Explore food topics to get accurate background information and to see what aspect most interests you.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. (2004). Edited by Andrew F. Smith. New York: Oxford University Press. (Find entries on: "Fast Food," "Roadside Food," "Ronald McDonald," "Restaurants," "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and more...

Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. (2003). Edited by Solomon H. Katz. New York: Scribner. (Find entries on: "Restaurants," "Retailing of Food," "Serving of Food," "Food Production, History of," "Hamburger," "Icon Foods," "Fast Food," and more...

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life: A Tour Through History from Ancient Times to the Present. (2004). Edited by Joyce E. Salisbury. Westport, CT: Greenwood.

Find books at local libraries, UNI, Waterloo, or Cedar Falls public libraries. For a Statewide public library search, go to State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO).

And for a searchable catalog of media materials at your local AEA, use AEA 267 Media Catalog.

EBSCOhost http://web1.epnet.com/selectdb.asp?tb=1&_ug=sid+DBCE72E0-A4D8-4F3D-AA30-3351780FE01C@sessionmgr3+448E&ft=1 is a database accessed online that indexes journals and magazines. Expect to find current articles about the corporation or franchise you search. Search tips...

Agricola. The National Agricultural Library's Catalog and Article Citation Database http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/ , part of the United States Department of Agriculture, is an award-winning free resource from the U.S. government. Search topics e.g. "Restaurants," "Fast Food." (Tip: try both search boxes, one for the catalog, one for journal articles). When you search the Catalog, you get both books and government documents. Check for the books using our library catalog. Most government documents have free full-text. Click on the Electronic Resource link.

American Diner Museum. Diner History http://www.dinermuseum.org/dinerhistory.php. This Rhode Island museum is "focused on celebrating and preserving the cultural and historical significance of the American diner, a unique American institution." Read about the history of diners, learn diner slang, and find links to other diner sites. (Description from Librarian's Internet Index.)

Eating in the 20th Century. The May 2000 issue of Food Review: Spotlight on the U.S. Food System http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/jan2000/, an online magazine from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the eating in the 20th century with articles such as: "American Cuisine in the 20th Century," "Major Trends in U.S. Food Supply, 1909-99," "A Century of Population Growth and Change: A Century of Change in America's Eating Patterns" and more...

Fast Food and Animal Rights: McDonald's New Farm http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/mcdonalds/ "Activists have been warning for decades that farms and slaughterhouses mistreat animals, and for almost as long, farmers and food industry executives have scoffed. But over the past two years, an unlikely corporation — McDonald's — has taken the lead in the campaign for animal welfare." ...features transcripts and audio clips, slideshows on the egg and cattle industries, examples of slaughterhouse inspection results, and a McDonald's hen inspection form. (Description from Librarian's Internet Index.)

Fast Food definition from FoodTimeline.org http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq7.html#fastfood A definition that ties the fast food industry to the industrial revolution.

The Food Timeline http://www.foodtimeline.org/, "created and maintained by the Morris County Public Library in New Jersey, is an excellent source for culinary history Web resources. The site is divided into a Food Timeline and a Culinary History Timeline. The Food Timeline is organized by date, recipe, or agricultural advancement. It begins with prehistoric culinary information and includes links for most major time periods, type of foods, and dishes up to the present day." Librarians cross-check for accuracy using standard reference sources. (Description from American Library Association Association of College & Research Libraries Internet Resources, Culinary resources.)

National Restuarant Association http://www.restaurant.org/ "Representing, Educating, and Promoting the Restaurant/Hospitality Industry." Click on News, Industry Research, Running Your Business, and more..This trade association site provides information about the restaurant industry, including articles from their magazine, industry takes on government issues, information on training and certification programs, and summaries of common foodborne illness as well as opinion papers on food quality and safety issues. Research data available includes some statistics, restaurant industry forecasts and trends. It also provides information on their publications for sale and has links to related sites. (Description from Librarian's Internet Index.)

United States Department of Agriculture http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome homepage. Use search box on the hompage to search for restaurant or food company names e.g. Chef Boyardee.

What do American's Eat? http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/fbook98/ch1a.htm U.S. Department of Agriculture report with many charts and graphs to show changes in eating patterns from 1970 to 1997.

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Use librarian-created subject guides and search directories in addition to general web search engines to find more web sources for your topic.