Overview
I specialize in the history and culture of American food and health. My first book, , was published in 2018 with Rutgers University Press. The first full-length study of diet books, Diet and the Disease of Civilization reveals how 20th century dieting systems have articulated a powerful response to anxieties about the psychic and physical costs of modernity. Following an imaginary chronology of human origins, the book examines Paleolithic diets, biblical diets, precolonial diets, and environmentalist detoxification programs.
At Cornell, I have taught or will be teaching "Food in America," "Consumer Culture," "The History of Health and Fitness Culture," and "Introduction to Food Studies."
I am currently working on a new project on alternative proteins, as well as serving as the co-founder of
Research Focus
Food Studies; Cultural Studies; Nutrition; American Studies
Publications
Diet and the Disease of Civilization. Rutgers University Press, 2018.
鈥淭he Paleo Diet and the American Weight Loss Utopia, 1975-2014.鈥 Utopian Studies. Vol. 25, No. 2, (Spring 2015): 101-124.
鈥淔or the Starving, Eat 鈥楲ocal鈥 Isn鈥檛 an Option.鈥 Wall Street Journal, 3 Dec. 2013, p. A15.
鈥淩omancing the Dude Ranch, 1926-1947.鈥 Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 4, (Winter 2012): 437-461.
鈥淢agic Metabolisms of Competitive Eating.鈥 Taking Food Public: Redefining Foodways in a Changing World. Routledge, 2011.
In the news
- Ithaca startup鈥檚 product builds bone health using NY milk protein
- Opinion: What Oprah gets right about diet culture
- What鈥檚 healthy? FDA tackles notoriously difficult definition
- Market grows for environmentally friendly dairy alternatives
- Tech makes dieting, 鈥榣ifestyle plans鈥 more accessible than ever
- Dark Laboratory podcast debuts with 鈥楪et Free鈥
- History prof. discusses history of Thanksgiving meals
- History of Capitalism initiative takes big-picture approach
- The government's role in the rise of lab grown meat
- Diet books open a window into the American soul
