Tastemakers may be the most powerful drivers of change in our food system. It's hard to imagine in our digitized world, but in living memory the influencers of American culture came to us via the written word, in print media.

Even harder for most middle-class women today is imagining that not so very long ago, they didn't just have an equal-pay problem; they had a no-job-if-you're-female problem. As anyone on the receiving side of bigotry knows, it's hard, often impossible, to get past. One Disruptor who did prevail and manage to get her ideas heard was the amazing Jane Cunningham Croly (1829-1901).

Her pen name was "Jennie June." Her only entree into publishing was via a "women's page" in a major metropolitan newspaper, which until she came along had been run for men by men. Jennie June took what she could get and eventually become one of the most widely read syndicated columnists in the country in the mid-19th century.

Jane Cunningham Croly qualifies as a Food Disruptor because FOOD was so firmly in the cultural sphere of women. She wrote about household management and fashion, too, as well as ground-breaking subjects. She was a strong advocate for furthering the educational and economic opportunities available to women. Her advocacy manifested in the formation of the game-changing women's club movement, which allowed women their first step out of the confines of Home into the broader world where they could exercise their talents and connect with other bright minds and active people.

This week's episode of The Food Disruptors explores how culture, food, and the collective power of women are all wound up in the intricate knot of who we are as a society.
Jennie June's American Cookery Book: Containing Upwards of Twelve Hundred Choice and Carefully Tested Receipts, Embracing All the Popular Dishes, and ... Invalids, for Infants, One On Jewish Cookery,