HISTORY OF U.S. DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS (resource material)
Wilbur Olin Atwater, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, published our country's first food compostion tables in 1894. The first
daily food guides published by the U.S.D.A. appeared in 1916. The initial recommendations
consisted of five groupings: meat & milk, vegetables & fruits, cereals, fats & fat foods, and sugars
& sugary foods.
The original U.S.D.A. recommendations have been overhauled five times: "12 Groups" [1933],
"Basic Seven"
[1942], "Basic Four" [1956] the "Food Guide Pyramid" [1992] and "Dietary Guidelines for
Amerians" [2005]. New groupings and interim adjustments reflect advances in nutrition
science.
HISTORIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Current Dietary Guidelines for Americans [2005]
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT AMERICAN EATING PATTERNS?
"New World" foods
According to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York]
2004, Volume 2 (p. 146-7), these foods are native to America. Please note, this is not a complete list of indigenous foods.
Corn (maize)
Wild rice
Beans (navy, cranberry, black, kidney, lima)
Peanuts (South America)
White potatos (Peru)
Sweeet potatoes
Pumpkins
Winter squash
Blueberries, huckleberries
Cranberries
Persimmons
Paw-Paws
Strawberries*
Cherries*
Grapes*
Raspberries* blackberries
Currants, red and black*
Mulberries
Black walnuts
Hickory nuts
Beechnuts
Hazelnuts
Pecans
Chestnuts*
Chinquapins
Pine nuts
Turkey
Allspice
Juniper
Sassafras
Chilies
Chocolate (Mexico)
Vanilla (Mexico)
Maple and hickory sugars
Honey*, locust
* certain varieties of these items also are indigenous to the Old World
The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition edited by Tom Jaine [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2006 (map page 1)
lists:
potatoes
tomatoes
haricot beans
chocolate
maize
cassava
squash
pumpkin
groundnut (aka peanut)
turkey
pineapple
avocado
papaya
capsicums (aka chilies)
chilli peppers
sweet potatoes
Jerusalem artichokes
maple syrup
Need a more comprehensive list? Ask your librarian to help you find the Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F.
Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas, Volume Two (p. 1289-1291).
Some of the "New World" food from South America were introduced to North America via Europe. Some of the most popular are:
Tomatoes, white
potatoes & chocolate.
Internet sources
Recommended reading
1. America's First Cuisines/Sophie D. Coe
2. Foods America Gave the World/A. Hyatt Verrill
The books referenced above also contain separate entries detailing the origins and history of each food on their lists. Your
local public or school librarian will be happy to help you find copies.
Have questions? Ask!