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You are correct that the market forces were there before, and that the epidemics couldn't have occurred without industrial food transformation. Before that, how fattening food was was limited by biology and I suppose that it was slow enough for human populations to adapt.

Also, the "artificial = good" meme mid-20th century probably helped bootstrap the whole thing by disrupting otherwise conservative feeding habits.

Corn syrup is a positive factor, but the obesity epidemics also occurred in other industrialized countries where it is far less prevalent.

Thus the driving force is growth seeking beyond reason (through both the market and (corrupt?) subsidies). Technology just gave it leverage.




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