Eating habits has been a way to express spiritual beliefs/patriotism for Americans who havent experienced food insecurity.
avoiding certain foods is a response to shame overindulging.
food chood choices used to make statements about patriotism.
Poor Americans have been less likely to give up food voluntarily. Their food choices are influenced by socioeconomic hierarchies and the federal government who determines what they eat. While many Americans have faced deprivation in attempts to improve their bodies, souls, or military readiness, most American food morals have been tied to a sense of entitlement to modernity and abundance.
Dyspepsia- preferred term for indigestion.
American industrialization was changing the demographics of the nation. Many cities became overcrowded. This population growth made upper-classes uneasy. the changes brought culinary growth, inspiring recipes. Transportation improved, allowing more food into the city. The availability of cheap canned goods allowed food to be produced in the marketplace instead of at home. However, fear of contamination grew as uncertainty of food preparation methods grew.
19th-century Americans had many new food options and culinary abundance. Some responded by eating excessively or by reducing their intake.
Sylvester Graham– a presbyterian minister had enormous influence on eating patterns in the US. Urged people to consume less alcohol and abstain from gluttony. Influenced by the new science most illnesses were caused by stress in the intestines. Graham spent his life developing theories for how to ease digestion.
His concern for the modern diet was that it was encouraged by the manufacturers of processed foods. He condemned bakers for practices that compromised food quality and nutritional value.
He believed it was best to avoid "stimulating" foods like tea, coffee, spices, meat, and alcohol. Instead, he advocated for a simple diet featuring natural foods, promoting a vegetarian, raw-food diet.
He recommended making bread from whole-wheat flour and emphasized that it should be made at home. In his view, meal choices—especially for women—were among the most important decisions one could make.
At the time, his ideas were startling. At the time, people were advised against eating veggies because they could be contaminated. And they didn’t like the idea of not eating meat since it was associated with wealth/prosperity. His ideas alarmed other food manufacturers and producers, leading some bakers and butchers to threaten him violently.
He also made others uncomfortable with his discussions about human sexuality. In one instance, he delivered a lecture on chastity to an all-women audience, where he argued that sex, even within marriage, could be harmful to one's health. He suggested that sexual activity should occur no more than once a month and believed that avoiding stimulating foods would help diminish sexual desires. He asserted that excessive sexual activity could harm the stomach, leading to pain and dyspepsia.
Despite the controversy surrounding his views on sex and his unconventional dietary recommendations, many people listened to him, particularly those who sought to control their desires related to food and sexuality.
Transcendentalism- a philosophical movement that emphasized individualism, personal intuition, and the belief that all humans had divinity within them.
They were critics of society, especially inequalities (slavery, the treatment of native Americans, market economy)
Bronson Alcott was a transc. He wanted to find a more ideal way of living. He encouraged his family to experiment with dietary reform and communal living. He convinced Charles Lane to join this experiment with him.
Alcotts family and Lane became the founding members of this experiment on a property in Massachusetts.