viii Preface
and nutrition controversies include foodborne illnesses, food labeling, sugar, and
obesity. Economic controversies include fast food, genetically modified foods, glo-
balization, and labor issues.
These controversies overlap, so each essay contains cross-references to other
topics. Each section also provides suggestions for further reading—books, articles,
and Web sites—for follow-up and more in-depth research. Although many refer-
ences can be found online, some articles and books are available only in libraries,
and it is hoped that the reader’s interest will be sufficiently piqued to seek these
resources.
The controversy sections are followed by “Landmark Documents”—original his-
torical and contemporary selections from books, articles, regulations, laws, interna-
tional agreements, and other sources that give readers context for the controversies
discussed in each volume. Landmark documents generate questions: Who was
the author? What is the author’s perspective? What are the author’s biases? What
was the author’s purpose in writing the document? What was its intended audi-
ence? How might different readers vary in their interpretation or evaluation of the
documents?
The primary documents are followed by a “Chronology of Landmark Events”
listing important events related to the volume’s overall subject, and that is followed
by “Sources of Further Information”—lists of for-profit and not-for-profit organiza-
tions, federal and international agencies, and films related to the volume’s theme.
This encyclopedia is not intended to be comprehensive, and of course it does
not include every possible topic. This encyclopedia covers a wide range of topics,
but it can only scratch the surface of some. It is not intended as the final word on
American food or food controversies. Extensive bibliographic resources are pro-
vided to give direction to readers interested in knowing more about a particular
issue. This work is also intended to point the way for future research and growth.
It is not designed to take the place of independent research and decision-making
regarding the many food controversies under discussion in America today.
