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How to Not Get Poisoned in America

"We should go back into history and ask: Why did we need the federal Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906?"
by Deborah Blum, Talia Lavin via The Sword And the Sandwich on April 30, 2025
Ben Cohen giving a presentation

B. R. Cohen on How Food Became “Pure”

On the corrupt, contaminated, deceptive world of 19th-century food adulteration, and how Cohen's own work straddles pure academia and public-facing scholarship.
by David Schleifer, Benjamin R. Cohen via Public Books on September 29, 2020
The poison squad, experimenters that tried poisons and studied their effects, drawn as men in suits striking dramatic poses.

Food Used to Be a Lot More Dangerous

Before the establishment of the modern FDA, anti-regulation attitudes ruled the world of food.
by Whit Taylor, Maki Naro via The Nib on March 4, 2019

The Deadly Toxin Outbreak That Spurred America's Food Safety System

To prevent botulism in tinned goods, scientists and canners worked with the government to protect the public.
by Anna Zeide via Zócalo Public Square on August 3, 2018

A Little Formaldehyde With Your Milk?

Before you grab the 'raw,' some thoughts on how food was before safety and labeling regs were passed.
by Katrina Gulliver via The American Conservative on June 20, 2018
Child's Restaurant dining room.

How the Pioneering Childs Restaurant Chain Built an Empire Based on Food Safety and Hygiene

Victorian diners loved white tile, too.
by Elizabeth Yuko via CityLab on February 3, 2016
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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The History of Why Raw Milk Regulation is Necessary

In the 19th century, tens of thousands of babies died every year of gastroenteritis.
by Carla Cevasco via Made By History on April 29, 2025
Painting of babies sitting at a table, holding spoons, with a can of condensed milk in the middle

The Sweet Story of Condensed Milk

This nineteenth-century industrial product became a military staple and a critical part of local food culture around the world.
by Katrina Gulliver, Joe B. Frantz, Khairudin Aljunied, Yavuz Koese via JSTOR Daily on February 20, 2024
Stevia flowers

Stevia’s Global Story

Native to Paraguay, Ka’a he’e followed a circuitous path through Indigenous medicine, Japanese food science, and American marketing to reach the US sweeteners market.
by Livia Gershon, Bridget Maria Chesterton, Timothy Yang via JSTOR Daily on July 10, 2023
Collage of meat products emerging from Pat Buchanan's head.

How Food Became a Weapon in The Right’s Culture Wars

First came the politics of right-wing grievance. Then came the new foodie culture. Together, they combined to create one toxic food fight.
by Brent Cunningham via The Nation on December 12, 2022
Picture of the factories that were placed on the St. Lawrence River.

How US Corporations Poisoned This Indigenous Community

These invisible chemicals changed the Mohawk way of life. They’re probably already in you, too.
by Liz Scheltens via Vox on August 16, 2022
Up close picture of a baby bottle.

What Parents Did Before Baby Formula

The shortage is a calamity—not a victory for breastfeeding.
by Carla Cevasco via The Atlantic on May 18, 2022
An illustration of a Good Humor ice cream truck with an ice cream man standing next to it, waving. They are surrounded by ice cream products.

The History of the Ice Cream Truck

As innovations go, the Good Humor vehicle is as sweet as it gets.
by Colin Dickey via Smithsonian on July 12, 2020

When Did Cheap Meat Become an “Essential” American Value?

Keeping meat production moving during the pandemic is dangerous. But history shows that there’s little Americans won’t sacrifice for a cheap steak.
by Rebecca Onion, Joshua Specht via Slate on May 14, 2020

Hearts and Stomachs

Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle has come to symbolize an era of muckraking and reform. But its author sought revolution, not regulation.
by Scott McLemee via The Wilson Quarterly on March 22, 2020

The Price of Plenty: How Beef Changed America

Exploitation and predatory pricing drove the transformation of the beef industry – and created the model for modern agribusiness.
by Joshua Specht via The Guardian on May 7, 2019

The First Female MIT Student Started an All-Women Chemistry Lab

Ellen Swallow Richards applied chemistry to the home to advocate for consumer safety and women's education.
by Leila McNeill via Smithsonian on December 18, 2018

The Flavour Revolutionary

Henry Theophilus Finck sought to transform the modern United States, by appealing to Americans' tastebuds.
by Nadia Berenstein via Aeon on December 19, 2017
An 18th-century kitchen in Morristown, New Jersey.

Histories of Hunger in the American Revolution

White soldiers, escaped slaves, and American Indians all dealt with food scarcity but often reacted to it differently.
by Rachel B. Herrmann via Uncommon Sense on December 5, 2017

The 19th-Century Swill Milk Scandal That Poisoned Infants With Whiskey Runoff

Vendors hawked the swill as “Pure Country Milk.”
by Tyler Moss via Atlas Obscura on November 27, 2017

Atomic Anxiety and the Tooth Fairy: Citizen Science in the Midcentury Midwest

How the St. Louis Baby Tooth Study reconciled the ritual of childhood tooth loss with the geopolitics of nuclear annihilation.
by Caroline Jack, Stephanie Steinhardt via The Appendix on November 26, 2014

Infectious Diseases Killed Victorian Children at Alarming Rates. Novels Show the Fragility of Health

Between 40% and 50% of children didn’t live past 5 in the US during the 19th century. Authors documented the common but no less gutting grief of losing a child.
by Andrea Kaston Tange via The Conversation on December 11, 2024
Tomato on a spoon.

How the Fridge Changed Flavor

From the tomato to the hamburger bun, the invention has transformed not just what we eat but taste itself.
by Nicola Twilley via The New Yorker on June 8, 2024

Fountain Society

The humble drinking fountain can tell us much about a society’s attitudes towards health, hygiene, equity, virtue, public goods and civic responsibilities.
by Shannon Mattern via Places Journal on February 14, 2023
Empty shelves in a grocery store, specifically an aisle for infant formula products.
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Lessons From World War II Can Help us Navigate the Baby Formula Shortage

Children from poor families or with special formula needs are most at risk.
by Janet Golden via Made By History on May 15, 2022
Aerial view of a combine harvester in a grain field.

Abolish the Department of Agriculture

The USDA has become an inefficient monster that often promotes products that are bad for consumers and the environment. Let’s replace it with a Department of Food.
by Gabriel N. Rosenberg, Jan Dutkiewicz via The New Republic on December 27, 2021
Smithfield factory distribution center.
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As Our Meat, Pork and Poultry Supply Dwindles, We Should Remember Why

While worrying about our food supply, we must also worry about workers producing it.
by Anya Jabour via Made By History on April 21, 2020
Cartoon drawing of a shopkeeper in front of a dairy shop.

How Dairy Lunchrooms Became Alternatives to the NYC Saloon ‘Free Lunch.’

Ben Katchor's Brief History of the Dairy Restaurant.
by Ben Katchor via Literary Hub on March 10, 2020

When the Government Decided the Spread on Your Toast Should Be Pink

The ‘margarine wars’ explain the 19th-century struggle to regulate food.
by Ai Hisano via Zócalo Public Square on January 15, 2020

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