The Old West, the Industrial Age, and the Western Diet

The American frontier, often called the Old West, encompasses a history, folklore, and culture extending from the 17th century to 1912 when the last of the contiguous states were admitted to the Union. While academics vary on that definition, few would contest that the cowhand makes for a quintessential symbol of the time.

This period of American expansion created a National identity that persists in the Western genre of media. It is an identity, that more often than not, neglects what Native Americans and African slaves endured. In this story, the cowhand has cattle to take care of, and after millennia of the agricultural revolution, her work represents animal sourced food (ASF) to be grateful for.

…her work represents animal sourced food (ASF) to be

grateful for.

Better access to ASF was the result of both America’s fauna (from oysters on the beaches to bison on the plains) and the industrial revolution which provided new technology and better transportation. Larger populations now had improved nutrition and stature not seen since the pre-agricultural era, nearly 10,000 years prior.

The phrase “the Western diet” is not specific to the Old West period, but rather to the diet of the emerging industrialized countries with better access to ASF, but also characterized by large amounts of processed foods. This has led to debates about the health and sustainability of current ASF consumption. When two phenomena co-evolve, like returning to ASF in the industrial period while also seeing an increase in the amount of processed foods; the two phenomena are referred to as confounders. The non-scientist mistakes one or both phenomena as causal to Western maladies. Such non-scientific influences play a role in shaping the concepts of diet-health relationships.

We are in a time of food abundance. Processed foods are ubiquitous and processed treats within the context of a balanced diet are not only accepted, but expected. Consider the birthday cake in the employee lounge. There are now highly processed foods that people actually consider unprocessed food despite ingredients like sugar, white flour, and vegetable oil; most all baked goods for example.

There are now highly processed foods that people

actually consider unprocessed food…

ASF has been substantial throughout human history. Despite this, current ASF levels of consumption are often portrayed as excessive. However, there is nothing “unnatural” about such levels of consumption. During the pre-agricultural era, ASF were vital and shaped human physiology. With the advent of agriculture, the proportion of ASF in human diets decreased, leading to periods of malnutrition, shorter stature, and infectious diseases.

To summarize, during the 18th and 19th centuries, technological developments (cooling), improved transportation (railways), rising urban demand, and a rapid transformation of the food industry led to increased production and availability of ASF. This period also saw a sharp increase in human stature [Our World Data 2019], indicating improved nutrition. Despite the initial gains in ASF availability, this transition period did not result in a complete return to Paleolithic-style diets. Eventually, the diets of industrialized countries evolved (or devolved) into what is now known as “the Western diet”, incorporating large amounts of processed foods, as well. Controversies surrounding the health effects of ASF consumption often stem from their integration into the Western diet rather than their inherent properties.

…the diets of industrialized countries evolved (or

devolved) into what is now known as “the Western diet”…

What do you think? Have “the Western diet” confounders of animal sourced food (ASF) and processed food pitted a plant-based agenda against a Paleolithic-style agenda? Has ASF been blamed for what processed food has done? Has the burger been blamed for what the bun did? Can we celebrate both the cowhand’s work and our grocery store’s produce department at the same time?