Adulteration: Industrialization and Fraud

Although adulteration of American food and drink existed during the eighteenth century, it was not prevalent until the end of the nineteenth century, after dramatic changes had taken place in the nation’s food industry. Before the end of the Civil War in 1865, most food was obtained locally: bread came from the town baker, meat from the local butcher, seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables from nearby farms, and milk from a neighbor’s cow. Americans knew where their food was made and who made it. The distance between producer and consumer was usually the length of a handshake—a distance that ensured the quality of most food products by means of the producer’s personal guarantee. Preservation of food was primitive; sophisticated forms of chemical preservation were unavailable and unnecessary. Most farms had a root cellar to store vegetables and a springhouse—a small building constructed over a spring, in which cold springwater was collected—to keep milk and butter cool. Fresh fruits were dried in the sun, preserved by canning, or conserved in jams and jellies.