ABSTRACT
Technological innovation permeated every aspect of nineteenth-century American life. Agricultural innovation demonstrated that American farmers integrated new technology into their agriculture well before the reaper, the tractor, and other innovations were more economical than their predecessors. The innovations creating the most dramatic changes in the American diet during nineteenth-century included the development of the cooking range to allow the easy preparation of more complex meals and the creation of a low-cost, efficient transportation system. It also includes the creation of a variety of new food-preservation systems and the early development of mass food-processing facilities and corporations to operate them. A variety of transportation-related innovations played a more obvious role in altering the food supply. The combination of rapidly declining transportation costs and the development of the means to haul ever larger quantities increased both the quantity and quality of foods available to all Americans.
