By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 commentator.
Dallas, TX – One hundred and fifty years ago today, the man that invented toasted flakes for breakfast was born. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. I'm Maxine Shapiro with Marketplace Middays.
Dr. John Harvey, older brother of the more famous Will Kellogg (owner of W.K. Kellogg Company) was a vegetarian who advocated low-calorie diets, developed peanut butter and granola, as well as wheat, rice, and corn flakes. He warned against smoking as a link to lung cancer decades before this connection was apparent. Dr. Kellogg was also a vocal advocate for exercise. The irony here: the now-sugared breakfast cereals are the poster food for anti-nutrition. Blame brother Will.
When John's nutritionally-enhanced foods began to catch on, he and Will formed a company to produce and sell these breakfast cereals that came out of John's laboratory. John and Will began feuding, and Will left in 1906, opening the doors to the presently-named Kellogg Company. John formed another company to develop and market coffee substitutes and (are you ready?) soymilk.
See, John really only cared about the health of his patients at the well-visited Battle Creek Sanitarium where he worked. He was quoted as saying, "It is exceedingly distasteful to me to have my name associated with the food business or with anything commercial." In other words, John could have care less about Tony the Tiger.
The one successful competitor of Kellogg's was the C.W. Post Company, organized by Charles Post. Post had been a patient of John's at the sanitarium. Came in a wheelchair and walked away cured. Post's "Postum" was a popular coffee substitute and Post Toasties began to rival Kellogg Corn Flakes. Though both companies were located on the same side of Battle Creek, competition was so great that Post employees would not even associate with Kellogg workers.
Dr. John Kellogg died at age 91, still estranged from his brother. He proved that healthy living might just pay off. For KERA Marketplace Middays, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 PM.