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;
particularly with edible fats. This shortage elicited the search to find a cheap alternative to butter. Eventually a French scientist and inventor, Hippolyte Meg-Mouries, developed an intricate process that combined heat, pressure, carbonate of potash, and beef fat that, when mixed with a little milk, water, and yellow dye, resulted in a substance that was cheaper and kept longer than real butter (“Oleo Wars”). The name of oleomargarine was derived from combining Greek and Latin words. “Oleo”, came from oleum which is the Latin term for beef fat. The word margarine comes from margahc acid which happens to be a fatty acid that was a major component of the new butter substance (“Oleo Wars”). Eventually, this cheap food item found itself shipped over to the United States. Manufacturing companies producing margarine started popping up all over with the new, slightly improved product. But with margarine’s increasing fame came a lot of suspicion. The artificial and industrial origin of oleo sparked the similar concerns that arose with the invention of genetically modified food (Menace of Margarine). Along with the rising fear of this “fake” butter, oleo became subject to more regulations than any other food (Butter-Margarine Controversy). The agricultural communities saw oleomargarine as an “intruder” and a possible competitor in the market.
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
Wars). Wisconsin Senator Joseph Quarles, who opposed margarine, said “Things have come to a strange pass when the steer competes with the dairy cow as a butter maker” and talks about how oleo may be “chemically pure” but it is still only an artificial compound of grease. He then follows with the statement: “I desire butter that comes from a dairy, not a slaughterhouse. I want butter that has the natural aroma of life and health. I decline to accept substitute fat, matured under the chill of death, blended with vegetable oils and flavored by chemical tricks” (“Oleo Wars”). Although his statement was a little harsh, it was rather accurate. When animal fats were the main component of margarine in 1902, the fats were byproducts of large meat packing plants (Butter-Margarine Controversy). Many butter promoters even shared gruesome stories that happened within the slaughterhouses. The meat packers would sometimes use old, dead cows or pigs that were bloated and use chemicals such as permanganate, bichromate, sal soda, and sulfuric acid to deodorize the soiled fat. The companies also had to put fake yellow coloring into the margarine in order to make it look like butter because it is “naturally” a white/pearl color (“Oleo Wars”). After being drilled with regulations, the oleo manufacturers scrambled to find ways to improve their product and get out from under the government’s thumb. Finally, they invented the method called hydrogenation. With hydrogenation, the oleo producers were able to harden the vegetable fats. Before this, it wasn’t possible without sacrificing the spreadable consistency of the margarine. The company also started to use oils that were naturally yellow so they didn’t have to use yellow coloring anymore. This helped reduce the taxes since it wasn’t artificially colored. Oleo companies even started to stray away from comparing themselves to butter with phrases like “churned especially for lovers of butter”. Instead, they began to focus on improving the quality of the product and developing recognizable brands such as Blue Bonnet (Menace of Margarine). Even after all of their effort to mend their reputation, the dairy farmers continued their attack—that is until WWII and the Depression.
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
Margarine). Now, margarine is sold equally alongside of butter. There is still controversy over the substitute but manufacturers are still working to make it as “natural” as possible. Hense, the brand “I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter”.

Works Cited

Ball, Richard. Lilly, J. Robert. The Menace of Margarine: The Rise and Fall of Social Problem. Society for Study of Social Problems. Vol. 29, No. 5 (June, 1982) pp. 488-498. Database. Sept.

Deuel, Harry. The Butter-Margarine Controversy. Science, New Series, Vol. 103, No. 2668 (Feb. 15, 1946), pp. 183-187. Database. Sept.

Strey, Gerry. The “Oleo Wars”: Wisconsin’s Fight over the Demon Spread. Wisconsin Historical Society, 2001. Database. Sept.