Two years after Hitler invaded Poland, Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor on December 14, 1941, and pulled the United States into the global conflict. In response, the country transformed its industry into the greatest war machine this planet has ever seen. The military needed weapons and a way to feed troops in far-flung parts of the globe. Feeding an army on foreign soil is an age-old challenge. A frustrated Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “An army marches on its stomach.” In 1795, the French Army offered 12,000 francs to the first person who could invent a new way to preserve food. Fifteen years later Nicolas Appert presented his idea for canning food, using the same basic process in practice today.
The Hormel Company introduced canned Spam (short for shoulder of pork and ham) in 1937. It seemed like the perfect military food solution. By the end of the war, the U.S. military had purchased more than 150 million pounds of Spam, and it had quickly become a staple in cuisines around the world, especially in the Pacific region. In addition, products such as M&Ms, Tootsie Rolls, and instant coffee, designed to feed U.S. soldiers, became staples of the American diet. The military required nonperishable foods that soldiers could carry onto the battlefield. Veterans who ate these foods during the war desired more after the war. Candy bars, commercial baked sweets, such as Twinkies and Devil Dogs, and fast food chains such as McDonald’s sprang up and profited from this demand.
At the same time, American diets improved briefly during the Depression and World War II because of farm-to-table programs and meat rationing, which led to an increased consumption of vegetables. However, by failing to learn from the mistakes of the past, Americans created the modern U.S. diet and became victims of their own success and ingenuity. Like a diet predominant in corn, bacon, and molasses leading to subclinical pellagra, a diet dominated by processed and fast foods increases physical, psychological, and intellectual problems and creates the illusion of genetic inferiority. Presently, impoverished communities, both urban and rural, have less access to fresh foods and are more acutely affected by these nutrition-related issues.
The year 1945 brought an end to the war and a big stockpile of ammonium nitrate, which had been used to make explosives during the war. But ammonium nitrate doesn’t just make bombs explode; it also makes certain crops grow faster. The government wanted to turn the war machine into an instrument of peace, so U.S. Department of Agriculture officials had a good idea: Turn the main ingredient of explosives into a fertilizer. Furthermore, nerve gases, which worked as well on insects as on people, became pesticides. The remnants of war were modified and dispersed into the U.S. agricultural system. As the Indian environmental activist Vandana Shiva points out, “We’re still eating the leftovers of World War II.”42
Ammonium nitrate as a fertilizer works best on corn. This ingredient of explosive bombs during the war led to an explosion of corn production after the war. Enterprising people found creative ways to make use of the surplus corn, and ranchers began feeding it as a primary food to livestock. These days, corn-fed livestock is deceptively referred to as “conventionally fed.” Such conventionally fed cattle grow significantly faster compared with grass-fed cattle, but they are also profoundly unhealthy. A corn-fed cow loses its natural immune function, so to reduce its risk of developing bacterial infections, ranchers mix high doses of antibiotics into its food.
Corn-fed beef is chemically different from grass-fed beef; for instance, it has significantly lower levels of omega-3 DHA. Raising cattle on corn dramatically lowered the cost of beef; more cattle can be raised on less land and in less time. Government farm subsidies for growing corn further aided the development of cheap meat, leading directly to the explosion of fast food restaurants and a dramatic rise in the consumption of DHA-deficient meat. And as we have seen, people who consume processed foods, fast foods, and excessive amounts of conventional meat will tend to have very low levels of DHA. A global survey revealed that Americans have extremely low levels of omega-3 DHA and EPA in their bloodstreams,43 and this directly affects serotonin function and resulting crime rates.
US Meat Consumption Per Person 1900–201244
Another new use for corn came out of the postwar Japanese Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), which was founded in 1952 to redirect Japan’s military scientists toward civilian research. In 1971, an AIST scientist, Yoshiyuki Takasaki, patented high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which ended up being a bomb that landed on the American public. HFCS is produced by using an enzyme from bacteria to break down cornstarch. After World War II, corn became the most abundant food on the planet; most of it is now consumed by Americans, who are also the largest consumers of HFCS. Today, the average American consumes 60 pounds of corn syrup every year, and the percentage of Americans with diabetes has grown with this increased consumption.45 Policymakers focus almost exclusively on the short-term consequences of unhealthy diets, while generally ignoring the long-term effects, such as diabetes.
SHELF-STABLE, CONCENTRATED, PORTABLE, AND ADDICTIVE
Industrializing the food industry and feeding the Allied troops were massive undertakings during World War II. After the war, the military established a policy of military preparedness that promoted food technology. The U.S. military actively shaped the SAD to ensure a population that could be ready at a moment’s notice to produce army rations or to create consumer products that met military standards. Modern commercial foods were created by the military so we could effectively wage war. The technology to make these foods was then handed over to the food industry, and the basic ingredients were made cheaply so these foods became widely available and consumed in large quantities. The primary purpose of fast food was first developed to energize military personnel on the battlefield, not to maximize long-term health.
Energy bars, canned goods, deli meats, and even goldfish crackers all have military origins. In her 2015 book Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat, Anastacia Marx de Salcedo describes how many of the packaged, processed foods we find in today’s supermarkets started out as science experiments in an army laboratory. Many modern processed foods can be traced back to the Natick Soldier Systems Center, a U.S. Army research complex in Natick, Massachusetts. This federal laboratory investigates how to improve the taste and shelf life of soldiers’ rations. The processed cheese now found in the likes of goldfish crackers and Cheetos is just one of the ingredients that was developed at Natick. The center is also behind longer-lasting loaves of bread and the energy bar, which are designed to be sources of quick energy. It is the policy of the military to get the science that it uses for rations into the public food supply. It is part of a broader policy to ensure a powerful industrial base as the foundation of national defense preparedness.
World War II changed how Americans ate. People became accustomed to highly flavored, processed foods with long shelf lives. In 1943, the War Food Administration enacted Order Number 1, which mandated the enrichment of all bread. The order would be repealed in 1946 after the war, but the enrichment of bread continued. Vitamin enrichment masks long-term problems, as it replaces a select amount of lost nutrients, ignoring hundreds more. Modern nutritional science has uncovered hundreds of complex compounds (called phytochemicals or phytonutrients) in natural plants that humans need which are not vitamins and minerals, and not all of them have yet been identified.
“I‘d like the large high fructose corn syrup liquid with added phosphoric acid, caffeine, salt, and artificial caramel coloring and a side of deep fried potato batter with corn syrup emulsifiers, MSG and yellow dye #4.”
The government is subsidizing the very foods that are destroying us because of our failure to learn from the nutritional mistakes of the past. The simple truth is that people require a broad assortment of colorful plants in conjunction with exposure to DHA-containing (wild) animal products, to maximize overall health and brain health. And for those few nutrients not sufficiently available in plants, specifically vitamin B12 and DHA, supplements are available today.
; The food industry creates an astonishing array of foods from a tiny group of plant species. Today, only four crops—corn, soybeans, wheat, and rice—account for two-thirds of all calories humans eat. Add those calories to the heightened consumption of commercially produced animal products in the United States and it is clear we have crowded out fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds from our nation’s plates. Since World War II, meat, dairy, and processed food products have become increasingly available, and the nutrient diversity of our diet has shrunk.
We now have more food than ever and yet nutritionally, the SAD is astonishingly reminiscent of the Southern 3M diet of molasses, meat, and (corn)meal, which led to the pellagra epidemic. Food fortification efforts have eliminated such acute nutritional deficiencies and their associated diseases (for instance pellagra, rickets, and beriberi), but those efforts have also led to life-shortening, chronic health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and mental illness. The incidence of psychotic dementia has been overshadowed by ADHD, other learning difficulties, subclinical aggressiveness, and reduced impulse control.
Despite the growth of nutritional science, the physical and emotional health of Americans suffers greatly. The low cost, appeal, and profitability of packaged and fast foods have led to the expansion of the consumption of those foods. Many contributory influences confound this problem, including, as we have seen, the addictive nature of processed foods and the appeal of using drugs for medical problems instead of changing the dietary habits that cause chronic disease.
CHANGE CAN HAPPEN
Leaded gasoline caused a catastrophe in recent history that is similar to the one being caused by fast food today. In the 1920s, petroleum companies added tetraethyl lead, a known toxin, to gasoline to increase the octane level, enabling cars to run more efficiently. The economic boom following the war dramatically increased the number of cars on the road, and all of those cars were fueled by leaded gasoline. But studies show that the use of leaded gasoline caused brain damage that affected behavior and learning capacity.46 People in densely populated urban areas were subjected to concentrated dosages because of traffic congestion and the canyons created by high-rise buildings. This disproportionately affected poor people with already poor nutritional status. People who are deficient in iron will also metabolize more lead.
The rise of lead in the atmosphere is associated with an increase in violent crime rates, just as the drop in atmospheric lead was followed by a similar drop in the violent crime rate. The removal of lead from gasoline and paint was one of the most successful public health initiatives of the twentieth century. Antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables also reduce the toxic effects of lead.
Lead and Violent Crime47
The government was slow to act on evidence suggesting that lead contamination was a significant problem because it thought the solution was impractical. But this was not the case. According to studies cited in a 1989 paper published in the World Health Statistics Quarterly, the benefits of eliminating leaded gasoline outweighed the costs 10 to 1. The authors concluded with the following bit of wisdom: “The environmental health calamity caused by lead in petrol could have been avoided if the initial warnings had been heeded and better preliminary research of the health issues had been carried out. Nevertheless, incontrovertible proof of causality should not be required before regulations are made to protect public health.”48
Research evidence, although not conclusive, suggested that lead pollution caused violence. Lead was removed from gasoline, and violent crime rates dropped. However, crime rates did not drop to pre-1960 levels because the lead problem coincided with a dietary problem. A similar problem has occurred from the use of soft drinks, fast food, and junk food. This has been made worse by the rapid increase of not just HFCS-sweetened soft drinks, but also the tremendous increase in oil consumption. Oil is an empty-calorie junk food; in other words, it supplies a huge load of concentrated calories but no micronutrients or fiber. The excess of omega-6 fats in oils also increases omega-3 insufficiency.
There is no easy fix to the health problems created by the SAD. Policymakers consistently make decisions that favor the commercial food industry over public health, and the food and drug industry have tremendous influence in Washington, D.C., that slows and inhibits change for the better. Nutritional mistakes made by health authorities have also taken their toll. For instance, in 1961, the American Heart Association advised Americans to reduce their intake of saturated fats by replacing animal fats, such as butter, with vegetable oils, shortening, and margarine.49 People replaced one dangerous food with another. Soybean oil became the primary source of fat for most Americans. Government subsidies made it a cost-effective ingredient for cost-conscious makers of processed foods. Vegetable and seed oils, such as soybean oil, are generally very high in omega-6 linoleic acid and low in omega-3 ALA.
Consumption of Soybean Oil 50
The rise in crime also directly corresponded to the rise in the consumption of linoleic acid, and this has had an effect that we have yet to address. The sharp rise in linoleic acid consumption from increased use of food oils also directly correlates with the rise in murder rates that began in the 1960s.51 This problem has been studied and systematically ignored, reminiscent of the problem that occurred with lead. The CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) epidemiological study of four thousand subjects found that people with lower tissue levels of omega-3 fatty acids were more hostile.52 Oily, processed, and fast foods are rich in omega-6 linoleic acid and low in omega-3 fats. And the more omega-6 fat consumed, the more omega-3 fats are needed and the more the formation of the brain-protective omega-3 fats is inhibited. Another study found that greater intakes of seafood rich in EPA and DHA were correlated with lower rates of homicide mortality across thirty-six countries.53 Young developing brains across the United States are suffering multiple nutritional stresses simultaneously.
LEARNING FROM THE PAST
The status quo resists change. Remember, there was huge opposition to the claims that smoking cigarettes was harmful. Some people will never consider evidence to be conclusive. It can’t be denied that nutrient deficiencies create immediate effects that can destroy human potential. Low-nutrient diets stress the brain and influence decision-making by impairing brain metabolism. In the past, and today more than ever, society’s greatest problems of poverty, violence, criminal behavior, drug abuse, and devastating health tragedies have their roots in the diet style of the population under duress.
Unhealthy eating feeds inequality, bigotry, racism, and intolerance. Today, we know that modern dietary practices cause much human tragedy and affect society on every level—from autism, to childhood cancer, to learning difficulties, to medical dependence and premature death, and yes, to drug addiction and crime. It is time to end this tragedy.
CHAPTER FIVE
DNA, SOCIAL ENERGY, AND FAST FOOD
In a real sense all life is interrelated. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. . . . This is the inter-related structure of reality.
—MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Transforming the health of the nation will require a multifaceted effort. Our genes are programmed to protect us and allow us to flourish. These protections are hard-wired and yet unfortunately can be completely undermined by our unnatural, processed food diet. And this is exactly what is happening. In addition, humans are social creatures, and we are learning more and more about how our interactions affect our decisions and behaviors. In the following pages, we explore the vicious cycle that shows how the wrong food choices undermine our genetic tendencies and behaviors and in turn make it that much more difficult for us to break away from bad dietary and social choices. Understanding the complexities of these issues is the first step in creating the necessary change
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Be forewarned, the consequences of fast food consumption may be more ominous on our children and grandchildren. Evidence is accumulating that an unhealthful diet, excess body weight, and especially overeating protein create adverse consequences that are imprinted on genes and passed on to future generations.1 For instance, researchers examined the grandchildren of people born in Överkalix parish in northernmost Sweden where few plant crops grow. They also examined historical records of harvests, food prices, and other data to determine food availability. The main crops grown in this subarctic region are barley and oats, which were used primarily as animal feed. In 1905, residents ate lots of meat because they did not have access to imported fruits and vegetables. After years of good harvests, when food was abundant, they ate more meat; after periods when food was scarce, meat consumption declined.
Amazingly, the diet had health effects on three generations. Researchers compared people who had lived through periods when there was an overabundance of meat with those who lived through periods when food was scarce. They found that people who ate lots of meat in their childhoods produced children and grandchildren who were significantly more likely to develop cardiovascular disease as adults. Likewise, meat-deprived grandparents had grandchildren who lived considerably longer. Those people who ate the most meat produced children and grandchildren whose life spans were cut decades short.
The lives of these people were not shortened by junk food, but by genes that were altered by the excessive consumption of animal proteins. They passed those genetic alterations (called epigenetic modification) on to their offspring and their offspring’s offspring. At first glance, it doesn’t make sense that children whose grandparents had better access to food would have their lives cut short, while those whose grandparents struggled to get enough would live longer. It doesn’t make sense until you view it from the perspective of systems, which enables us to see how the parts of a system fit together to form a whole.
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