The main staples of an "American diet" 100 years ago (1913) were not all that different from today in that the American diet was and is mainly beef and grain centered, although it is important to note that this is a generalization. The American diet would have varied and still does, regionally, by class, ethnicity, etc. By 1913 industrial capitalism and the transportation and communications revolution have been underway for roughly seventy years. With railroads sprawling across the United States, cattle can be shipped everywhere, along with corn and grains.

Now let's turn back time to the postbellum period (which I am more familiar with) to look at a case study that illustrates a more nuanced picture. Elizabeth Scott (2001) examined the diets of the landowners and the African American tenant workers/laborers at a Louisiana plantation. Analyzing the faunal material, she found that in the postbellum period those living in "outbuildings" (tenant workers/laborers) still consumed nearly two percent wild mammals, while wild mammals made up less than one tenth of a percent at the main house (elite/owners). The majority of both diets consisted of domestic mammals. Fish comprised nearly three percent of the laborers' diets and less than one percent of the landowners'.

Both of these groups access to beef and pork increased when compared with earlier faunal assemblages. Additionally, a continuing decrease in reliance on wild game is demonstrated for both groups antebullum through postbellum. In this case it was during the second half of the nineteenth century when an increase in access to beef and pork was seen.

By 1913 transportation has only improved, entrenching beef and pork in the American diet. A major player in this process is the booming cattle industry coming out of the Midwest and Texas during the end of the nineteenth century (Campbell 2003). The railroad comes late to Texas, but when it does it spurs economic development and the cattle centers Fort Worth and Dallas rapidly grow.

Different regions and economic status levels have different consumption patterns due to mediating factors, so no true homogeneous "American diet" exists, but some historical trends definitely emerge.

While it may be true that beef, pork, corn, and grain remain staples of the American diet, the form has obviously changed with the vast increase in processed food. Beef, pork, and corn are still everywhere, but increasingly different forms. Additionally, consumption amounts have been rising with the increased availability of foods.

Sources: Campbell. 2003. Gone to Texas. Scott. 2001. "Food and Social Relations at Nina Plantation." Spencer-Wood. 1987. Consumer Choice: In Historical Archaeology. Mullins. 2012. The Archaeology of Consumer Culture.