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How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America

An “illuminating” (New York Times) and “deeply empathetic” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) “must-read” (Marion Nestle) that “weaves lyrical storytelling and fascinating research into a compelling narrative” (Chronicle Review) to examine nutrition inequities in America, illuminating exactly how inequality starts on the dinner plate.

Inequality in America manifests in many ways, but perhaps nowhere more than in how we eat. From her years of field research, sociologist and ethnographer Priya Fielding-Singh brings us into the kitchens of dozens of families to explore how—and why—we eat the way we do. By diving into the nuances of these families’ lives, Fielding-Singh lays bare the limits of efforts narrowly focused on improving families’ food access. Instead, she reveals how being rich or poor in America impacts something even more fundamental than the food families can afford: these experiences impact the very meaning of food itself.

Packed with lyrical storytelling and groundbreaking research, as well as Fielding-Singh’s personal experiences with food as a biracial, South Asian American woman, How the Other Half Eats illuminates exactly how inequality starts on the dinner plate. Once you’ve taken a seat at tables across America, you’ll never think about class, food, and public health the same way again.

“How the Other Half Eats weaves lyrical storytelling and fascinating research into a compelling narrative that shows the devastating impact — physical, emotional and economic — our industrial food system has not just on the “other half,” but upon us all.” —San Francisco Chronicle

"Deeply empathetic...a devastating portrait of ‘the scarcity, uncertainty, and anxiety that permeates so much of the American dietary experience.’” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) 

"An eye-opening and intimate study of how families eat and why." —Kirkus

"…a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered why Americans don’t eat more healthfully…thoughtful, riveting, compassionate, and utterly compelling…”—Marion Nestle, author of Let’s Ask Marion

“Go get the book… the findings are truly, truly game-changing in terms of how we think about food, how we think about access, how we think about poverty.” —DeRay McKesson, Pod Save the People

"Bold, eye-opening, and deeply moving… a must-read for anyone concerned about the well-being of American families. Fielding-Singh powerfully shows how sweeping, systemic inequities find their way onto our dinner plates and impact our health and wellness.” —Dr. Leana Wen, author of Lifelines

“How the Other Half Eats overturns the conventional wisdom about childhood obesity, food deserts, and nutritional inequality, replacing it with a profound and compelling ground truth…Honest, incisive, and illuminating, How the Other Half Eats is the book we need about food and inequality in America.”—Kathryn Edin, author of $2 a Day

“Intimate and revealing…Fielding-Singh has done us a great service by revealing myth-busting truths about poverty, wealth, hunger, and abundance…This isn’t just undercover journalism, but an epistemology of the American dining table.” —Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved

“If you think that poor health, obesity and bad food choices are a matter of personal responsibility, How the Other Half Eats will make you think again.…It should be mandatory reading for parents, teachers, healthcare workers, and policymakers.”—Mark Hyman, MD, author of The Pegan Diet