Dr. Ziegelman provided valuable insight into food production during the Great Depression and how that is still influencing how we eat today.

I found Cornell’s role in all this very interesting. This school was the birthplace of fortified cereals, something that we still find en masse on the shelves of grocery stores today. It makes me question how valid our current food practices are if we are still using ideas adopted from the 1920s. For example, I know baby formula was invented during that time too to get Americans to consume more diary; now, when mother’s milk is proven to be more healthy for babies, many people around the world still rely on formula because they believe it is superior.

Another interesting point discussed during the cafe was American food culture. Compared to other cultures around the world, we are much less concerned about food and what we put into our bodies and I think that that has a negative effect on our society and health. Too often Americans are eating junk food on the go instead of siting down and have a proper healthy and nutritious meal with family and friends. I believe that this is a reason why so many Americans are overweight. We should think more critically about what we put into our bodies, especially considering the histories of said foods.