4. What are external influences driving changes in travel cuisine and taste?
[Please take a moment to comment and bring us up to speed on how your group plan to answer this question with text and objects if you have them. If you haven’t started working on this question yet, please say so, but let everyone know one way or the other.]
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food on the move. 
Our blog post about the change to pre-packaged food addresses this question because as airline and automobile travel became more accessible, trains needed to compete and they decided to cut costs with food because dining cars had never been profitable and were used to get people to ride trains
We will also look into how National RR Passenger Corporation became Amtrak by an act of Congress (Rail Passenger Service Act) in May 1971. This may have some influence on changes in train food.
* AMTRAK 1971 takes on intercity passenger trains nationwide and this really changes dining and erases the “last vestiges” of the old dining car system….”Drexel Pugh was close to anger when he exclaimed, “That’s when we became acquainted with paper— paper napkins, paper plates, paper cups! We didn’t enjoy it, either,” he added. “Because we weren’t used to piling everything on one plate.” and this really changes the way that waiters feel about their job(108)
* “Dick Carlson explained that Amtrak actually started out under near-normal conditions, having purchased cars, china, silver, and napery from the railroads. In 1980, when drastic budget cuts were mandated by the U.S. Congress, plastic tableware, paper napkins, prepackaged foods and microwave ovens made their debut on trains throughout the land, and rail dining became almost a carbon copy of airline meals. After passengers rebelled over food service, there was an almost complete reversal in 1984” (108)
* “Today, silverware is back and, although the plates are still plastic, they are much heavier. Menus are standard across Amtrak’s system, but chefs are urged to apply their art to enhance the meals they cook. Moreover, regional favorites, especially in seafoods, are served in every part of the country. Dining cars now seat 72, a 50 percent increase over the old limit of 48. This is possible because the cars are double-decked, and kitchens are on the lower level. They boast convection ovens and a grill, as well as a steam table. But as Bob Jones says, “No matter what they do, they’ll never match the food and service we had on the old NP [Northern Pacific RR].” (108)….WE don’t see this on Amtrak today, but we’ve read that first-class passengers, particularly for long train trips do receive better food options (see question 3)
Objects: Amtrak children’s menu from 1971 and adult menus, undated.
From Anna and Krystal:
We can address the combination of technological developments that made inflight food preparation/service easier, versus airline competition and deregulation. On the one hand, it became easier during the 20th century to serve meals (especially with developments like microwave/convection ovens and frozen food). On the other hand, airline food has been affected by industrial competition: things have changed from the c.1970s and earlier (when amenities like full meals were offered to convince more people to fly). One major factor was the 1978 passage of the Airline Deregulation Act which removed government control over fares, routes, and market entry. Now, flying is common, and cost-cutting has become a bigger priority. This has certainly affected the cuisine (on the cheapest airlines, travelers get minimal food at most), but its impact on taste is a bit more complicated. Whether or not people like the food, they tend to expect that it’s what they’ll get unless they want to spend enormous amounts of money for long trips on certain airlines. We can use many of the same things I’ve already covered in the other sections to mix in this issue, including photos, menus, and utensils. Plus, some images of airline advertisements could help show how airlines have tried to attract people over the years.
From Amy and Elena:
We’re really interested in the shifts I alluded to in Question #1: Industrial –> Immigrant –> Luxury Travelers –> Cruisers. Ships were first used for industrial or practical purposes. It wasn’t about luxury – it was about getting from place to place. The immigrant and luxury travelers (which are within the same time period for the most part) change this a bit. The people on the ships aren’t necessarily workers but rather are moving from point A to point B. Food and dining change as ships have to accommodate these new kinds of travelers. We then move to more modern cruising were the ship in itself is the destination or vacation. Ships often leave and arrive from the same point, and the experience on the ship (including food and dining) are the vacation.
As we move through this chronology, we want to point out how menus, kitchens, and dining rooms/restaurants evolve and how that’s changed the experience of traveling by sea.
Automobiles:
Speed in which it could be prepared
Ability for production to be automated and standardized (franchises in particular)