Editing American cuisine (section)

==== World War II and later ====
The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Science established the first set of "[[Dietary Reference Intake|Recommended Dietary Allowances]]" in 1941. In 1943, the US War Foods Administration issued the War Food Order No. 1, which made enriched bread the temporary law of the land.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bishai |first1=David |last2=Nalubola |first2=Ritu |date=October 2002 |title=The History of Food Fortification in the United States |url=http://web1.sph.emory.edu/users/hpacho2/PartnershipsMaize/Bishai_2002.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Economic Development and Cultural Change |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=37–53 |doi=10.1086/345361 |s2cid=154018967 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202104716/http://web1.sph.emory.edu/users/hpacho2/PartnershipsMaize/Bishai_2002.pdf |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |access-date=February 23, 2019}}</ref>

In 1945, George Stigler published an article on "The cost of subsistence" which described the so-called [[Stigler diet]], his solution to the problem of providing a diet that met the RDA at a minimum cost.

The logistical requirements of the US military during [[WW2]] and the [[Korean War]] spurred the development and growth of the [[processed foods]] industry in the US.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Twilley |first1=Nicola |date=August 10, 2015 |title=How Military R&D Created The Food We Eat |url=https://www.popsci.com/how-military-created-food-we-know-it |access-date=September 12, 2018 |website=Popular Science |language=en |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629013135/https://www.popsci.com/how-military-created-food-we-know-it |url-status=live }}</ref> These wars encouraged the production of shelf-stable ingredients processed on a vast industrial scale. Examples include [[powdered milk]], [[powdered eggs]], [[potato flakes]], and [[Frozen OJ|frozen concentrated orange juice]].

After the war, low-cost, highly processed foods became one of the foundational elements of an era of mass prosperity.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maurer |first1=Elizabeth |date=May 11, 2017 |title=How Highly Processed Foods Liberated 1950s Housewives |url=https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/how-highly-processed-foods-liberated-1950s-housewives |access-date=September 12, 2018 |website=National Women's History Museum |language=en |archive-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912131423/https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/how-highly-processed-foods-liberated-1950s-housewives |url-status=live }}</ref>  Many companies in the American [[food industry]] developed new products requiring minimal preparation, such as frozen entrees.<ref>{{cite news |title=ConAgra's Chief Is Moving to Revitalize Some Venerable Brands |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 13, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/business/13conagra.html |access-date=January 16, 2015 |last1=Martin |first1=Andrew |archive-date=January 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150116183525/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/business/13conagra.html |url-status=live }}</ref> One such example is the [[TV dinner]] in which a multi-course meal was assembled in aluminum packaging in a food factory and flash frozen, then reheated at home in a thermal oven to be served while watching TV.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 28, 2005 |title=1950s TV Turns on America |url=http://adage.com/article/75-years-of-ideas/1950s-tv-turns-america/102703/ |access-date=September 12, 2018 |website=AdAge |language=en |archive-date=March 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331151032/http://adage.com/article/75-years-of-ideas/1950s-tv-turns-america/102703/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Convenience food]]s of the era were designed to simplify home preparation.

One example is [[Kraft Dinner|macaroni and cheese]] created using a powdered artificial cheese product that is reconstituted at home with fresh milk. Newspapers and magazines ran recipe columns, aided by research from corporate kitchens, which were major food manufacturers like [[General Mills]], [[Campbell's]], and [[Kraft Foods]]. For example, General Mills ''Betty Crocker's Cookbook'', first published in 1950, was a popular book in American homes.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Crocker|2005}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 14, 2007 |title=Face value: Fictional Betty Crocker gives big business a human touch Deseret News (Salt Lake City) |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20071003/ai_n21022934 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114015916/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20071003/ai_n21022934 |archive-date=November 14, 2007 |access-date=October 14, 2017}}</ref>

Highly processed foods of the mid-20th century included novelty elements like multi-colored [[Jell-O]] using various chemical [[food coloring]]s, prepared [[breakfast cereal]]s marketed to children with large amounts of sugar and artificial colors (e.g. [[Froot Loops]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pinsker |first1=Joe |date=May 8, 2017 |title=Americans' Bizarre Relationship With the Color of Their Food |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/05/american-food-coloring-dyes/525666/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 12, 2018 |website=The Atlantic |archive-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912131414/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/05/american-food-coloring-dyes/525666/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fruit-flavored punches made with artificial fruit flavorings (e.g. [[Tang (drink)|Tang]], [[Hi-C]]).  Mid-20th-century foods also added novelty packaging elements like [[Easy Cheese|spray cheese in an aerosol can]], [[pimento]]-stuffed olives, and [[Capri Sun|drink pouches]].

The development of the [[microwave oven]] resulted in the creation of industrial food products and packaging intended to take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the unique challenges of that technology.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cavolt |first1=Jessie |last2=Dean |first2=Kelsey |last3=White |first3=Madison |last4=Salita |first4=Helen |title=Impact on American Society – The Microwave |url=http://historyoftech.mcclurken.org/microwave/the-impact/ |access-date=September 12, 2018 |website=Museum of the History of American Technology & Culture |language=en |archive-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912134336/http://historyoftech.mcclurken.org/microwave/the-impact/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Microwave popcorn]] is an example of such a product.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the US commercial [[food system]] has become increasingly dependent on [[Agricultural subsidy#United States|subsidized]] [[maize]] (corn) production to provide feed for livestock and ingredients for human foods such as [[high-fructose corn syrup]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Foley |first1=Jonathan |date=March 5, 2013 |title=It's Time to Rethink America's Corn System |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-to-rethink-corn/ |journal=Scientific American |language=en |access-date=February 23, 2019 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103212244/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-to-rethink-corn/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is estimated that the typical American gets 70 percent of their [[carbon]] intake from [[maize]] (corn) sources.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Sanjay |title=If we are what we eat, Americans are corn and soy |work=www.cnn.com |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/09/22/kd.gupta.column/ |access-date=February 23, 2019 |archive-date=February 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223182541/http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/09/22/kd.gupta.column/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The last half of the 20th century saw the development of controversial technological innovations intended to lower the cost of or increase the safety of commercial food, including [[food irradiation]],<ref name="maurer">K.F. Maurer, Zur Keimfreimachung von Gewürzen, Ernährungswirtschaft 5(1958) nr.1, 45–47</ref> [[genetically modified organism]]s, livestock treated with [[Antibiotic use in livestock|antibiotics]]/[[Beef hormone controversy|hormones]], and [[concentrated animal feeding operation]]s. Activists have raised concerns about the wholesomeness, safety, or humaneness of these innovations and recommend alternatives such as [[organic produce]], [[veganism]]/[[vegetarianism]], and [[Local food|locavore]] diets.

[[Fast-food]] restaurants with standardized product and franchised service models began to appear and spread with the development of the [[Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921|highway system]]. [[White Castle (restaurant)|White Castle]] (1916)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Castle |first=Jim Vickers {{!}} Photo courtesy of White |title=Famous Ohio Foods: White Castle |url=https://www.ohiomagazine.com/food-drink/article/famous-ohio-foods-white-castle |access-date=October 25, 2022 |website=ohiomagazine.com |language=en |archive-date=October 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025205623/https://www.ohiomagazine.com/food-drink/article/famous-ohio-foods-white-castle |url-status=live }}</ref> was one of the first examples. Franchising was introduced in 1921 by [[A&W Root Beer]]. The [[McDonald's|McDonald brothers]] created their "Speedee Service System" in 1948. Other examples include [[Burger King]], [[Wendy's]], [[Pizza Hut]], [[Domino's Pizza]], [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]], [[Arby's]], [[KFC]], [[Popeyes]] and [[Taco Bell]].