I went to a talk called “Urban Appetites” by Cindy R. Lobel at the CUNY Graduate Center . Lobel’s talk was a synopsis her new book, Urban Appetites and a brief explanation of the research that went behind the creation of her book.
Cindy R. Lobel’s Book
Cindy Lobel attended and graduated from The CUNY Graduate Center in 2003 and has been a Urban History and New York History professor at Lehman College since 2006. A lot of her research was found perusing through many old historical records and historical documents, such as maps of New York City, images, legal documents, etc. Lobel also cited other relevant research performed by others.
Lobel began her talk by posing the question: “Are you ever concerned of where our food is coming from and the quality of the food?” She then brought up several healthy food and organic food initiatives taken by our government and those who really care about the quality of our food. Lobel notably mentioned Michelle Obama’s initiative to make school lunches healthy for children and to overall reduce obesity of young children. In addition to these questions she also asked if we ever gave a thought to the different settings where we eat, such as restaurants.
At this point in her talk she began talking about the contents of her book: the New Yorker’s food habits. In the 19th century, all the food that fed New York City residents was locally grown. These foods and goods were sold in a public market, known as fly markets during the early 1800’s. The food available in these markets were fresh, heavily regulated, and grown from what was then Long Island (Brooklyn and Queens), Bronx, etc. Because of how personal and localized food shopping was back then, many people probably had personal connections to those whom they purchased food from.
Eventually she told us of how markets houses began to flourish because of advancements in technology. One preservation techniques mentioned was harvesting ice, which allowed for the transportation of food. There were also newer and faster ways to transport food, such as railroads and steamboats. Market houses soon followed this growth in technology. This resulted in an influx of new types of food and there was a huge increase in abundance of food, but with this marvelous increase in what was available to the public came many issues. There were often rats running around in these markets, whereas before, the the fly markets went into the villages out in the open and left before sundown. Also, a lot of food arrived at the markets spoiled and were still sold.
Lobel also mentioned that these markets expanded so rapidly that they were eventually abused by the wealthy, such as Tammany Hall. While the sellers that sold in these markets sold the same amount of food, they were forced to pay more and more fees overtime by those that owned the market. But these fees went into other peoples pockets rather than into benefiting the market. In addition to this, the wealthy owners of the market did not care for the quality of the good and there was little regulation of the food available, which was dangerous for the consumer.
The growing size of these markets soon forced them to begin selling wholesale goods. Since the everyday consumer did not need to buy a large amount of food, small, private groceries began popping up in New York City. These shops would buy wholesale goods and then sell those goods to the common consumer.
As technology made more food available, more restaurants began popping up in Downtown areas of Manhattan. This happened due to the need for places for workers to have lunch. More often than not many people commuted from residential areas (Uptown) to work (Downtown). To go back Uptown to eat lunch was a hassle for most people and they likely did not have enough time to even go back home, let alone eat. Thus, restaurants began forming in Downtown areas of NYC, but these were not like the restaurants we have today. These early restaurants were akin to fast food places, the food was made quickly, the consumer ate quickly, then left. But soon more recreational, family restaurants began surfacing, the most well know is Demonico’s. This was the start of New York’s food scene. Eventually New York became the food capital of the United States, offering more cosmopolitan food choices than anywhere else.
At the beginning of her talk, Lobel hinted that the United States is trying to get back to more localized, personalized and healthier food shopping. More and more people seem to care about the source and the quality of their food. In fact, it seems that food habits in New York City are making a u-turn. Nowadays, you can walk through the city and find small food stands with locally grown food for sale, paralleling the fly markets from 1886. At the same time, New Yorkers also have access to imported foods at supermarkets and can purchase wholesale goods and food at stores such as Costco, so there are many options available to New Yorkers.
The point of her talk was not only to explain her research and to present her book Urban Appetites, but to also show us how New York grew from being a city with a few, small fly markets providing residents with local food to a city known for its variety of restaurants and different types of foods available during anytime of the year. Despite all the options available at our disposal many New York residents still want to go back to healthier and more locally grown food, showing the profound connection that people have to the food they eat.
