A (3:06)
I'm sure that all of you are familiar with margarine. Margarine is, and was designed to be a substitute for butter. Modern margarine looks, behaves, and in some cases even tastes like butterfly, but it's made out of totally different ingredients. If you remember back to my episode on butter, the origins of butter date back to antiquity. It was probably discovered accidentally when milk was shaken up to churn it. Butter served humanity well for thousands of years. It was natural and extremely easy to make. So why was there a need to make a butter substitute at all? The story of margarine begins in the 19th century. In 1813, the French chemist Michel Cheverel was studying animal fats and isolated what he believed to be a new fatty acid. The crystals of this substance had a pearly, lustrous appearance, so he named it acid margarik, from the Greek word meaning pearl. Later research showed that his margaric acid was actually a mixture of other fatty acids, but the name stuck around. Nothing really happened then for another 50 years. In the late 1860s, France faced a shortage of butter. Emperor Napoleon III offered a prize for a cheap, stable spread for the Navy and for poor people. In 1869, the French chemist Hippolyte Mej Mauries won the prize with his invention, which he dubbed oleomargarin. It was a blend based on beef tallow refined by emulsifying the fat with skim milk, which improved the taste and texture, making the product commercially viable. He secured a patent in the United States and his invention quickly spread beyond France. And this is the first surprising thing about margarine. It was originally created with beef tallow, not seed oil. This is probably a shock to many people because the whole point of modern day margarine is that it's made with plants, not animals. Here I should note why there was any demand for oleomargarine in the 19th century in the first place, considering that butter existed and was readily available. It all had to do with cost. Across most of the 19th century, beef tallow generally sold for much less per pound than table butter. For example, at an 1896 London auction, fine beef tallow fetched about 20 shillings per hundredweight, which works out to approximately 2.1 pence per pound. Contemporary British butter prices for ordinary institutional buyers were commonly about 9 to 13 pence per pound and could be higher for premium households, several times the price of tallow. So the popularity of margarine was simply due to cost. It was much cheaper than butter, allowing more people to consume it and for governments to spend less money supplying it to their troops. And I should note that the margarine sold at this time was white, not yellow. In fact, the margarine that you buy today is naturally white and only looks like butter because of added food dyes. By the 1870s, margarine production had begun in the United States, with factories opening up in New York. The early 20th century brought about a technical breakthrough that would fundamentally transform margarine production. In 1902, German chemist Wilhelm Norman patented the hydrogenation process, which allowed liquid vegetable oils to be converted into solid or semi solid fats. I covered this in my previous episode on seed oils, explaining that the hydrogenation process allowed cottonseed oil to to produce Crisco, the first artificial shortening. The innovation proved revolutionary for margarine manufacturers who had previously relied on animal fats like beef, tallow and lard. Hydrogenation made margarine even cheaper to produce, improved its consistency and shelf life, and gave it a texture more closely resembling butter. The shift from animal fats to vegetable oils accelerated rapidly in the following decades. Manufacturers began using cottonseed oil, soybean oil, corn oil, and other plant based oils as their primary ingredients. The First World War marked a turning point in the social acceptance of margarine. Butter became scarce and expensive as agricultural production shifted to support the war effort and international trade was disrupted. Governments actively encouraged citizens to consume margarine as a patriotic duty, framing it as a way to conserve valuable resources for soldiers at the front, millions of families who never purchased margarine before suddenly found it on their tables. While many initially resented the substitution, the extended period of use during and after the war created new habits and reduced the stigma associated with margarine consumption. Working class families, in particular, discovered that margarine allowed them to stretch their food budgets further. The war years demonstrated that margarine could serve as a legitimate alternative to butter, rather than merely as an inferior substitute for the poor. During the 1920s and 30s, margarine manufacturers continued improving their products. Flavor chemistry advanced, allowing producers to create margarine that more closely mimicked butter's tastes. Better emulsification techniques improved texture and mouthfeel. Vitamin fortification began with manufacturers adding vitamins A and D to compensate for the nutrients naturally present in butter. The Great Depression unexpectedly boosted margarine sales as household Budgets tightened dramatically. Families that might have preferred butter simply couldn't afford it, and margarine became a necessity rather than a choice for millions of people. The widespread adoption during hard economic times further normalized margarine consumption across social classes. The Second World War proved even more transformative for margarine than the First World War had been. Butter rationing was stricter and lasted longer, and margarine production ramped up dramatically to meet civilian needs. The federal government actively promoted margarine consumption through propaganda campaigns, and military commissaries stocked it extensively. By the war's end in 1945, margarine had become a fixture in American kitchens. Millions of people who had been forced to eat it during rationing discovered they actually preferred it, or at least found it perfectly acceptable. More importantly, an entire generation of children had grown up eating margarine and lacked their parents prejudices against it. The psychological barrier had been broken. The 1970s and 80s represented margarine's golden age. Per capita consumption reached all time highs, surpassing butter in many countries. Supermarket shelves filled with dozens of margarine brands and varieties beyond standard margarine. Manufacturers introduced soft spreads, diet margarine with reduced fat content and premium varieties claiming superior taste. Marketing of margarine became increasingly sophisticated. Television commercials featured doctors endorsing margarine's heart healthy properties. Print advertisements emphasize scientific terms like polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol free. Some brands positioned themselves as lifestyle products for modern, health conscious consumers. The subtext was smart, informed people who cared about their health chose margarine over old fashioned butter. However, the 1990s brought a devastating revelation that would shatter margarine's health reputation. Researchers discovered that the hydrogenation process, which had made modern margarine possible, created trans fatty acids as a byproduct. These trans fats, it turns out, were potentially worse for cardiovascular health than the saturated fats everyone had been trying to avoid. The early 2000s saw a frantic effort to reformulate margarine products without trans fats. Manufacturers reformulated the recipes, sometimes multiple times, seeking the right balance of texture, taste and health. Profile labels began prominently displaying 0 grams trans fat or trans fat free claims. Some brands dropped the term margarine altogether, rebranding as spreads or buttery spreads to escape the negative associations. The regulatory pressure intensified. In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration determined that partially hydrogenated oils, the primary source of artificial trans fats, were not generally recognized as safe for use in human food. The agency gave manufacturers until 2018 to remove them from products or petition for special approval. Many other countries implemented similar restrictions or outright bans on trans fats. Today, margarine occupies an ambiguous position in the food landscape. Traditional margarine brands continue to exist and maintain loyal customer bases, particularly among older consumers who grew up using the product and those for whom price remains the prime primary consideration. Modern formulations are free of trans fats and are often fortified with omega 3 fatty acids, plant sterols and other compounds marked for health benefits. In the discussion of the history of margarine, there is something I haven't yet the war on margarine, which began almost immediately after its creation and still exists today. To some extent, the United States Congress passed the oleomargarine act of 1886, defining butter in and taxing oleo margarine at 2 cents per pound. In 1902, an amendment to the act imposed a heavy tax on yellow colored margarine while lightly taxing the uncolored kind to keep it from resembling butter on the table. Margarine manufacturers got around this by just bundling yellow dye with the margarine that consumers could mix themselves. Canada completely banned margarine production from 1886 to to 1948. Many European countries and Australia also placed various restrictions on margarine as well into the 1960s. But perhaps the most extreme reaction against margarine occurred in my home state of Wisconsin. For those of you who don't know it, Wisconsin is known for its dairy industry. All of our license plates say America's dairyland and its sports fans are known as cheeseheads. When margarine appeared in the 1870s and 1880s, Wisconsin dairy farmers and butter producers immediately recognized it as a threat. Here was a product that looked like butter, could be used like butter, but cost significantly less. If margarine gained widespread acceptance, it could devastate the market for Wisconsin butter and undermine the economic foundation of rural Wisconsin. The dairy industry's response was swift and uncompromising. Margarine had to be stopped. Wisconsin began its anti Margarine Campaign in 1881, becoming one of the first states to regulate the new product. The initial law required margarine to be clearly labeled and prohibited manufacturers from coloring it yellow to resemble butter. But that was just the opening salvo. In 1895, Wisconsin took a far more aggressive step, enacting legislation that banned the manufacturer and sale of margarine colored to look like butterfly. The law imposed heavy fines and even prison sentences for violators. But Wisconsin's dairy lobby still wasn't satisfied with mere color restrictions. They pushed for something far more draconian a complete ban on margarine. The argument they made to the legislature was both economic and moral. Economically, they claimed that margarine was undermining honest dairy farmers who worked hard to produce genuine butter. Morally, they characterized margarine as fraudulent, deceptive and unwholesome, an industrial imposter trying to pass itself off as a natural, wholesome product. In 1895, Wisconsin became one of the few states to ban margarine entirely. The law prohibited the manufacture, sale, and even possession of margarine with the intent to sell within the state borders. This wasn't simply a regulatory measure, it was an attempt to eradicate margarine from Wisconsin completely. The ban created an enforcement challenge. Wisconsin shared borders with several states where margarine was legal and smuggling became inevitable. Residents living near state lines would cross into Illinois, Iowa or Minnesota to purchase margarine and bring it back. And on a personal note, my grandparents did this. I can distinctly remember my grandmother telling me about the oleo runs they used to make to Upper Michigan. They wouldn't just buy a little bit either. They bought loads of margarine to bring back for friends and neighbors. The ban became especially awkward during the wars, when Wisconsin had banned the very thing that the federal government was telling people to consume. The ban finally ended in 1967, making Wisconsin the last state to legalize margarine sales. However, there are still margarine restrictions in place in Wisconsin to this day. Any food purchases made by the state for institutions like prisons or hospitals can only only serve margarine if requested. Likewise, butter still has to be served at restaurants by default. You can get margarine, but you have to ask for it specifically. I'll close the episode by noting an even longer holdout than the state of Wisconsin, the province of Quebec, which didn't legalize yellow margarine until the year 2008. Margarine has had a very odd journey since its creation in the 19th century. It's been both reviled and also encouraged. It's been considered healthy and then unhealthy. Its sales have gone up and down. It's been both cheap and expensive, and it's even been made out of both animal and plant fats. Yet the entire journey began when Napoleon III simply wanted a cheap butter alternative for the people of France. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. My big thanks go to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon. Your support helps make this podcast possible, and I also want to remind everyone about the community groups on Facebook and Discord. That's where everything happens that's outside the podcast, and links to those are available in the show Notes. As always, if you leave a review on any major podcast app or in the above community groups, you too can have it read on the show.
