#144: Do you ever take a look at all of the crazy baby food items for sale today and wonder: how did they get here? What did people feed their babies before the advent of commercial baby foods? Do babies need to eat pouches? Do I need to buy baby food?   As a new mom who also happened to be a food historian, my guest Amy Bentley definitely did. She is a professor in the department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University and author of the book “Inventing baby Food: Taste, Health and the Industrialization of the American Diet.”   In this interview Amy is discussing the history of the baby food industry, shifting guidance and recommendations on the appropriate age to start solid foods over the decades, how pouches came to dominate the baby food aisle but how they also remove the socialization aspect from family meals.     If you’re ready to raise an independent eater and prevent picky eating then let’s get started learning about baby-led weaning together! Subscribe, rate and review the podcast here.   FREE BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS ONLINE WORKSHOP: https://babyledweaning.co/workshop   FREE BABY-LED WEANING RECIPE IDEAS FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/babyledweaningrecipes/   FOLLOW @BABYLEDWEANTEAM ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/babyledweanteam/   SHOWNOTES FOR THIS EPISODE: www.blwpodcast.com/144