The Most American Daily Bread: The Rise and Fall of Wonder Bread.

Wonder Bread was the staple food of the American people in mid-20th century. In fact, the Wonder Bread factory of Interstate Bakery at Biddleford, Maine was the biggest producer of bread in the world in the 20th century. It was the impetus for the phrase, 'the greatest thing since sliced bread.' Due, in part to its powerful marketing strategy, sliced white bread was the symbol of white America. It became the leading character of the eating habits of America that stretched beyond race. Wonder Bread contributed to unifying the eating habits of a wide range of immigrants and thus helped in the integration of American multiracial society. The increased supply of Wonder Bread during wartime America encouraged an increased attention to nutrition. Since the 1960s, however, the middle-class American returned to homemade bread and bread made from whole wheat flour as health-consciousness increased. As greater ethnicity increased in America, so too did the cuisine of Americans and thus a greater diversity of meals, including the consumption of cereal for breakfast. Fewer Americans ate sliced bread for breakfast and lunch, and the sales of Wonder Bread decreased. Thus, we can see the rise and fall of Wonder Bread parallel the rise and decline of Anglo-American hegemony in mainstream culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]