The dark history of cereal and its impact on our economy

Interview with investigative reporter Matthew Lysiak about his book "Fiat Food"

Springing out of a religious movement believing red meat was responsible for sinful carnal desires, cereal became a mainstay of the American diet in the early 1900s. Through their affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, brothers Will and John Harvey Kellogg started their company as an anti-meat movement waging war against masturbation. Over the ensuing decades, their religious doctrine infiltrated the federal government to set a national food policy for the entire country.

Investigative reporter Matthew Lysiak joins me today to discuss his book, Fiat Food: Why Inflation Destroyed Our Health and How Bitcoin Fixes It, a deep and fascinating dive into how anti-meat food policy has impacted our health and our economy.

Up until the 1850s, sugar was a rare treat in the American diet, and heart attacks didn’t become common until a century later. Until 1910, the only fat Americans consumed was monounsaturated animal fat. That changed in 1911 when Proctor and Gamble discovered the process of hydrogenation and introduced a “vegetable” oil that was actually derived from cottonseeds. Crisco was the first hydrogenated vegetable oil in America and was marketed as a healthier and more economical alternative to animal fats like butter and lard.

In 1869, margarine was invented by French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès in response to a challenge by Emperor Napoleon III to create a butter substitute for the lower classes and the military. In America, margarine was initially viewed with deep skepticism, but that changed during WWII when the government, through subsidies to soy and cottonseed manufacturers, made margarine a much more affordable alternative to butter.

Mass production of processed foods started to dominate the market in the 1960s, when the media, influenced by corporations like Procter and Gamble, marketed products like margarine and polyunsaturated fats as health foods.

The rise in Americans’ consumption of processed food coincided with a major shift in our economic policy. In 1971, President Nixon uncoupled gold from the dollar, facilitating unchecked monetary expansion. High food prices have historically led to political unrest, and per Lysiak, in order to hide inflation and the devaluation of the dollar, our government adopted and encouraged mass production of inexpensive, nutrient-poor, processed foods.

The consequences of promoting calorie-dense processed food have been catastrophic to public health. Obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, and type 2 diabetes has reached epidemic proportions, affecting over 400 million people worldwide. Heart disease is the number one cause of death globally, responsible for over 17.9 million deaths annually.

Lysiak argues a meaningful way to address these systemic issues is through the adoption of Bitcoin. By combating inflation and promoting economic stability, Bitcoin could reduce the incentives for producing low-quality food and empower individuals to make healthier dietary choices.

Listen to our interview on America Outloud News.