Selling Em By The Sack

This history of the White Castle chain tells a "truly American success story (of) luck and hard work working behind one man to create an industry so pervasive that today it's an integral part of American pop culture" ("Publishers Weekly"). 23 illustrations.

The long and pernicious relationship between fast food restaurants and the African American community Today, fast food is disproportionately located in Black neighborhoods and marketed to Black Americans through targeted advertising. But throughout much of the twentieth century, fast food was developed specifically for White urban and suburban customers, purposefully avoiding Black spaces. In White Burgers, Black Cash, Naa Oyo A. Kwate traces the evolution in fast food from the early 1900s to the present, from its long history of racist exclusion to its current damaging embrace of urban Black communities. Fast food has historically been tied to the country’s self-image as the land of opportunity and is marketed as one of life’s simple pleasures, but a more insidious history lies at the industry’s core. White Burgers, Black Cash investigates the complex trajectory of restaurant locations from a decided commitment to Whiteness to the disproportionate densities that characterize Black communities today. Kwate expansively charts fast food’s racial and spatial transformation and centers the cities of Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C., in a national examination of the biggest brands of today, including White Castle, KFC, Burger King, McDonald’s, and more. Deeply researched, grippingly told, and brimming with surprising details, White Burgers, Black Cash reveals the inequalities embedded in the closest thing Americans have to a national meal.

‮«‬تبدأ‭ ‬حكاية‭ ‬المطعم‭ ‬الأوروبي‭ ‬في‭ ‬أن‭ ‬الناس‭ ‬لا‭ ‬يشعرون‭ ‬بالجوع،‭ ‬أو‭ ‬أنهم‭ ‬يتظاهرون‭ ‬كما‭ ‬لو‭ ‬كانوا‭ ‬لا‭ ‬يشعرون‭ ‬به‭. ‬فحال‭ ‬باريس‭ ‬بجياعها‭ ‬لا‭ ‬يُناظر‭ ‬الوضع‭ ‬نحو‭ ‬عام‭ ‬1760‮»‬‭. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ هكذا‭ ‬يبدأ‭ ‬مؤلف‭ ‬هذا‭ ‬الكتاب،‭ ‬كريستوف‭ ‬رِبات،‭ ‬حديثه‭ ‬عن‭ ‬المطعم‭ ‬الأوروبي،‭ ‬مركزاً‭ ‬على‭ ‬كون‭ ‬كلمة‭ ‬مطعم‭ ‬في‭ ‬الأصل‭ ‬لا‭ ‬تعني‭ ‬أكثر‭ ‬‮«‬من‭ ‬أطباق‭ ‬الخزف‭ ‬الصيني‭ ‬الصغيرة‭ ‬المزخرفة‭ ‬يتصاعد‭ ‬منها‭ ‬بخار‭ ‬أحساء‭ ‬يساعد‭ ‬في‭ ‬إعادة‭ ‬الوعي‭ ‬أو‭ ‬الصحة‮»‬‭. ‬أما‭ ‬عادة‭ ‬تناول‭ ‬الطعام‭ ‬في‭ ‬المطاعم،‭ ‬كبديل‭ ‬عن‭ ‬الحانة‭ ‬أو‭ ‬الخان،‭ ‬فقد‭ ‬انتشرت‭ ‬بعد‭ ‬الثورة‭ ‬الفرنسية،‭ ‬حين‭ ‬أتى‭ ‬أعضاء‭ ‬الجمعية‭ ‬الوطنية‭ ‬من‭ ‬جميع‭ ‬المقاطعات‭ ‬إلى‭ ‬باريس‭ ‬ومعاً‭ ‬ذهبوا‭ ‬إلى‭ ‬المطاعم‭ ‬لتناول‭ ‬الطعام‭ ‬هناك،‭ ‬و«أهل‭ ‬باريس،‭ ‬لم‭ ‬يسعهم،‭ ‬سوى‭ ‬تقليدهم‮»‬‭.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ يعقد‭ ‬الكاتب‭ ‬مقارنة‭ ‬بين‭ ‬المطعم‭ ‬والمقهى،‭ ‬منطلقاً‭ ‬من‭ ‬أن‭ ‬المطعم‭ ‬لا‭ ‬يزوره‭ ‬المرء‭ ‬‮«‬من‭ ‬أجل‭ ‬خوض‭ ‬جدل‭ ‬مع‭ ‬آخرين،‭ ‬وليس‭ ‬من‭ ‬أجل‭ ‬قراءة‭ ‬جريدة‭. ‬بل‭ ‬يأتي‭ ‬إليه‭ ‬من‭ ‬أجل‭ ‬الاسترخاء‭ ‬أو‭ ‬من‭ ‬أجل‭ ‬استعراض‭ ‬رقة‭ ‬شعوره‮»‬‭. ‬كما‭ ‬ينوه‭ ‬إلى‭ ‬‮«‬تمتع‭ ‬المطعم‭ ‬بِأركان‭ ‬فيها‭ ‬قد‭ ‬ينزوي‭ ‬المرء‭ ‬مجرياً‭ ‬أحاديث‭ ‬سرية‭ ‬أو‭ ‬لأغراض‭ ‬رومانسية‭. ‬رجال‭ ‬ونساء‭ ‬يظهرون‭ ‬معاً‭ ‬هنا،‭ ‬تصور‭ ‬غير‭ ‬مألوفٍ‭ ‬أبداً‭ ‬‮«‬على‭ ‬الأقل‭ ‬لغير‭ ‬الفرنسيين‭ ‬في‭ ‬نحو‭ ‬1800،‭ ‬يتحدثون‭ ‬عن‭ ‬ذلك‭ ‬وقد‭ ‬تملكهم‭ ‬العجب‮»‬‭.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

"The George Gund Foundation imprint in African American studies."--Page [i] of preliminary pages.

By comparing practices of animal exploitation for food and resources in different societies over time, David A. Nibert finds in the domestication of animals, which he renames "domesecration," a perversion of human ethics, the development of large-scale acts of violence, disastrous patterns of destruction, and epidemics of infectious disease.

Bad Foods demonstrates how a variety of historical or political events and personalities have shaped our current views of good nutrition. On several occasions in American history concerns have arisen over the safety of our food supply (e.g., harmful ingredients in processed foods) and the potential that processing might deplete foods of their nutrients. These concerns help explain how food characteristics such as freshness, natural, organic, and unprocessed have become important to Americans. Bad Foods traces how the food nutrients fat, salt, and sugar have acquired negative reputations for health as well as any controversies and outright misconceptions of the dangers of these nutrients. Bad Foods also explores confusion that can in part be attributed to biased media coverage about foods. Modern Americans are routinely bombarded with information about the health value of certain foods and the dangers of others. Frequently, health information about certain nutrients receives exaggerated coverage (e.g., dietary fat) while the importance of other nutrients gets ignored (e.g., vitamins and minerals). Moreover, health information about foods is often perceived as contradictory. While some readers may be startled by what they perceive to be a challenge to sacred beliefs about foods, others will see the honesty in both the research and the writing and recognize the social benefits of examining our beliefs about foods. Bad Foods will be of interest to sociologists, food science specialists, and social historians.

Offering a panoramic view of the history and culture of food and drink in America with fascinating entries on everything from the smell of asparagus to the history of White Castle, and the origin of Bloody Marys to jambalaya, the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink provides a concise, authoritative, and exuberant look at this modern American obsession. Ideal for the food scholar and food enthusiast alike, it is equally appetizing for anyone fascinated by Americana, capturing our culture and history through what we love most--food! Building on the highly praised and deliciously browseable two-volume compendium the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, this new work serves up everything you could ever want to know about American consumables and their impact on popular culture and the culinary world. Within its pages for example, we learn that Lifesavers candy owes its success to the canny marketing idea of placing the original flavor, mint, next to cash registers at bars. Patrons who bought them to mask the smell of alcohol on their breath before heading home soon found they were just as tasty sober and the company began producing other flavors. Edited by Andrew Smith, a writer and lecturer on culinary history, the Companion serves up more than just trivia however, including hundreds of entries on fast food, celebrity chefs, fish, sandwiches, regional and ethnic cuisine, food science, and historical food traditions. It also dispels a few commonly held myths. Veganism, isn't simply the practice of a few "hippies," but is in fact wide-spread among elite athletic circles. Many of the top competitors in the Ironman and Ultramarathon events go even further, avoiding all animal products by following a strictly vegan diet. Anyone hungering to know what our nation has been cooking and eating for the last three centuries should own the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink.