What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?: The Government's Effect on the American Diet

Food. We love it, fear it, and obsess about it.

We demand that our Government ensure that it is safe, cheap, and abundant. In response, Government has been a factor in the production, regulation, research, innovation, and economics of our food supply. It has also attempted, with varying success, to change the eating habits of Americans.

From the farm to the dinner table, explore the records of the National Archives that trace the Government’s effect on what Americans eat.

• Farm: Discover the many ways that government has affected farming from the days of horse and plow to the combine harvester.
• Factory: Explore how government regulation of food processing and labeling evolved after the industrial revolution.
• Kitchen: Find out why the government wanted us to "eat the carp," "share the meat," and "known our onions."
• Table: Learn how the government has affected our eating habits and its unintentional effects on the American appetite.