Are children naturally picky, or did pickiness develop over the past century? Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History by historian Helen Zoe Veit, Ph.D., is an eye-opening investigation into why American kids no longer eat broadly and with gusto. As an award-winning historian of American food, Veit demonstrates compellingly that mass childhood pickiness is a cultural invention – not a biological inevitability.

Pickiness used to be almost nonexistent. Well into the 20th century, Americans saw children as joyful omnivores who were naturally curious and eager to eat. Kids in the past loved spicy relishes, vinegary pickles, and bitter greens. They spent their allowances on raw oysters and looked forward to their daily coffee. American parents of the past assumed children could enjoy the same food as adults, and they almost always did.
So how did modern kids become such incredibly narrow eaters? Picky shows how fussy eating gradually
came to define “children’s food” and to reshape American diets at large. And maybe most importantly, it
explains how we can still use parenting tools from the past to raise happy, healthy, wildly un-picky kids
today.

Veit is an associate professor of history at Michigan State University and the director of the “What America Ate” and “America in the Kitchen” projects. She was an advisor for HBO’s The Gilded Age, and her work is often cited in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and more. Veit will be in conversation with John Waller, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the History of Science and Medicine at Michigan State University who has published seven books spanning science, medicine, and social history, and has just completed a major study of group dynamics across the past 12,000 years of human history.

Bonus Book Giveaway: FAN is giving away copies of Picky to randomly selected Zoom attendees. Details on
the webinar registration page.

This event is suitable for youth ages 12 and up. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and
YouTube channel.