Americans live in an age of miracles so routine that we don’t even notice them. Consider food. For most of human history, people went to bed hungry every night. One bad harvest could mean death and despair.

That changed in the 20th century, but not entirely. In 1941, “one-third of men called up for service failed their physicals due to poor nutrition,” according to The Secret History of Home Economics. Americans were better off than most, but not well off enough.

In our own time: if you are old enough to remember the 1960s, 1970s, even the 1980s, you can remember a time when there were parts of the year without particular foods. Strawberries were available in early summer, but not otherwise. Apples were available in fall, but not spring.

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