locos Tacos........we need solutions and insights for all consumers to tackle better health, lower healthcare costs, and happier lives. Devoured aimed too high.
June 27, 2016
There are several things I would like to say about this book I won on Goodreads:
- First, the subtitle “How what we eat defines who we are” is misleading. A better one would be “How who we are defines how we eat” (or something like that). Indeed, Sophie Egan explains mainly why we (“Americans”) eat how we eat.
- Second, this book would be more directed to people liking trivia. A lot of information, the organization is not always clear. The tone is very informal…
- Third, something the author missed in why American people eat how they eat is the widespread idea that everything that is healthy is not good. The only time she evokes it is in the chapter “The Story of Spaghetti.” It would have been interesting to see how/why vegetables have such a bad reputation.
- Fourth, I think as a European (French), I am not the targeted reader… The description of the “really tempting” brunches, of the “irresistible” stunt foods, and so on, was just not that appealing to me.
- First, the subtitle “How what we eat defines who we are” is misleading. A better one would be “How who we are defines how we eat” (or something like that). Indeed, Sophie Egan explains mainly why we (“Americans”) eat how we eat.
- Second, this book would be more directed to people liking trivia. A lot of information, the organization is not always clear. The tone is very informal…
- Third, something the author missed in why American people eat how they eat is the widespread idea that everything that is healthy is not good. The only time she evokes it is in the chapter “The Story of Spaghetti.” It would have been interesting to see how/why vegetables have such a bad reputation.
- Fourth, I think as a European (French), I am not the targeted reader… The description of the “really tempting” brunches, of the “irresistible” stunt foods, and so on, was just not that appealing to me.
August 31, 2017
I read half of this and listened to half of it. It's easy to read, lots of fun facts scattered throughout. The author seems to have done her research.
The author is snarky ("Oh, and I don't eat airline food. Talk about fifty shades of gross." (p. 188)) and somewhat elitist (although she claims she is not). The narrator's tone became quite annoying over time, but I'm not sure if that is her fault or the author's. I think the book would have been better if the author had kept more of herself out of it.
Also she is obsessed with brunch - that chapter was endless.
I read this for my book club that discusses books about food, climate, and the environment. Hopefully we will find a lot to talk about.
The author is snarky ("Oh, and I don't eat airline food. Talk about fifty shades of gross." (p. 188)) and somewhat elitist (although she claims she is not). The narrator's tone became quite annoying over time, but I'm not sure if that is her fault or the author's. I think the book would have been better if the author had kept more of herself out of it.
Also she is obsessed with brunch - that chapter was endless.
I read this for my book club that discusses books about food, climate, and the environment. Hopefully we will find a lot to talk about.
October 15, 2019
I basically do not know how her editor let certain language pass, rather it should be titled "Food Diaries of a High School Blogger". Don't get my wrong she is clearly well read/versed in the subject matter, and I learned something from it, but language is everything, and it just felt odd.
Currently reading
February 28, 2016I'm VERY excited to be receiving this through the Goodreads First Reads program! Looks interesting. Whatever Miss T eats turns into Miss T. Lately that must mean I'm a cookie.
April 2, 2022
I defy anyone who says this book has a point. Here is a passage I found typical up to the point of dnf:
So many questions arise. Such as:
Wtf is the point of quoting a food institute director about his wife’s microwaveable lunches?
Wtf is the point of “he argues that the food industry has provided us with greater lunch options”? That is just an obvious fact, not an argument.
And about frozen food – are the “concerns about nutritional value” legitimate? Surely we should understand that there’s a difference between frozen vegetables and highly processed frozen products?
What is the point of transcribing trade statistics into this passage, besides filler?
Is there going to be any end to this stream of surface-level observations?
What is the point of this whole passage? What is the point of this whole book?
The merits of the microwave should not be overlooked. You could argue that it helped free many American women to work outside the home, because family meals could be prepared more quickly. Plus, microwaveable meals are affordable and certainly more satisfying than a hodgepodge of cold snacks and bars, and they (usually) contain chunks of food you can recognize.
By 1993 more than 75% of American workplaces had a microwave.
Which brings me to Lean Cuisine, Stouffers, and Amy’s Kitchen – the sad poster children of sad desk lunch. Frozen entrees are one of the runaway success stories over the last generation. It’s kind of the golden age of quick meals, says Richard Wilk, professor of anthropology at Indiana University, where he directs the food studies program and co-directs the University’s food institute. He says, “My wife has in her lab a refrigerator and a microwave, and she just puts something in the microwave for lunch every day. It used to be that if you did eat lunch at work, it was bound to be a sandwich,” he says, “but the sandwich has been replaced. Nowadays, the options are endless.” Wilk argues that the food industry has provided us with a greater variety of individual-sized premade lunch options than ever before. Lean Cuisine, for its part, offers 148 varieties, from simple favorites such as mac and cheese, to its veggie-forward Spa collection.
Interestingly, the market for frozen fare has been slipping in recent years, due to greater concern about the products nutritional value, especially sodium content, and a more widespread priority on fresh food, but as a 44 billion dollar industry, it’s still sitting pretty. For context, 2.7 billion dollars of that is for hand-held frozen foods. Frozen fruit rakes in another 422 million dollars annually, and frozen vegetables are just shy of 6 billion dollars.
Today, we have more options than ever…
So many questions arise. Such as:
Wtf is the point of quoting a food institute director about his wife’s microwaveable lunches?
Wtf is the point of “he argues that the food industry has provided us with greater lunch options”? That is just an obvious fact, not an argument.
And about frozen food – are the “concerns about nutritional value” legitimate? Surely we should understand that there’s a difference between frozen vegetables and highly processed frozen products?
What is the point of transcribing trade statistics into this passage, besides filler?
Is there going to be any end to this stream of surface-level observations?
What is the point of this whole passage? What is the point of this whole book?
June 11, 2020
Somewhere around 3.75 stars — I rounded up because my husband knows the author.
This was a really enjoyable and informative read. I enjoyed the early chapters about Americans’ work and food habits, and also really liked the part about “stunt foods.”
Was interesting to read this during the COVID lockdown, because I feel like a lot of the stuff about people working too hard and not cooking enough is kind of on its head right now, what with all the sourdough baking and lasagna cooking going on.
The book was kind of all over the place in terms of which topics the author addressed, but I would still recommend it for sure.
This was a really enjoyable and informative read. I enjoyed the early chapters about Americans’ work and food habits, and also really liked the part about “stunt foods.”
Was interesting to read this during the COVID lockdown, because I feel like a lot of the stuff about people working too hard and not cooking enough is kind of on its head right now, what with all the sourdough baking and lasagna cooking going on.
The book was kind of all over the place in terms of which topics the author addressed, but I would still recommend it for sure.
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September 21, 2021DNF - And that really says something for me; I hate not finishing books.
But because I didn't finish it, I can't in good conscience rate the book. It's not bad, per se, but it's also not good, and I only managed to get through about half of it. It's so ridiculously verbose without really saying anything that you wouldn't already be familiar with. In short, it's a real slog and you can find the same information/thoughts somewhere else that offers better delivery - so to speak.
But because I didn't finish it, I can't in good conscience rate the book. It's not bad, per se, but it's also not good, and I only managed to get through about half of it. It's so ridiculously verbose without really saying anything that you wouldn't already be familiar with. In short, it's a real slog and you can find the same information/thoughts somewhere else that offers better delivery - so to speak.
January 23, 2018
Really interesting read, however a little tough when you are PMSing and on a diet!
However, it was a good eye opener on how we think about food and why we make the choices that we do.
There were times were what she was talking about, I really had no interest in but other things pulled me in.
Good Read!
However, it was a good eye opener on how we think about food and why we make the choices that we do.
There were times were what she was talking about, I really had no interest in but other things pulled me in.
Good Read!
October 22, 2021
Interesting book, felt a little dated to me in the way it branded certain foods as “exotic” and the pandemic has definitely changed American food culture, but the chapters about the history of Trader Joe’s, the democratization of wine, and the coming into existence of the Doritos Locos Taco were all fairly interesting! Also the debunking of popular diet myths like paleo - would’ve loved to see her shit on keto or intermittent fasting too.
May 18, 2024
Good book if you are interested in the history of why we eat what we eat. I’m a fan of The Food that Built America—-this is kinda along those lines. I admit I read parts in detail and skimmed over other parts
December 12, 2020
A good look what food companies do to sell food and how trends came to be.
December 29, 2021
This book was so much fun. I really enjoyed the food history lessons infused with humor.
March 5, 2017
This book is a bit like a "Marketplace" for food. Which is a compliment. There isn't really a lot new here -- much of it I'd picked up in bits and pieces over the years from reading media online -- but Egan's voice is so engaging and funny that it's pleasant to go over it again, within a more structured framework.
The standout chapter is definitely on how "Italian" cuisine shaped American food, and in a larger way how all non-Anglo-Germanic food has had an impact. That leads into her passionate last chapter, on ways we can improve our food system and create a better America. It's an optimistic, loving viewpoint that's high on our ability to come together and achieve anything. But wrapped up nicely in a snarky Millennial shell.
The standout chapter is definitely on how "Italian" cuisine shaped American food, and in a larger way how all non-Anglo-Germanic food has had an impact. That leads into her passionate last chapter, on ways we can improve our food system and create a better America. It's an optimistic, loving viewpoint that's high on our ability to come together and achieve anything. But wrapped up nicely in a snarky Millennial shell.
March 15, 2017
Information you can find in news articles and other places. Discussions of food, nutrition, diet and health are nothing new. Author Egan proposes to take us through how what we eat has shaped us who we are and how our diets have been changed due to our work habits, the advancements of technology, the demands on our time, etc.
Honestly, the book was very boring and quite disappointing. A lot of the information can be found elsewhere, gleaned from articles and thinkpieces about our eating habits and culinary trends. I agree that the book seems very disjointed. Sometimes it's a lively, interesting read about this particular topic and then sometimes it seems very dry and tedious. It's clear the author had a lot to say and did a lot of research for it. But it doesn't quite hit the mark.
For some reason, I had been under the impression the book would talk more about the various foods. Like, what do chicken wings say about us? Why is it such a popular food at times like the Super Bowl? I suppose I had been thinking this would be more of a microhistory looking at particular foods like chicken wings (their origins, their popularity, etc.) rather than looking at concepts like how our jobs affect how we eat.
It sounded like an interesting book but ultimately I was still left hungry. Library borrow but you can honestly read up on what she talks about if you follow Food/Nutrition sites/blogs/social media, etc.
Honestly, the book was very boring and quite disappointing. A lot of the information can be found elsewhere, gleaned from articles and thinkpieces about our eating habits and culinary trends. I agree that the book seems very disjointed. Sometimes it's a lively, interesting read about this particular topic and then sometimes it seems very dry and tedious. It's clear the author had a lot to say and did a lot of research for it. But it doesn't quite hit the mark.
For some reason, I had been under the impression the book would talk more about the various foods. Like, what do chicken wings say about us? Why is it such a popular food at times like the Super Bowl? I suppose I had been thinking this would be more of a microhistory looking at particular foods like chicken wings (their origins, their popularity, etc.) rather than looking at concepts like how our jobs affect how we eat.
It sounded like an interesting book but ultimately I was still left hungry. Library borrow but you can honestly read up on what she talks about if you follow Food/Nutrition sites/blogs/social media, etc.
September 15, 2016
In Devoured the author poses some interesting questions about food culture and consumption in the U.S.. I liked that the book makes us think about our food in different ways. I wish that the it didn't seem so intense. I get the authors point, which is eat more whole foods, real meals and spend time cooking it. I do that for the most part and still felt that it wasn't enough. The overall tone of the book is judgmental which won't really get anyone to change their eating habits if they're feeling judged for their behavior. It's an interesting piece of work from a sociological and psychological perspective. I think Devoured would be a good read for someone who doesn't know much about healthy eating. In all fairness I only read half of the book, since I had to return it to the library. So my opinion could have changed if I had read the entire book.
February 23, 2017
Meh. I started out thinking that I really liked the author's writing style - it was lightly humorous and definitely written by a millenial for a millenial. However, I found it not very insightful or additive to my knowledge. Perhaps the only new bits of information I gleaned was how America became a wine drinking country (because it was cheap) and Egan's analysis that the nature of work/labor had drastically changed the way we eat. I see the latter as a labor problem, and as she quickly notes in her recommendations, it's going to take a lot more to fix that.
Found her recommendations at the end sort of lack-luster. Good effort for a first book, but does not rise to the same journalistic level or provide the insights of predecessors "Fast Food Nation" or "Salt, Sugar, Fat".
Found her recommendations at the end sort of lack-luster. Good effort for a first book, but does not rise to the same journalistic level or provide the insights of predecessors "Fast Food Nation" or "Salt, Sugar, Fat".
August 12, 2021
Sophie has studied eating behavior and this book is such an interesting insight. Sophie reveals the deeper meaning behind our food choices. From our prioritizing of convenience over health to the ways food at work affects our happiness. I had a wonderful conversation with Sophie on my podcast Inside Ideas. You can listen to Episode 119 here: https://youtu.be/mwm0EYOTD2U
Or follow any of the links below:
https://www.innovatorsmag.com/how-to-...
https://medium.com/inside-ideas/sophi...
Or follow any of the links below:
https://www.innovatorsmag.com/how-to-...
https://medium.com/inside-ideas/sophi...
April 14, 2016
So much good information and written in an enjoyable manner. Unfortunately, it's way too much for one book and not nearly organized enough. I have ADHD and could appreciate the author digressing here and there, but I imagine other, more focused readers won't feel the same. Taken best in small bites.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy!
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June 25, 2016If you enjoy other books about American food culture, like those by Michael Pollan, you would probably enjoy Devoured. It skews more sociological, though, and is funnier. I was particularly arrested by her assertion that we need to work less and reclaim our ability to relish our food and, by extension, our lives.
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