Fast Food: The Good, The Bad and The Hungry
Taught by Andrew F. Smith
Culinary historian Andrew F. Smith, who teaches food studies at the New School, has made numerous television appearances (most recently on the National Geographic Channel’s six-part miniseries, Eat: The Story of Food). He has written or edited 27 books, including his just released Savoring Gotham: The Food Lovers Companion to New York City, an encyclopedia published by Oxford University Press with 570 entries written by 170 authors.
Fast food is the most pervasive culinary trend of our time, for better and worse. Large multinational chains run an estimated one million outlets in virtually every corner of the world, serving hundreds of millions of customers every day. Scathing exposés have charged that the industry harms the environment, undermines the health of customers, degrades the diets of children, and underpays its workers. So why has this industry remained so successful? What makes observers so critical? And what are the options for the future?
Andrew F. Smith, a culinary historian who teaches in the Food Studies Department at the New School in Manhattan, explores these questions and more. He is the author or editor of twenty-eight books, including his latest, Fast Food: The Good, Bad and Hungry (Reaktion, 2016).
Copies of Food: The Good, The Bad and The Hungry will be available for purchase at the talk.
