{"product_id":"american-tuna-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-improbable-food-california-studies-in-food-and-culture-volume-37-9780520261846","title":"American Tuna: The Rise and Fall of an Improbable Food (California Studies in Food and Culture) (Volume 37)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn a lively account of the American tuna industry over the past century  celebrated food writer and scholar Andrew F. Smith relates how tuna went from being sold primarily as a fertilizer to becoming the most commonly consumed fish in the country. In American Tuna  the so-called chicken of the sea is both the subject and the backdrop for other facets of American history: U.S. foreign policy  immigration and environmental politics  and dietary trends.  Smith recounts how tuna became a popular low-cost high-protein food beginning in 1903  when the first can rolled off the assembly line. By 1918  skyrocketing sales made it one of Americas most popular seafoods. In the decades that followed  the American tuna industry employed thousands  yet at at mid-century production started to fade. Concerns about toxic levels of methylmercury  by-catch issues  and over-harvesting all contributed to the demise of the industry today  when only three major canned tuna brands exist in the United States  all foreign owned. A remarkable cast of characters fishermen  advertisers  immigrants  epicures  and environmentalists  among many otherspopulate this fascinating chronicle of American tastes and the forces that influence them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647006564405,"sku":"ByrdShop_0520261844","price":27.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780520261846.jpg?v=1781685258","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/american-tuna-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-improbable-food-california-studies-in-food-and-culture-volume-37-9780520261846","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}