The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table

The book cites 20th-century changes to the American food system that created the arrangement that exists today. What were these changes, and why are they significant?

At the end of the book, McMillan identifies eating as a social act. Examine how her experience throughout her investigation illustrates this point.

The companies McMillan examines have their own networks for distributing food. Discuss how these networks inhibit people’s access to healthy food.

Throughout the book, McMillan cites how her privilege insulates her from the most harmful aspects of the systems she examines. Describe how race, class, and education level shape people’s access to healthy food.

McMillan is set off on her investigation by an encounter with a young woman in a cooking class. Discuss the role of culinary education in improving people’s diets, according to the book.

Despite the abundance of food in America, the issues concerning access to that food date to the country’s earliest days. Examine how the contrast between the availability of healthy food and people’s access to it is discussed in the book.

Industrial agriculture accounts for much of the food production in America. Discuss three ways industrial agriculture affects people’s access to healthy food.

The poor diets of low-income people are often presented as a matter of choice, but McMillan’s investigation shows the reasons are more complicated. Discuss three factors that shape people’s access to healthy food.