Priya Fielding-Singh’s How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America asks why, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world and in a time of abundance, food outcomes are so abysmal. Why does the United States have such poor dietary indicators, poor nutrition, hunger, and food insecurity? To answer these questions, over which much ink has been spilt, Fielding-Singh draws on qualitative research—primarily interviews and observation—that she conducted with 160 families in California. She interviewed mothers about their families’ food practices, possibilities, and aspirations, and shadowed four families intensively to gain a better sense of their day-to-day lives and food practices. The author justifies her decision to focus on mothers in this research, as in the United States women are disproportionately tasked with feeding their families.
The resulting book is well crafted and important. It is rich in ethnographic description and testimony that...
University of California Press