The Past of Processed Foods
Food in America wasn’t always the reason
for diseases and obesity; in fact many edible delicacies were very delicious
and nutritious back in the day. When the Europeans first discovered the new
world, they lead into a huge turning point in food history. America’s
traditions, at the beginning, were based on English roots. These cultures
associated plain cooking with religious piety. Many of the settlers cooked and
made their food from scratch with homegrown foods and homemade pies. Not only
did they stick to their traditions but they began to discover new foods, like
tomatoes, potatoes, corn, yams, and a vast variety of beans, which were unknown
to the east and soon migrated into their culture. Once the Europeans discovered
sugar, coffee, and chocolate in America, it became the base to the world’s first
multinational consumer-oriented industries.
It was not until the 19th
century that their food truly changed. Though at first the people stuck to
their homeland cultures, soon enough the presence of new ingredients influenced
innovation, experimentation, and new creations of food. As America expanded,
the people’s taste buds grew and grew, so industrialization became a greater
engine for change. Soon enough, in the late nineteenth century, food began to
be mass produced, mass marketed, and standardized. Progressing factories soon processed,
preserved, canned, and packaged a wide variety of foods. Originally promoted as
one of the first health foods, processed cereals became a defining part of the
American breakfast. A new industrial technique—freezing—emerged along with
lunch counters and fast food establishments in the 1920s. Over the next decade
or two, processed and nationally distributed foods began to control the
nation’s diet. Many restaurants, like A&W, McDonalds and Burger King, began
to expand and create a world-renowned reputation for America’s food.
As franchises grew, competition grew, and companies began competing for the consumers taste buds resulting in artificial flavorings, preservatives, and artificial additives. These different items added to the food have created our well known cereals, chips, ice cream, French fires, and more; which have given an impact on the American diet leading into America being the fattest nation in the world. All of these factors lead to the modern food we eat and the ingredients in them contribute to various diseases and health problems we have growing everyday.
As franchises grew, competition grew, and companies began competing for the consumers taste buds resulting in artificial flavorings, preservatives, and artificial additives. These different items added to the food have created our well known cereals, chips, ice cream, French fires, and more; which have given an impact on the American diet leading into America being the fattest nation in the world. All of these factors lead to the modern food we eat and the ingredients in them contribute to various diseases and health problems we have growing everyday.