Born on February 26th, 1852, John Harvey Kellogg was a well-known figure in the breakfast food industry.
It is surprising but he lived healthily for ninety-one years. Maybe possibly due to the fresh air and vegetarian diet he promoted as part of “biological living.”
Kellogg was a physician, nutritionist, inventor, and medical missionary, and he was part of the Progressive Era’s social reform movement.
When he was a Seventh-day Adventist, people dismissed him from the church in 1907 due to theological differences.
He had very strong views about sex and believed in foods that would reduce sexual desires.
Breakfast Cereals Gained Popularity
Over time, most ready-to-eat cereals were developed.
The market was small until the mid-to-late 1950s, but it grew rapidly due to effective product diversification and modern advertising.
By the early 21st century, Americans were buying about 2.7 billion boxes of cereal each year, making it a breakfast staple for many.
He strongly believed in the Social Gospel, a Protestant movement that addressed social issues with Christian principles.
These shows the Health Issues
What we discussed earlier, the first cereal was invented by Dr. James Caleb Jackson in 1863.
He ran a sanatorium in upstate New York and believed many illnesses were caused by poor digestion.
To address this, he created ‘Granula,’ a cereal made from water and dried graham flour that you need to soak in milk to be edible.
Cereals Prevent Sexual Desire
John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will developed cornflakes. They were inspired by Jackson.
He believed that rich foods like meat and fried potatoes led to health problems, including poor digestion.
Also, he thought that masturbation caused various health issues such as epilepsy, mood swings, and acne.
He promoted bland foods, such as cornflakes, to reduce sexual desire.
According to him, spicy foods increased the urge to masturbate.
What Happened Next?
He opened up a branch of his Battle Creek Sanitarium in Chicago’s slums in 1893.
It provides free medical care, baths, laundry, an evening school for Chinese immigrants, and a visiting nurse service.
His Sanitarium Health Food Company also provided special foods.
Then, he started a penny lunch service that offered a bowl of bean soup with crackers for a penny, serving 500-600 people a day.
Kellogg, like Sylvester Graham (known for graham crackers), believed in foods that wouldn’t excite passions, promoting vegetarianism to combat what was then seen as the harmful effects of masturbation.
He has a strong belief that masturbation led to numerous health issues and insanity.
To prevent masturbation, some methods at the time included physical restraints and electrical devices.
Kellogg, however, preferred a less invasive approach, advocating for “biological living” and a bland diet, including his creation, corn flakes.
His younger brother, W. K. Kellogg, later mass-produced and marketed corn flakes, creating the Kellogg’s brand known today, but left out the original claim that it would curb masturbation.
Breakfast cereals are a popular choice, especially among children, due to their eye-catching packaging and colorful appearance.
However, cereals were originally created for adults with a very different purpose in mind.
