Why the Breakfast of Today Is a Corporate Scam

Not all of it. But nearly every breakfast staple -- cold cereal, donuts, yogurt, bagels and cream cheese, orange juice, frappuccino -- is a staple only because somebody somewhere wanted money. Wake up and smell the McCafé.

Seeking to provide sanitarium patients with meatless anti-aphrodisiac breakfasts in 1894, Michigan Seventh-Day Adventist surgeon and anti-masturbation activist John Kellogg developed the process of flaking cooked grains. Hence Corn Flakes. Hence Rice Krispies. Hence a rift between Kellogg and his business partner/brother, who wanted to sweeten Kellogg's cereals in hopes of selling more. Guess who won.

http://www.alternet.org/food/152260/why ... rate_scam/

WayneLeeH wrote: Not all of it. But nearly every breakfast staple -- cold cereal, donuts, yogurt, bagels and cream cheese, orange juice, frappuccino -- is a staple only because somebody somewhere wanted money. Wake up and smell the McCafé.

Seeking to provide sanitarium patients with meatless anti-aphrodisiac breakfasts in 1894, Michigan Seventh-Day Adventist surgeon and anti-masturbation activist John Kellogg developed the process of flaking cooked grains. Hence Corn Flakes. Hence Rice Krispies. Hence a rift between Kellogg and his business partner/brother, who wanted to sweeten Kellogg's cereals in hopes of selling more. Guess who won.

http://www.alternet.org/food/152260/why ... rate_scam/

Nearly everything in our lives was created to make someone money. Why is that bad? That is what made our country so great, and long before people could sit at home and have someone else pay them, people were creative in order to sell something and make $$.

"anti-masturbation activist John Kellogg"

At least I know what I'm not going to get in my sugar frosted corn flakes!

I love the fact the people in this forum have a sense of humor...

To the point of what is wrong with making money, Renegade.

It's not the making of the money, it is the idea promoted that this is healthy. I am a big believer of caveat emptor, but when millions of unsuspecting parents with kids believe the absolute garbage being promoted as truth that only serves to line someone's corporate profits, at the expense of the health of our population,.... I gotta problem with that.

Capitalism is great but not unbridled in the food supply. Much deception with government in bed with people who could care less about your health.

See the flouride shennanigans if you want a real example of how health gets perverted in the name of profits.

thanks for bringing this up WayneLeeH.

rocky mtn thyroid center wrote: It's not the making of the money, it is the idea promoted that this is healthy. I am a big believer of caveat emptor, but when millions of unsuspecting parents with kids believe the absolute garbage being promoted as truth that only serves to line someone's corporate profits, at the expense of the health of our population,.... I gotta problem with that.

I'm sorry, but if parents are really "unsuspecting", we have an even more serious problem with our public schools than even I thought. Giving your kids pancakes covered in syrup, donuts, yogurt (at least the kinds that are full of sugar and chemicals) or anything else that kids willingly eat (meaning they are sweet and yummy), read the label. It isn't hard these days to know what is in something. I'm not going to blame the manufacturer for providing a product people want. We are still a somewhat free society. My parents way back when occasionally let me buy boxed cereal. Sugar had to be no higher than 4th in the ingredients. Keep the nanny state away. If people want to eat cups of sugar for breakfast, that is their right.

rocky mtn thyroid center wrote: I love the fact the people in this forum have a sense of humor...

To the point of what is wrong with making money, Renegade.

It's not the making of the money, it is the idea promoted that this is healthy. I am a big believer of caveat emptor, but when millions of unsuspecting parents with kids believe the absolute garbage being promoted as truth that only serves to line someone's corporate profits, at the expense of the health of our population,.... I gotta problem with that.

Capitalism is great but not unbridled in the food supply. Much deception with government in bed with people who could care less about your health.

See the flouride shennanigans if you want a real example of how health gets perverted in the name of profits.

thanks for bringing this up WayneLeeH.

You can not blame capitalism or corporations fro trying to make money. You always have a choice. Personally, my choice is not to have ANY breakfast junk food. There are eggs and bread, milk and oats one can have for breakfast among many other non-junk food items. But if you are too lazy to make your eggs, or own cereal, etc, etc, and opt for frozen waffles or pancakes, there is little reason for complaint. You feed the industry that only is going to take advantage of you. If no one buys their products then they go out of business or evolve to meet your needs. It's really quite simple, but it does take personal responsibility and good parenting for the kids. If I by cheerios or con flakes or shredded wheat in a box, I choose to do so and that is my personal issue. There is no need for government to protect me form whatever the companies dream up for products. Ultimately, capitalism mere takes advantage of what you allow them to do through your purchases.

As I see it, where the real problem begins is with lack of education, laziness in the guise of time crunch, and a growing dependence on others to protect you from making bad choices. Frankly, as I think about this, a collapse of our economy and way of life is just what is needed to reset the clock on all that is wrong with our personal perceptions. It will force those of us too absorbed in a quick fix to go back to the basics of life and responsibility.

Outstanding points. I am never gonna promote a nanny state, see my caveat emptor comment.

But is there a balance here?

Unbridled advertising of crap masquerading as food targets the unsuspecting and uneducated. Typically, these are kids with no filters to evaluate.

And, in a cynical voice, this keeps the medical pharmaceutical complex going.

Is education in food, solely the responsibility of the single adult american?

We are in trouble.

I'm not saying we need more govt. interference in what we eat. That is already happening.
See the raw milk fiasco.

We desperately need sources of information about foods that is not tainted with commercial interest.

This leaves out the government and all food producers.

BTW, an excellent source that should be more widely promoted is the weston price foundation. If you don't know his story, it's a good one and one with little or any commercial interest. I believe the link is wwwwestonaprice.org

I have no problem if one decides to eat sugar and drink Jack all day long. If it floats your boat, go ahead.
Just don't make me pay for your indiscretions,especially as a taxpayer.

I am confident that there are a lot of subtleties in commercial foods, that most americans are completely ignorant about, that are there only to make corporate profits easier, that hurt your health. How educated are you gonna become?

I believe it's a life long process.

There needs to be a distinction between what a person does to their own body willingly, knowing the consequences of their actions, and what you do unknowingly as the result of education gleaned from institutions like school, governmental agencies and the like. Places of information that you should be able to trust.

I dunno, maybe I am just naive or idealistic.

Great thread.

rocky mtn thyroid center wrote: Outstanding points. I am never gonna promote a nanny state, see my caveat emptor comment.

But is there a balance here?

Unbridled advertising of crap masquerading as food targets the unsuspecting and uneducated. Hence the need for education. It starts even with your neighbor, but you need to also make it a personal mission Typically, these are kids with no filters to evaluate. Thus the parents who can say NO

And, in a cynical voice, this keeps the medical pharmaceutical complex going.

Is education in food, solely the responsibility of the single adult american? Not solely, but ultimately yes. We did not have government to save us when we lived as hunters and gathers. Instead, an awareness of what could and could not be eaten was a personal mission for survival, passed on through family and clan interaction. Today we have neighbors and communities rich in knowledge, but unfortunately we fail to embrace this collective gold mine of information because it is easier to believe our government inspects the vegetables, meat and fish (instead of knowing ourselves what to look for) and keeps it from reaching us. This is very much akin to not allowing your children to fail. Consequently, when faced with a problem, they are ill prepared to deal with it, just like we are now ill prepared to deal with making sound food choices.

We are in trouble. Indeed we are. As a whole our society is far too dependent on governmental guidance. It is time to end this charade

I'm not saying we need more govt. interference in what we eat. That is already happening.
See the raw milk fiasco.

We desperately need sources of information about foods that is not tainted with commercial interest. How about supporting a local farmer, or growing your own food. Where there is a will there is a way. Even in cities there is a way to grow food if you lack land to do so. Then there is bartering with those who can do things you can not and vice versa

This leaves out the government and all food producers. Indeed it does and we regain the rightful decision making that is ours.

BTW, an excellent source that should be more widely promoted is the weston price foundation. If you don't know his story, it's a good one and one with little or any commercial interest. I believe the link is wwwwestonaprice.org

I have no problem if one decides to eat sugar and drink Jack all day long. If it floats your boat, go ahead.
Just don't make me pay for your indiscretions,especially as a taxpayer. Agreed

I am confident that there are a lot of subtleties in commercial foods, that most americans are completely ignorant about, that are there only to make corporate profits easier, that hurt your health. How educated are you gonna become? The trick is not to pay bloated prices for organic products, and reclaim knowledge of what you eat by bringing the choice back to your community (people you can trust) or yourself rather than some manufacturer. Nowhere is it more viable to do this than where we live. Do that on a national scale and watch the rapid response of the food industry to better meet the wants of potential customers. Let's be realistic, not everyone is going to practice susbsistance living or grow much of their own food, so there will always be customers to exploit. However the customer is the one with the power to effect change.

I believe it's a life long process.

There needs to be a distinction between what a person does to their own body willingly, knowing the consequences of their actions, and what you do unknowingly as the result of education gleaned from institutions like school, governmental agencies and the like. Places of information that you should be able to trust.

I dunno, maybe I am just naive or idealistic. ditto

Great thread.