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Like the controversial dietitian John Harvey Kellogg was a pioneer of the path to up-to-date vegetable food
Apr
When you hear the name Kellogg, cornflakes can be the first thing that comes to mind. But John Harvey Kellogg It is famed for something more than just breakfast cereals.
In many respects, this American doctor, dietitian, inventor and entrepreneur overtook his time. Maybe First influential influence on wellness More than a hundred years before Gwyneth Paltrow entered this act, he was in favor of surprisingly similar methods of treatment and practices.
But Kellogg was also a dividing figure because of his own strong support Down eugenics and “racial hygiene”. Directed by concerns about what he called “the degeneration of the breed”, he founded Race Betterment Foundation In 1914 – an attitude that has since destroyed his reputation.
Kellogg believed that food was medicine. Undoubtedly, the pioneer of today’s vegetable movement could have been impressed by the growth growth of the global meat substitute market over the past decade.
Because more and more people are looking for ethical, balanced and conscious lifestyle health, the demand for plant products increased rapidly. In responseThe main food corporations have changed or developed modern offers to meet this change in consumer preferences.
What was once a niche market is now the mainstream 4,965 products It was launched all over the world in 2019–2021. Today, the global meat substitute market is valuable For over 13 billion USD (10 billion pounds), and forecasts suggest that it can reach almost USD 88 billion by 2032.
Read more: Fixation about “pure food” can be harmful – and perfectionists may be more exposed to moving too far
Changing the game Kellogg
As a director Battle creek sanitary In Michigan, Kellogg again defined the relationship between food, bodies and health. His philosophy “Biological life” He led him to experiment with a variety of health treatment. In practice, he defended fresh air, baths and dishes containing live bacteria. He examined on a more eccentric side strange methods including enema of yogurt, vibrating chairs and even mutilation of the genitals.
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Inspired by progressive Pure life movementKellogg developed Battle Creek diet systemwhich promoted vegetarianism as a way of preventing the negative influence of meat on digestion and the nervous system.
Together with his wife Elka, he founded an experimental kitchen to discover alternatives to meat based on plants. He was convinced that nuts and grains could provide healthier and more balanced protein sources.
In 1896, the US Department of Agriculture approached Kellogg with a request to create a food product based on plants, which can be used as a safe and sound, nutritious alternative to meat. Kellogg accepted the challenge and created several pioneering products. They included Nuttose, made of grounded nuts and cereals; Winner, biscuit based on a constant Pszet; And protose, a mixture of wheat gluten, petals and peanuts.
Recognizing their commercial potential, Kellogg launched the Sanitas Nut Food Company in 1899. Until 1912, Sanitas was sent Over 65,000 kg His “vegetable meat” annually in the USA. Chicago Tribune boldly stated that Kellogg solved the “meat problem”.
“Shockvertising” power
Sanitas set off on Main marketing campaign In popular American press points. His advertisements were based on “shocking” to cause fear of meat consumption, often covering disturbing images of animal suffering to lead this message.
One unforgettable advertisement entitled “Why Slay to Eat”, showed chained, bleeding bleeding kneeling before a man holding a hammer. Another aimed at readers, calling them “giganians” and claiming that eating pork made a man “pig” with “the most major expression.” Others warned that the unhygienic slaughterhouses and food pollution meant that toxic and cause diseases such as tapeworm AND trichinosis.
Vegetarian magazine
The ads also consisted of references of famed sport stars and leading medical figures, praising the health benefits of meat substitutes, which were presented as Panacea, which could make more proficient, stronger and younger people. Calls to “return to nature” and eating just like our ancestors were also often “Nutritional primitivism”.
To placid restless consumers, ads emphasized the similarity of products to taste and appearance to meat. They also suggested that meat substitutes could facilitate the lives of housewives, because they required slight preparation and can be served in various ways.
Meat replaces today
Currently, many meat replacing products are produced by huge food corporations that also sell meat. For this reason, marketing has evolved, and meat substitutes often set as part of a wider range of dietary choices, and not just meat substitutes.
As a result, bold, critical ads of the past, which attacked meat consumption, became less common. Instead, today’s ads often focus on environmental fears and ethics of meat eating, combining body health with the health of the planet.
Read more: Laboratory meat and plants based: science, psychology and future meat – podcast
However, many still emphasize what meat substitutes look like and taste like real meat. This may unintentionally strengthen the idea that “good” nutrition is based on meat and reduce the value of meat substitutes in itself.
I believe that today’s ads can do more to educate people about the nutritional benefits and the variety of food without meat, while raising awareness about the impact of animal agriculture on the environment. This change can lend a hand the meat substitutes to become a real choice of food by yourself, moving them beyond the trend cycle and in the mainstream diet.
