History of meals – The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

How Snacks Took Over American Life

There was a time, if you can believe it, when a respectable person could not have a little treat whenever she wanted. This time was, roughly, from the dawn of the republic to the middle of the 1980s. The American workday, menu, and social clock were oriented around meals, and eating between them was discouraged: If you were a child, snacking gave you cavities and spoiled your appetite; if you were an adult, it was kind of unseemly. There were no elaborate treats after soccer practice, or snack trays on strollers, or tubes of yogurt. Energy bars were for athletes, not accountants. National parks did not have vending machines. Grocery stores did not have aisles and aisles of portable abundance. ….[READ]