Combining feminist anthropology and theory with culinary history, Catherine Manton examines the place of food in women's history, with a particular emphasis on the life and changing roles of the American woman and her self-image.

As Professor Manton makes clear the so-called epidemic of eating disorders at the turn of the twentieth century really is no accident; specific cultural/economic/political conditions make disturbed eating practically inevitable for many American women. At the same time, Manton suggests ways women with eating disturbances can heal themselves through feminist and alternative healing principles. Must reading for students and scholars of American social history, Women's Studies, and ecofeminism.