The Greasy Truth Research Paper
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Oleomargarine:
The Greasy Truth
Bre Stafford
Food for Thought
Professor Anderson
October 18, 2013
Bre Stafford
Professor Anderson
Food for Thought
October 18, 2013
Oleomargarine: The Greasy Truth
Many of us are familiar with the slogan “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” but if it’s not butter, then what is it? The name of this butter substitute is referred to as oleomargarine or some either refer to it simply as oleo or margarine. Interestingly enough, oleo caused a big uproar when it was first introduced into the United States. The history of oleomargarine dates all the way back to 1869 when Europe was struggling with a food shortage; …show more content…
In Wisconsin, the farmers fought against this “abomination” and sought to protect the dairy farmers. Eventually, a law was passed in Wisconsin to forbid the sale or distribution of butter substitute in public eating places. The small production dairy farms produced very small quantities of butter which was usually of poor quality but that was their source of income. The women of the farms were usually the ones that had to milk the dairy cows with little to no equipment so the butter wasn’t always up to par. Unfortunately, until the quality of the butter improved, oleo could still compete in the market (Menace of Margarine). The dairy farmers didn’t give up there though. They kept fighting with the legislation until high taxes were put on margarine to make it more expensive. The only issue with that was it was still cheaper than real butter. The butter supporters even tried to attack the reputation of oleo by but the manufacturers defended themselves by proclaiming themselves as “the champions of cheap food for the working man”. They also retaliated by publicizing the unsanitary conditions of the dairy farms and how they sold spoiled butter and labeled it as fresh (Oleo …show more content…
During this time everyone had to ration food. People didn’t have as much money for their food budget so they started to buy oleo; even the people who were strongly against it (“Oleo Wars”). After a while, margarine became accepted among the consumers and was no longer viewed as the “poor man’s food”. States across the U.S. even began to drop the bans against margarine. It even became popular among nutritionists and economists because it was cheap but also had nutritional value (Menace of
Oleomargarine:
The Greasy Truth
Bre Stafford
Food for Thought
Professor Anderson
October 18, 2013
Bre Stafford
Professor Anderson
Food for Thought
October 18, 2013
Oleomargarine: The Greasy Truth
Many of us are familiar with the slogan “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” but if it’s not butter, then what is it? The name of this butter substitute is referred to as oleomargarine or some either refer to it simply as oleo or margarine. Interestingly enough, oleo caused a big uproar when it was first introduced into the United States. The history of oleomargarine dates all the way back to 1869 when Europe was struggling with a food shortage; …show more content…
In Wisconsin, the farmers fought against this “abomination” and sought to protect the dairy farmers. Eventually, a law was passed in Wisconsin to forbid the sale or distribution of butter substitute in public eating places. The small production dairy farms produced very small quantities of butter which was usually of poor quality but that was their source of income. The women of the farms were usually the ones that had to milk the dairy cows with little to no equipment so the butter wasn’t always up to par. Unfortunately, until the quality of the butter improved, oleo could still compete in the market (Menace of Margarine). The dairy farmers didn’t give up there though. They kept fighting with the legislation until high taxes were put on margarine to make it more expensive. The only issue with that was it was still cheaper than real butter. The butter supporters even tried to attack the reputation of oleo by but the manufacturers defended themselves by proclaiming themselves as “the champions of cheap food for the working man”. They also retaliated by publicizing the unsanitary conditions of the dairy farms and how they sold spoiled butter and labeled it as fresh (Oleo …show more content…
During this time everyone had to ration food. People didn’t have as much money for their food budget so they started to buy oleo; even the people who were strongly against it (“Oleo Wars”). After a while, margarine became accepted among the consumers and was no longer viewed as the “poor man’s food”. States across the U.S. even began to drop the bans against margarine. It even became popular among nutritionists and economists because it was cheap but also had nutritional value (Menace of