Food and migration: Anglo-American History

Food travels. I once watched an Italian colleague cringe when a Korean friend suggested that children in his country wanted to eat American food such as pizza… What the world today knows as pizza is the product of a long history of changing connections between Italy and the Americas and between both countries and the wider world. It is a history of travel, tourism, migration, agriculture, industry, commerce and creativity in the kitchen.

How much do you think about your food?

The Food in History conference blog has put up a great in-depth article from Donna R. Gabaccia (University of Minnesota) about the migration of what we’d call ‘Italian’ food – to and from the New World.

It’s great to see that something as quotidian as food can serve as a window into the history of commerce and migration, and it’s a good teaser for the conference, which is to be held at Senate House in July.

Registration to the 82nd Anglo-American conference of historians is now open. The conference will run from 11-13 July 2013 and is hosted at Senate House. For more information on how to register and delegate fee, please visit the Anglo American History website.