An Economist Gets Lunch Summary

In our culture, food is an essential part of our costumes and routine. This pivotal factor in our lives is often not thought twice about, but its creation is extremely intricate. In An Economist Gets Lunch, Tyler Cowen performs a detailed analysis of why knowledge about local and global food is so important and how we can learn more about it. This book targets the audience of people who know little to nothing about economics and Cowen aims to put it into words that everyone can understand. Clarifications are made about myths surrounding food and the real production process that must be undergone before product release. Cowen also discusses the way the food industry is involved in economic theory, all while offering advice to consumers and readers

A large factor in this popular stereotype came from advertisements and television. Cowen asserts that “the centrality of television in American life also drove a national market in advertising and this made food more homogeneous” (36). National and local television represents our culture and media. Consequently, when the rest of the world viewed America’s advertisements, they assumed that this is the only culture that citizens had. America is also a land of immigrants, meaning that when people immigrate, they take their foods and parts of their culture with them. The United States can then mix these cultural dishes with others, capitalize on them, and industrialize them in the most efficient way which often leads to changes from their natural form. “American food is immigrant food translated into a new physical, economic, and agricultural environment” (Cowen 28). From the outside perspective, other countries might be quick to judge America and say that the only food that’s produced is artificial and unhealthy. While this stereotype does have an essence of truth, it’s more accurate to assert that America’s food is a blend of a variety of cultures. Mainly because it’s never seen in advertising, but outsiders don’t get the opportunity to see America’s organic agriculture or fresh resources. While the United State’s

The trick is to look for places that “have the incentive to create and distribute good food” (Cowen 75). Some may also find it hard to separate what makes a good meal from a bad meal. Cheap food can still be healthy and taste good, but it’s true that it does require more work and research to find depending on the area one might be in and the resources available. A trap that many fall into is searching for good food in an aesthetic area and going for looks instead of quality. When people search for restaurants to eat at, they look up images and often pick the one with the prettiest pictures that feature people “laughing and smiling and appearing very sociable” (79). When selecting a restaurant for quality meals, one may also find themself looking at the price of all the food they immediately rule out any place that has cheap entrees or drinks. “High prices for drinks are often a form of price discrimination,” which illustrates how easily people can be taken advantage of when searching for the elusive “good” meal (Cowen