Famous cornstarches arrived on breakfast tables almost 120 years ago hand in hand with religion and vegetarianism, but fists raised against stimulants, filling meals and… masturbation.
Created 126 years ago, Corn Flakes from Kellog’s They became a constant presence on breakfast tables around the world from 1906, the year they were first sold. However, its origins are “crispier” than you might think: the famous corn cereal has an unexpected connection with the moral and religious beliefs of one of the brothers who created it, John Harvey Kellogg.
The typical breakfast of the richest at the end of the 19th century included foods that we would look at with disgust if we saw them on the table first thing in the morning: dishes of roast meats, cold meats and steaks were a frequent choice to start the day.
A Seventh-day Adventist and manager of the Battle Creek Sanatorium, a health facility in the US state of Michigan aligned with the ideals of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Kellogg, a doctor by profession, was not a fan of these eating habits.
The businessman, who according to , wearing a white suit and a cockatoo on his shoulder, urged everyone around him to follow his healthy lifestyle, was a great supporter of vegetarianism and abstinence from all stimulants, such as coffee and tea. He believed in eating simple foods that, for him, maintained the purity of body and soul.
John Harvey Kellogg, em 1915.
His philosophy extended to a unconventional belief: Kellog considered excessive, fat, and ‘filling’ meals to be contributors to moral decay. This decadence includes unwanted sexual desires.
According to the website, the businessman was quite open about the evils he believed were brought by masturbation — for both boys and girls. Food choices, among other factors, influenced these behaviors.
In response to Americans’ “decadent” diet, Kellog wanted to promote lighter, healthier, less stimulating foods. Corn Flakes emerged as part of this mission — a simple, somewhat bland, ready-to-eat cereal aligned with his vision of physical health and moral discipline.
The cereal fit into these Kellog’s ideals, but on the other hand the doctor never explicitly marketed Corn Flakes as an anti-masturbatory morning meal, nor is there any official reference to religion or masturbation currently on the Kellog’s history page.
The first package of Corn Flakes (1906)
Today, Corn Flakes are a long way from their moralistic origins. Crispy and light, made from cooked, laminated and roasted corn kernels, they are still sold all over the world, but have lost space within Kellog’s to other cereals.
According to , the Frosted Flakes They are, behind Cheerios, the second best-selling cereal brand in the USA. They are the same as Corn Flakes, but with a small (big) difference: they are covered in sugar. Would Kellog be proud?
Tomás Guimarães, ZAP //
