The Perfect Formula

Abstract

I was twelve years old the first time I stepped inside a restaurant. The waitress asked if I wanted “soup or salad,” but I heard “super salad” and said yes. She repeated the question twice more; each time I responded affirmatively. Once he stopped laughing, my neighbor, who had invited me there, translated.

People in this country eat what is set before them, asking no questions for economy’s sake provided it suits their taste. We are a generation of sugar and fat eaters. The one-sidedness of our dietary is a result of the one-sidedness of our agricultural production.

— W.O. Atwater, 1891