Review Of Janis Thiessen's Snacks: A Canadian Food History

Canadian snack food has become an ingrained part of Canadian identity and culture, but only recently has its history been investigated and contemplated. In Janis Thiessen’s Snacks: A Canadian Food History, the narrow focus of the growth of the industry leads to the missing of the larger picture; as women begin joining the labour force and women’s roles in society and in the household concurrently evolve in the post-war period. The book is lacking in its portrayal of women’s roles and the degradation in the production line to household consumption in the Canadian food industry as a result of the sources majority being composed of interviews with a lack of varying viewpoints, the repetitive structure and the overly broad simplifications of the
Thiessen’s work, despite its use of layman terms and explanation, are both viable for beginner and expert readers, the book is highly repetitive and often includes an unnecessary level of detail for the length and scope of the work makes it a difficult read with points of boredom and frustration. The book is logically constructed in that its chapters are separated by company being discussed. Unfortunately, as a result of the nature of chapter separation, it feels very repetitive. Instead it would be easier to follow and less repetitive if Theissan organized it like Moniz’s dissertation, by content. She does this with very clearly laid out sections and chapters. This, in turn, leads to a more structured work which provides an easier read as well as makes searching and sourcing within the work much easier. Unlike Thiessen and Moniz, Mosby’s work is pitched to a more expert audience and will get caught up in theories and ideas at the expense of clarity and readability for the novice historian. Despite the level at which it is explained, the theories and ideas that are outlined are abundantly more effective at analysing women and their roles in this time period. Notwithstanding, the basic terminology and level at which the history is presented by Thiessen; appropriate for both expert and novice readers alike, the poor structure and repetitiveness make it a much less useful and
Entrees in Canadian Food History, only being published in 2009, there is still much to be studied and discovered in the field. The latest addition to the field is Janis Thiessen’s Snacks: A Canadian Food History. This novel with its focus on Canadian snack food provides new depth and knowledge to our current understanding of the growth and development of the food industry and its weaving into the Canadian identity. Despite the value of the book to both beginners and experts in the field, the book is lacking specifically in its absence of mentioning or explaining the impact of the women’s movement and the changing roles in this time period. This narrow focus can be attributed to the structure and sourcing of the book. This is a key shortcoming, as it neglects to explain the impact women’s changing roles in society has on the labour force and the household. It is crucial to understanding why, how, and where women were entering the labour force and its overall impact on both industry and society as a whole in order to fully grasp the Canadian food history of this time period and all that comes