Editing Refrigeration (section)

==Effects on lifestyle and diet==
In the late 19th Century and into the very early 20th Century, except for staple foods (sugar, rice, and beans) that needed no refrigeration, the available foods were affected heavily by the seasons and what could be grown locally.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stelpflug|first=E|title=The Food Industry and the Part That Refrigeration Plays in It|journal=Financial Analysts Journal|volume=6|issue=4|pages=37–39|doi=10.2469/faj.v6.n4.37|year=1950}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History of America in 101 Objects© and Then Some |url=https://olli.gmu.edu/docstore/300docs/1409-320-History%20of%20America%20Part%201%20Session%203.pdf |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=refindustry.com |language=en}}</ref> Refrigeration has removed these limitations. Refrigeration played a large part in the feasibility and then popularity of the modern supermarket. Fruits and vegetables out of season, or grown in distant locations, are now available at relatively low prices. Refrigerators have led to a huge increase in meat and dairy products as a portion of overall supermarket sales.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stelpflug|first=E.|title=Effect of Modern Refrigeration on the Modern Supermarket|journal=Financial Analysts Journal|volume=10|issue=5|pages=63–64|doi=10.2469/faj.v10.n5.63|year=1954}}</ref> As well as changing the goods purchased at the market, the ability to store these foods for extended periods of time has led to an increase in leisure time.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} Prior to the advent of the household refrigerator, people would have to shop on a daily basis for the supplies needed for their meals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rees |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JeoEAQAAQBAJ&dq=Prior+to+the+advent+of+the+household+refrigerator,+people+would+have+to+shop+on+a+daily+basis+for+the+supplies+needed+for+their+meals.&pg=PA172 |title=Refrigeration Nation: A History of Ice, Appliances, and Enterprise in America |date=2013-12-15 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1-4214-1107-1 |pages=172 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGrUNvZt0_YC&dq=Prior+to+the+advent+of+the+household+refrigerator,+people+would+have+to+shop+on+a+daily+basis+for+the+supplies+needed+for+their+meals.&pg=PA3319 |title=History of Tofu and Tofu Products (965 CE to 2013) |last2=Aoyagi |first2=Akiko |date=2013-05-01 |publisher=Soyinfo Center |isbn=978-1-928914-55-6 |pages=3319 |language=en}}</ref>

===Impact on nutrition===
The introduction of refrigeration allowed for the hygienic handling and storage of perishables,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Center (U.S.) |first=Food and Nutrition Information and Educational Materials |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rr57xpPrTVgC&dq=The+introduction+of+refrigeration+allowed+for+the+hygienic+handling+and+storage+of+perishables&pg=PA14 |title=Audiovisual Guide to the Catalog of the Food and Nutrition Information and Educational Materials Center |date=1975 |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture |pages=14 |language=en}}</ref> and as such, promoted output growth, consumption, and the availability of nutrition. The change in our method of food preservation moved us away from salts to a more manageable sodium level. The ability to move and store perishables such as meat and dairy led to a 1.7% increase in dairy consumption and overall protein intake by 1.25% annually in the US after the 1890s.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|last=Craig|first=L. |author2=Goodwin B. |author3=Grennes T.|title=The Effect of Mechanical Refrigeration on Nutrition in the United States|journal=Social Science History|volume=28|issue=2|pages=325–336| doi=10.1017/S0145553200013183|year=2004|s2cid=144508403 }}</ref>

People were not only consuming these perishables because it became easier for they themselves to store them, but because the innovations in refrigerated transportation and storage led to less spoilage and waste, thereby driving the prices of these products down. Refrigeration accounts for at least 5.1% of the increase in adult stature (in the US) through improved nutrition,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bibliographies: 'Nutrition – United States – Social aspects' – Grafiati |url=https://www.grafiati.com/en/literature-selections/nutrition-united-states-social-aspects/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=www.grafiati.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Craig |first1=Lee A. |last2=Goodwin |first2=Barry |last3=Grennes |first3=Thomas |date=2004 |title=The Effect of Mechanical Refrigeration on Nutrition in the United States |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40267845 |journal=Social Science History |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=325–336 |doi=10.1017/S0145553200013183 |jstor=40267845 |issn=0145-5532}}</ref> and when the indirect effects associated with improvements in the quality of nutrients and the reduction in illness is additionally factored in, the overall impact becomes considerably larger.<ref name=":1" /> Recent studies have also shown a negative relationship between the number of refrigerators in a household and the rate of gastric cancer mortality.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Park|first=B. |author2=Shin A. |author3=Yoo, K.|title=Ecological Study for Refrigerator Use, Salt, Vegetable, and Fruit Intakes, and Gastric Cancer|journal=Cancer Causes & Control|volume=22|issue=11|pages=1497–1502|doi=10.1007/s10552-011-9823-7|pmid=21805052 |display-authors=etal|year=2011|s2cid=24595562 }}</ref>