Inventing Baby Food taste, health, and the industrialization of the american diet Amy Bentley university of california press The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Ahmanson Foundation Humanities Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation. This page intentionally left blank Inventing Baby Food california studies in food and culture Darra Goldstein, Editor Inventing Baby Food taste, health, and the industrialization of the american diet Amy Bentley university of california press University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2014 by Amy Bentley Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bentley, Amy, 1962– Inventing baby food : taste, health, and the industrialization of the American diet / Amy Bentley. pages cm.—(California studies in food and culture; 51) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-27737-3 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-520-28345-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-520-95914-9 (e-book) 1. Infants—Nutrition—United States—History. I. Title. rj216.b375 2014 618.92—dc23 2014006537 Manufactured in the United States of America 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures Natural, a fi ber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper). For Joey, Annabelle, and Ruby This page intentionally left blank contents List of Illustrations ix Introduction 1 1 Industrial Food, Industrial Baby Food: • Th e 1890s to the 1930s 15 2 Shift ing Child-Rearing Philosophies and Early Solids: • Th e Golden Age of Baby Food at Midcentury 43 3 Industrialization, Taste, and Th eir Discontents: • Th e 1960s to the 1970s 71 4 Natural Food, Natural Motherhood, and the Turn • toward Homemade: Th e 1970s to the 1990s 104 5 Reinventing Baby Food in the Twenty-First Century 133 • Acknowledgments 165 Notes 169 Bibliography 197 Index 223