12/13/2017

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Thank you to Monsanto for their support to make this webinar possible

International Affiliate of the

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Recorded December 8, 2017

Webinar Sponsored by Monsanto

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Food Cults –Where Science and Skepticism

Collide

Closing the Gap Between

Nutrition Knowledge and Food Beliefs

Robyn Flipse, MS, MA, RDN

Nutrition Communication Services

Bradley Beach, NJ

Disclosures

• Member of the L.E.A.D. Network

(Leaders Engaged in Advancing Dialogue)

sponsored by Monsanto

• Scientific Advisor to the Calorie Control Council

Biases

I believe

• any food can be part of a balanced diet

• the amount and frequency of what we eat determines the benefit of our food choices, not individual foods

• a plant-based diet is best for people and the planet

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Objectives

• Identify the socio-emotional and economic conditions that give rise to food cults

• Examine how food cults have impacted food policy contrary to available scientific evidence

• Demonstrate how the ideology of a food cult can

be used to achieve goals for optimal nutrition for the population at large

“...our rational scientific approach fails to fulfill

the desperate needs of suffering people,

and it is to these needs that quacks and cultists

address themselves.”

Eating behavior is irrational

No human society deals rationally with food

Asian girl eating with chopsticks because her culture believes knives and forks are too barbaric for dining, but eating a large crustacean with its head and tentacles intact is not

Indian family eating a vegan meal with their fingers because they believeyou should make a physical and spiritual

connection with your food when eating

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Eating behavior is irrational

and no human society

deals rationally with food

The Nielsen Global Health and Ingredient-Sentiment Survey, Q1 2016

64% of people worldwide

follow a diet that prohibits

certain ingredients or foods

The Nielsen Global Health and Ingredient-Sentiment Survey, Q1 2016

Dietary restrictions around the globe

Percentage of population following special diets:

84% Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific

37% France, Spain and Italy

50% North America

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Cultures that place a high value on the pleasure of eating are less susceptible to food cults,

but when eating is more closely tied to health and disease, peopleare likely to experience more food anxiety and consequently be more

vulnerable to food cults.

Harvey Levenstein, Food Historian

University of Chicago Press, 2012

Pleasure vs Health and the rise in food cults

Behind every act of eating is the disturbing connection to death

Eating is a magical ritual where life is transmitted from one object to another

The rituals, symbols and meanings behind food arose as a way to forget about death

The desire for more life – or to become immortal - allowed ‘Food Cultures’ to emerge

Avoiding the link between eating and death

Free Press, 1975

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior

Volume 37, 2005, Pages S107-S112

The Original Omnivore’s Dilemma

“Neophilia vs Neophobia”

Desire to try new foods vs Fear of eating something toxic

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The world is populated by

over 7 billion people

who each had to learn

what and how to eat to survive,

and we aren’t all doing it

the same way.

• Mistrust of government institutions

• Integrity of the scientific community

• Corporate greed

• Industrial conspiracies

• Economic insecurity

• Shifts in political power

• Belief in self-determination

These concerns are now a permanent condition of modern life

Food cults relieve fears and anxiety which are often a metaphor for other concerns

Jackson P. Anxious Appetites. Bloomsbury2015Levenstein H. Fear of Food. University of Chicago Press, 2012

Features of food cults

Becomes a central organizer of one‘s identity

Revolves around a group dogma or ideology

Involves an immersion experience, usually achieved through sacrifice or deprivation

Follows a charismatic leader or “guru”

Includes special rules, rituals and practices

Shares a community of worship (increasingly online)

Cargill K. (ed) Food Cults. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017

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Food cults vs fad diets and mental illness

• Food cults are social communities built around a food ideology that promises relief from fear and anxiety

• Fad diets are started impulsively and are short-lived,

often to lose weight, offering less structure and community

• Orthorexia is a solitary effort to find the ‘perfect diet’

by someone with a genetic predisposition to obsessive compulsive disorder

Jackson P. Anxious Appetites. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015Levenstein H. Fear of Food. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012Mathieu, J. What is orthorexia? J Acad Nutr Diet. 2005;105(10):1510-1512 +

unattractive

insecure

insignificant

lonely pain

Vitalitystrength

power

suffering

aging

illness

‘evil empire’

diseaseneglect

DEATHstatus

undesirable

The promise of food cults

prosperityunhappy

weakness

Cargill K. Food Cuts. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017

Longevity

Fertility

The oldest person in the world!

Nabi Tajima, born in Japan on August 4, 1900, is now 117 years old. She now eats mostly ramen noodles

and rice mackerel sushi.

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’

Rejecting the ‘Dominant Food System’

You must

Purify the body

Improve physique

Eat ‘superfoods’

Return to nature

Control passions

If you want to

Eliminate toxins

Fight disease & aging

Avoid ‘industrial’ food

Reject modernity

Suppress pleasure

Levenstein H. Fear of Food. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012

Objective #1

Identify the socio-emotional and economic conditions that give rise to

food cults today

What triggers a rise in food cults?

1. Food Scares and Recalls

2. Threats to National Security

3. Refuted Research

4. Emphasis on Disease Prevention

5. Public Health Campaigns

6. Mass Media and Celebrity Hype

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1. Food Scares and Recalls

March 16, 2017March 21, 2017

Where can we turn when food is tainted?

Vegetarian diets

Organically grown

Unprocessed food

Juicing

Fasting

Detoxing

Cleanses

Promote a binary way of thinking about food as “good” or “bad”

Can use food labels to find the bad ingredients or Nutrition Facts

Right choices save you from the dangers of the marketplace

Do not consider the synergy of foods or other dietary patterns

Cults tell you everything you need to know

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2.Threats to National Security

In the anxiety about terrorism

following the 9/11 attacks and the

2003 U.S. Senate Hearing ,

“Obesity War: Are Our Dietary Guidelines

Losing”the lines between

civilian and soldier became blurred

Biltekoff, C. The Terror Within: Obesity in Post 9/11 U.S. Life. American Studies. 2007;48(3):29-48

American Psychological Association, 2003

How can we defend our nation?

Localist Movement

Paleo/Caveman/Primal diets

Fruitarian diets

Raw food diets

Paramilitary fitness regimes

Eating disorders

A heightened sense of one’s mortality prompts an increased level of control over the body,

seen in paramilitary-style fitness regimes and restrictions on diet from eating

only pre-agricultural foods to starvation

Build a better body

https://www.crossfit.com/

John Wiley & Sons, 2002

http://bit.ly/1y2kDd0

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Pseudoscientists imitate the style of legitimate scientists by

citing studies and using statistics and graphs to prove their point. Then they offer

definitive advice about what to eat, while recommendations from health professionals are

more complicated and conditional.

3. Refuted Research

How to make the right choice?

“Focus on variety, nutrient

density, and amount. To meet

nutrient needs within calorie

limits, choose a variety of

nutrient-dense foods across

and within all food groups in

recommended amounts.”

“Do not eat wheat”

Rodale Books, 2011

Columbia University Press, 2013

Seek simplicity when science fails you

Nutritionism

Healthism

“Free-From” claims

Superfood diets

Dietary supplements

Functional foods

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4. Disease Prevention

Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases Geneva, Switzerland, 2002

Eat your way to immortality

Longevity Cults

“Thousands of nutritional epidemiological studies are

published annually that identify dietary factors affecting cancer risk,

however, randomized trials repeatedly fail to support

the strong associations of these observational studies.”

Life and death are caused by food!

TIME Magazine, December 8, 1972Schoenfeld JD. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;97(1):127-134

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5. Public Health Campaigns

We experience less satisfaction and higher stress

as our options increase, so anything that makes

our decision-making easier is readily adopted.

Schwartz B. Paradox of Choice. Harper Perennial, 2005

Clean living to the rescue!

Clean eating

Clean labels

All natural

No Preservatives

Antibiotic-free

Pesticide free

Anti-vaccine

• High Protein, High Fat, Low Carb = Keto, Atkins

• Intermittent Fasting = Werewolf, 5/2 days,16/8 hours

• Single Food = Grapefruit, Cabbage soup, Baby food

Atrai Books, 2015

Less choice, more compliance

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6. Mass Media and Celebrity Hype

When there is a loss of a cultural authority –

a clear, unequivocal, centrally constructed, and widely

accepted view of reality –the void must be filled.

Belasco W. Appetite for Change. Cornell University Press, 2007.

in industry”“Hypocritical opportunists in industry”

“Extremists in academia“Extremists in academia”

“Arbitrary regulators at the FDA”

“Zealots at the FTC”

“Ill-informed scientists”

“Ideological liberal in Congress”

“Huckster physicians”

Gluten Free

Non-GMO

No Added Sugar

No Artificial Sweeteners

Where to turn in a battle of experts?

Objective #2

Examine how food cults

have impacted food policy

contrary to available scientific evidence

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Food Navigator, October 23, 2017. http://bit.ly/2AlnuHL

“Our research focused on how consumer perceptions

can inform the manufacturingretail, and foodservice

industries in an effort to understand the future of

foods and beverages.”

1. Labeling and Ingredients

Untested replacement ingredients

PR Newswire, April 3, 2017. http://prn.to/2AntqCw

Low food quality is overlooked

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“Euromonitor has seen some manufacturers stop fortifying foods with

minerals and vitamins – which often have long, unpronounceable names –

in order to shorten ingredients lists and clean up labels...

reflecting a growing suspicion of overly engineered food.”

Dr. Shelley Balanko, The Hartman Group

FOOD Navigator, April 25, 2017. http://bit.ly/2jyi4RQ

Nutritional value is compromised

Costs go up with deceptive labels

Misinformation breeds more mistrust

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2. Unintended consequences

American Heart Association

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020

Added sugars become public enemy #1

74% of packaged foods and beverages in the U.S. contain some form of sweetener

Consumers view sugar as “natural,” but not good for them,

yet will choose it over even small amounts of artificial sweeteners

The food industry is expected to engineer a natural solution that tastes sweet and has no calories or side effects –

which is an oxymoron

Left without a sweet & natural solution

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Thill S. Building a Sustainable Food System, One Campus at a Time. Civil Eats, February 28, 2017 http://bit.ly/2lRNaEr

Increasing demands on the planet

11/06/2015

Objective #3

Demonstrate how the ideology of a food cult

can be used to achieve goals for

optimal nutrition for the population

We have more in common with others over how

we feel about eating than what we actually eat

We don’t have to eat the same foods

to reach the same goals

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Worry about food coming from impersonal and complex food chain

where they don’t know any of the players.

Finding common ground

Get to know the produce manager where you shop

Ask store manager to stock what you need

Visit farmer's markets to talk to growers

Join a food cooperative for locally grown seasonal foods

Finding common ground

Mistrust of growers, processors, retailers who are in the business for profit

Reputation is important to brands

Food scares affect everyone in the food chain

Read more recipes, fewer headlines

Discuss how food processing helps you

Finding common ground

Concerns about a globalized food supply chain where no one entity is holding them

accountable for their quality

Discuss your favorite brands and why

What risks do we accept at home

Why is food technology harder to embrace

Share what you like to eat when you travel

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Finding common ground

Difficulty understanding scientific methodologies,

statistics, risk/benefit analysis,

How often have you won the lottery

Experts don’t agree with everything, just the big things

What builds your confidence in a product

Do more positive things to offset negatives

Finding common ground

Apprehensive about why other countries have different food standards & regulations.

What else is different in other countries

How do people from other countries feel about our standards

What are the benefits of having different standards

Have standards gotten better over time

Finding common ground

Belief that nature & natural is better, no matter what.

Compare the definitions you use

What about other products for health and grooming

How would you select food if it had no labels

What are some risks of all natural

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Finding common ground

Fear of ‘technology’ applied to food

Should use of all technology stop

How can we make it better

When was the food supply safer

Was it safer for everyone

Juicing eating more fruits & vegetables

Paleo doing more home cooking

Raw Food eating more nuts & seeds

Nutritionism reading more food labels

Gluten-Free eating more ancient grains

Longevity monitoring caloric intake

Clean labels eating less processed food

Make the connections

Cult focus Dietary benefit

It is easier to change a man’s religion

than to changehis diet

~ Margaret Mead

The challenge for nutrition professionals

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Questions?

Robyn Flipse, MS, MA, RDNRLFlipse@aol.com

Thank you for attending!

Your CPE certificate and a short survey will be sent out after the webinar. We will also include a link to the recording an a PDF of the slides.

If you have questions, please email Carrie at iaand.general@gmail.com

Webinar Sponsored by

FOOD CULTS – WHERE SCIENCE AND SKEPTICISM COLLIDE

Closing the Gap Between Nutrition Knowledge and Food Beliefs

Robyn Flipse, MS, MA, RDN BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Scrinis, Gyorgy. Nutritionism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Strom, Stephanie. Many G.M.O.-Free Labels, Little Clarity Over Rules. New York Times, January 30, 2015 Accessed March 23, 2017 http://nyti.ms/2oAOAne Thill, S. Building a Sustainable Food System, One Campus at a Time. Civil Eats, February 28, 2017. http://bit.ly/2lRNaEr Volkan, Vamik. The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981 Wallbridge, Rob. Organic farmer viewpoint: Has the “Food Movement” become a religious cult? September 14, 2014 Genetic Literacy Project. Accessed February 6, 2017 Accessed March 23, 2017 http://bit.ly/2nC5kws Wang, Dong et al. Association of Specific Dietary Fats with total and cause-Specific Mortality. J Am Med Assoc Int Med. 2016;176(8):1134-1145 Watson Elaine. Clean label in focus: What are consumers looking for – an avoiding – on food labels?

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