This Day The 100-Year Butter Battle (1904)
May 22, 2025
Delve into the epic showdown between butter and margarine that reached the Supreme Court in 1904. Discover the bizarre tactics used by Big Butter, including fear-mongering and absurd regulations like the 'pink laws.' Explore how societal changes and perceptions around food purity fueled this rivalry, alongside innovative responses from the margarine industry. This tasty discussion serves up a slice of culinary history intertwined with politics, health trends, and cultural clashes that resonate even today.
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Margarine's Origins and Composition
- Margarine emerged in the 1870s as a cheaper alternative to butter amid poverty and immigrant influx.
- It's made from emulsified animal or plant oils, unlike butter from churned milk, but shares similar fat content.
Big Butter's Propaganda War
- Big Butter saw margarine as a huge economic threat and fought it aggressively with propaganda.
- Margarine was falsely depicted as poisonous and unnatural to protect dairy industry profits and purity.
Legal Barriers Against Margarine
- States passed laws banning or heavily regulating margarine sales to protect dairy, including dyeing margarine pink.
- These laws aimed to make margarine unappealing or illegal, revealing economic protectionism using health and moral justifications.
