The Evolution of American Food Beliefs

How science, religion, industry, and social media have shaped what Americans eat since the 19th century

Introduction

Americans' relationship with food has always been about more than just sustenance – it's been a reflection of our religious and cultural values, scientific understanding, and social norms. Since the 19th century, there has been people trying to reshape Americans' relationship with food.

The evolution started in the 1930s with Sylvester Graham. He advocated for unrefined whole wheat bread and cited not only physical health as a reason for this but also religious and moral reasons. Graham was a minister and, in his book, he related the purity of food people consumed to their moral purity. He also believed that refined white bread contained "poisonous agents" that were bad for the body and soul.

As more scientific understanding emerged through the years, new ideas about food also emerged. One person with such ideas was Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the brother of the founder of the Kellogg Company, we all know today. Although also religious, Kellogg used primitive nutritional science to create breakfast cereals that were designed to improve digestion and stop unhealthy cravings. Success of the Kellogg's brand only came when his brother began to add sugar to the cereals while still advertising them as health foods.

In the early 20th century technology began to drastically change the American kitchen. Electricity was becoming more widespread and thus refrigerators became more common. This in combination with scientific understanding that was continuing to grow skyrocketed the popularity of processed, frozen, and canned foods. Corporate brands began to advertise easy, consistent, and nutrient dense products.

The popularity of these processed foods continued to grow throughout the 20th century, but in the 1960s a countermovement emerged that questioned the nutritional value of these heavily processed foods. This movement not only challenged the scientific validity of these foods but pushed back on corporate food systems that were becoming dominant. One such advocate of this movement was Adelle Davis. She wrote multiple books on the importance of unprocessed foods and became very influential to this countermovement.

Today, social media has created a large polarization in America and across the world. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube simultaneously promote the extremes of healthy and unhealthy lifestyles with influencers advocating for specialized diets and supplements and others completing extreme eating challenges. This polarization often pushes people into one group or the other and it seems more often than not people are drifting towards the unhealthy side.

The trends and ideology included in this exhibit represent only a few of the many ways that religious and cultural values, scientific understanding, and social norms have shaped the way we view and consume food through the last 2 centuries. I hope however that this exhibit has best captured the last 2 centuries and been thorough in describing the changes America has experienced in relation to food.

1837
Graham's Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making

Graham's Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making

Sylvester Graham’s Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making is one of the earliest examples of an American health/food movement. In his book he claims that refined wheat flour is bad and contains “poisonous agents” and promotes the use of unrefined whole wheat for bread making. He partly blames bakers and their pursuit of lucrative business for the bad quality of bread because they used refined flour which was cheaper than whole wheat. He uses some scientific evidence to back his claims but ultimately uses religion as the backbone of his argument. His boldest claim is that humanity cannot reach its fullest potential until agriculture is improved – especially relating to the quality of bread in this case. Overall, this artifact demonstrates the beginning of attempted food reform and shows the importance of religion at this time rather than science.

Graham, Sylvester. A Treatise on Bread and Bread Making. Boston: Light & Stearns, 1837.
1877
Kellogg's Cereal

Kellogg's Cereal

Granose Flakes were one of the first products of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and were mainly designed to improve digestion and stop unhealthy cravings. Although Dr. Kellogg was a religious man, the creation of Granose Flakes was based on primitive scientific research on nutrition. Since dextrose is easier to digest than starch, he reasoned that if people with digestive problems could eat grain foods containing more dextrose and less starch, they would have fewer digestive problems. Dr. Kellogg was vegetarian and advocated against things such as meat, condiments, eggs, tea, coffee, chocolate, salt, and spices. For this reason, he made Granose Flakes very bland. Granose Flakes were not very popular until Dr. Kellogg’s brother, Will Keith Kellogg began his own company. Will Kellogg called his product “cornflakes” and added sugar to his product which led to a quick rise in popularity and the creation the Kellogg Company we know today.

The early years of American ready to eat breakfast cereal: Granose Flakes Box. Accessed April, 2025.
1920
Van Camp's Beans

Van Camp's Beans

In the early 20th century technology was advancing rapidly, and electricity and well as refrigerators were becoming increasingly more common. At the same time processed foods were becoming more popular – especially canned and frozen foods with the rising commonality of refrigerators. People were immediately attracted to the new technology of processed foods and companies making these foods claimed that these foods were fresher and more nutritious than unprocessed foods bought at the grocery store. One such product at this time was Van Camp’s Pork and Beans. As seen in the advertisement, “Ready to Serve” was a popular buzz phrase at this time and shows one thing that attracted people to processed foods. This artifact shows a major advancement in technology related to food and health and a large shift in the way that Americans consumed food.

Watts, Laura. "Processed Foods History: 1910s to 1950s." Modern Pioneer Mom, July 5, 2012.
1973
Adelle Davis

'Let's Get Adelle Davis Right'

As processed foods continued to become more popular and prominent throughout the 20th century, there began to be push back against them. One such person was Adelle Davis who authored multiple books on food and health and challenged the status quo. Davis talked about the nutritional decline of America and was a huge advocate of vitamins. This article by David Yergin describes the impact and views of Davis and he also gets to interview her while selecting items from a grocery store. This allows Davis to explain what choices she would make when picking groceries and why. Although Davis has some controversial views surrounding nutrition, she was crucial in promoting the consumption of unprocessed foods which, today, is largely regarded as being healthier than consuming processed foods.

Yergin, Daniel. "'Let's Get Adel Le Davis Right.'" The New York Times, May 20, 1973.
Current
Fast food challenge Healthy meal prep

Social Media Polarization

Today, most people are on social media and whether they realize it or not are influenced by it. Social media often can be seen displaying two very different perspectives food and health. On one side there are influencers promoting super healthy lifestyles by exercising and eating salads, and on the other side there are extreme eating challenges and food reviews of the best food across the country. The picture on the left shows a youtuber eating a huge burger at “Heart Attack Grill” in Las Vegas, and the picture on the right is an influencer showing off some of their meals they have had for breakfast. Both pictures illustrate meals that are unrealistic for the average person. Depending on which of these two streams of content a person might see it could nudge them in one direction or the other, and constantly seeing these extremes can lead to things such as eating disorders and obesity. This shift in Americans’ relationship with food is dangerous and most people don’t even recognize it.

BeardMeatsFood. "EATING THE 20,000 CALORIE OCTUPLE BYPASS BURGER AT THE HEART ATTACK GRILL IN VEGAS" (2023) and bodybycraig. "Daily menu (healthy addition)." Instagram (2025)

Bibliography