This is a continuation of A Tour through Food Headlines: 1935-1965. Using Google News Archive, I searched old newspaper archives for the phrase “healthy food” and took one of the first few relevant results from each of the last 8 decades.
In the first article, we caught glimpses of the important issues and general mindset of the time period: meat saftey in the 1930’s, sugar rationing in the 1940’s, scrawny nervous girls in the 1950’s, and reducing your food budget in the 1960’s. Amusingly, many of the articles I looked at spoke explicitly to woman, plainly acknowledging them as the cooks of the household.
How quickly things change as we approach our modern food culture…
1975
Newspaper
Date: Mar 17, 1975
Sample Excerpt:
“That means 1) one daily serving of leafy, green or yellow vegetables. 2) At least one serving of citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage or salad grens. 3) At least one serving of potatoes or other vegetables and fruits. 4) At least one serving of milk or a milk product …. 7) Optional: one serving of butter, margarine or polyunsaturated oils.”
Present day headline equivalent: Obesity Epidemic to Shape Next Version of USDA Food Pyramid
My comments: 1975 marked the year in my research (I was only looking in 10 year intervals) that dieting came up on the first page of results. While searching for accompanying photos, I also began to stumble across fast-food related imagery for the first time.
Where did that USDA Food Pyramid come from anyway? And isn’t everything you need to know about it contained in the headline of the second article? It’s taken us hundreds, if not thousands of years to develop complex scientific theories, so why is it that we believe “scientific” food wisdom, especially when it changes difinitively every few years?
1985
Newspaper: New York Times
Date: October 13, 1985
Sample Excerpt:
Some of the hottest new food fashions are hardly nutritious: croissants, with 65 percent fat (compared to 2 percent in bread); many not-so-lean and salty gourmet frozen dinners; quiches loaded with fat, salt and cholesterol; fatty and salty toppings stuffed into nearly fat-free baked potatoes; upscale yogurts made with high-fat milk and sugared fruits and flavorings; soft drinks artificially sweetened with medically controversial NutraSweet. And, ironically, the health-food industry, which helped to fire the interest in wholesome foods, has lost its innocence. Now, it pushes a bevy of highly processed candy bars, cookies and chips, often aligned on racks near the health-food store checkout counter.
Present day headline equivalent: Study says junk food still dominates youth TV
My comments: Here is where we start to see the beginnings of the same trap we are currently in. The diet culture starts to kick in, leaving consumers confused and making potentially worse choices. If the soda is “diet”, then I can drink more of it! If we process out all the “bad” parts, I don’t have to feel guilty anymore.
1995
(photo courtesy of sincretic)
Newspaper: Business Wire
Date: February 7, 1995
Sample Excerpt:
Consumer demand for healthy fast food has started to change the face of the industry. Wednesday’s anticipated “light menu” launch by Taco Bell will try to capitalize on the consumer demand for more healthy choices, but according to El Pollo Loco Director of Marketing Lou Franson, the giant PepsiCo subsidiary’s good intentions are off the mark.“Healthy food — such as the flame-broiled chicken, pinto beans and Spanish rice that we have served for more than 20 years — is a rare find in the fast-food industry,” he said.>Present day headline equivalent: Read Calorie Count and Weep - Restaurants Required to Post Calorie InfoMy comments: At first I had to laugh - was he actually convinced that flame-broiled chicken, pinto beans and spanish rice counts as “healthy food”? Then I had to remind myself that the point is to eat real food (not necessarily “health food” which can be highly processed), so maybe in a sense, that is a much healthier meal than what you’d get at Taco Bell. Take a look at the present day article - 13 years later, Taco Bell still serves up 75% of your daily calories in ONE salad.2005
(image courtesy of digital_trash)Newspaper: USA TodayDate: August 23, 2005Sample Excerpt:
Students can pick up fast foods, including hamburgers, french fries, fried chicken and doughnuts, on the way to and from school, Austin says. Some high school students can go off campus at lunchtime to eat it, she notes. “Five days a week we send children to an environment where there’s an abundance of high-calorie, low-nutritional-quality, inexpensive food.”My comments: I have little idea of what goes on foodwise in public schools, but from what I have read: we should be afraid. Schools sign contracts, yes endorsement deals, with large food companies (like Coca-cola) to make sure they receive prominent placement in the hallways. There is a growing movement that sugar is one of the main causes of modern day child behavior problems, including ADD and ADHD. Why is that a surprise?If you liked this article, please let me know…so I can do more like it in the future! Also, if you haven’t already, read Part 1.
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