From Farm to Fridge:
How Technology Affects Our Relationships of Consumption and Production
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"But most of us have a relationship with technology that rebounds from one extreme to another. One moment we are afraid of it, one moment inspired by its power. One day we begrudgingly accept it for fear of falling behind our competitors or co-workers, the next day embracing it enthusiastically as something that will make our lives or businesses better, then feeling frustrated and annoyed when it fails to deliver. For most of us, technology is far from neutral. It shapes our choices; it directs our actions. We have a largely unexamined relationship with technology that consists to some degree of both fear and worship." (Naisbitt 11)
The History of Tomato Production
This section looks at the commodity chain of the tomato, paying particular attention to the advent of the mechanical harvester and the recent restructuring of the tomato industry in Mexico.
The History of Food Preservation
This section of the website is devoted to the history of food preservation and distribution in America since colonization. I have looked at how these factors of economic activity have shaped our relationship with food over the course of events in history.
What is presented first is a backbone of technological leaps that have taken place in the realms of food preservation and distribution, followed by information regarding how these advancements in technology have shaped and re-shaped our relationship with the food we eat.
Each section has a link for quick and easy access, or it is possible to take a tour from the first to the last page by clicking here.
Methods of Natural Preservation
Food Circulation Before Refrigeration
page updated 14 December 2001
edited by kara fox@lclark.edu