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Timeline: 1948-1958
Postwar challenge and change....The U.S. entered an age of affluence, marred by the Korean Conflict and the Cold War....A time of the baby boom and new suburban homes boasting "family rooms" that included the nation's newest rage, television....A time of fallout shelters, shopping centers, Elvis Presley and the birth of rock and roll, fast food restaurants and convenience foods.
Finishing The War....
GMA participated fully in the Marshall Plan and in feeding a war-ravaged world....GMA officials lectured throughout Europe on U.S. food production/distribution techniques, assisting emerging economies to develop modern food chains....When the Soviets blockaded Berlin, GMA and its member companies again assisted in the massive airlifts of foodstuffs for the beleaguered city.
The American Food Supply And International Politics
The "modern" U.S. kitchen and brimming new supermarkets of the 1950s became symbols of America's technological progress and quality of life. In 1959, at a special showing of a U.S. model kitchen in Moscow, then Vice President Richard Nixon in his famed debate with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev held up the U.S. food system as the "showcase for democracy."
Every king, queen or visiting head of state was taken on a supermarket tour as part of their official U.S. agenda.
Food...The Nation's Biggest Business
"Food is perhaps America's biggest weapon in the Cold War, " noted Life magazine (January 1955), pointing out that the $73 billion food basket created and consumed that year was "America's biggest business. " Life praised the industry for providing Americans with a "luxury" diet and for the new convenience of foods that helped a nation use its time more profitably.
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3/16/2010
Science Forum
Washington, DC
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4/7/2010
Consumer Complaints Conference
Washington, DC
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4/7/2010
Foodborne Illness Litigation Conference
Washington, DC
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4/13/2010
Food Labeling Workshop: Complying with Regulatory Requirements for the Labeling of Packaged Foods
Washington, DC
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6/8/2010
Food Labeling Workshop: Complying with Regulatory Requirements for the Labeling of Packaged Foods
Minneapolis, MN
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