USA history of nutrition in time lines

July 4, 10:46 AMSacramento Nutrition ExaminerAnne Hart

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Need a nutrition history time line for the USA? If you were to draw a timeline destined for daily newspapers today focusing on nutrition history, it would show a diagram of the ways in which science throughout the ages has been pitted against nature.

You often don't find nutrition time lines in the mass media, and it's very much needed. What would a nutrition time line look like if you saw one in your local schools, libraries, museums, or in the mass media?

Nutrition Time Line Needed in Mass Media
The left side of the time line would begin with the basic meat-fish-roots-berries cold-weather (or dry weather/tropical milk, meat, and blood) Paleolithic diet compared to the grains-and-legumes-based, spicey, and fermented foods Neolithic diet—comparing hunter/gatherer to farmer/herder. The diet of the farmer becomes different from the diet of the hunter/gather.

Grains, breads, legumes, beans, milk, spices from tree bark, or fermented beverages largely replace fish, meat, nuts, seasonal fruits, wild vegetables/roots, wild grass seeds, berries, and wild edible herbs. This is the beginning of how nature has been compared with technology.

The time line would look like this:
Paleolithic Diet.
Neolithic Diet.
Classical Mediterranean Diet.
Medieval Diet. Renaissance Diet.
Enlightenment Diet
Whole Grains-Based 19th Century Diet
20th Century Diet of Technology-Based Preserved Food – Heated Cereal—Convenience Food Diet with Added Sugar and “Evaporated Cane Juice” Added.
21st Century Obese Children’s Diet of Soda, Chips, Fast Foods, Pizza, Burgers, Trans-Fats, and Sugary Snacks.

Nutrition Time Lines

If you were to draw a timeline destined for daily newspapers today focusing on nutrition history, it would show a diagram of the ways in which science throughout the ages has been pitted against nature. The left side of the time line would begin with the basic Paleolithic diet compared to the grain-based Neolithic diet—hunter/gatherer against farmer/herder.

The diet of the farmer becomes different from the diet of the hunter/gather. Grains, breads, and fermented beverages largely replace fish, meat, nuts, seasonal fruits, nuts, wild vegetables, wild grass seeds, berries, and wild edible herbs. This is the beginning of how nature has been compared with technology.

Nutrition Timelines USA: 1833-2000
History of Nutrition Time Line Before 1870

*(Reprinted with the permission of the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service; the in-house research arm of the USDA. The full time line can be seen at this government site . Due to space limitations here, some time line entries from the original time line were not included. Check the US Department of Agriculture's Web site for the original time line.)

Years: 1833-1870

1833
Hog cholera first reported in the U.S.
1839
Library of the USDA established.
1843
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia first introduced into the U.S.
1855 - the first children's hospital is developed.
1860
Farmers made up 58 percent of the labor force.
1860 - Abraham Jacobi, MD begins formal courses in pediatrics and teaches infant nutrition.
1861
Proved that Phytophthora infestans caused Irish potato famine.
1862
USDA created.
Morrill Land-Grant College Act authorized public land grants for colleges to teach agriculture and mechanic arts.
First USDA research bulletin issued, on sugar content of several varieties of grapes and their suitability for wine.
Homestead Act passed.
1863
First monthly crop report published by USDA.
Dry farming, as type of commercial agriculture, began in Utah.
1864
Pasteurization invented.
1866
Gregor Mendel showed that traits pass from parents to offspring, the foundation of modern genetics.
1867
Patrons of Husbandry, later known as the National Grange, organized by USDA employee. This was the first general farmer’s organization to permit women equality of membership and privilege.
1868
Division of Botany created to preserve herbarium material collected in government expeditions.
Refrigerator railroad car patented.
USDA began research on animal diseases.
1869
First analysis of food published in the U.S., for corn.

Nutrition Time Line After 1870 to 1978
(Reprinted in part with permission from CHDD Media, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7920. The original timeline appeared in the University of Washington’s LEND nutrition module and was adapted from an MCHB publication timeline.)

1872 - the American Public Health Association is organized.

1877 - fourteen states have established state health agencies.

1895 - milk stations are established in New York City and Rochester (1897) to provide safe milk for infants and children and to educate parents about child hygiene and feeding.

1897 - services for crippled children (CCS) are initiated in Minnesota, and special schools for children who are deaf, blind, or mentally retarded are developed.

1898 - school lunches are introduced in New York City schools.

Years: 1900-1909:

Municipal nursing services begin to develop, primarily in voluntary agencies such as Visiting Nurse Associations.
Organized prenatal care begins in Boston .
Pasteurized milk is introduced.
1910-1919:
1915 - The discovery of vitamins and the elucidation of their role exert a major influence on infant nutrition
1917 - Frances Stern and Lucy Gillett are pioneers in community nutrition work in Boston
1918 - The first nutrition publication, Milk the Indispensible Food for Children, is developed by the Children's Bureau and makes a plea for giving priority to infants and young children in allocating inadequate supplies.
1920-1929:
1920 - Nutrition studies of children in selected geographic areas of the nation are initiated by the Children's Bureau.
1921-1929 - The Sheppard-Towner Act is enacted and results in the development of full-time MCH units in the state health agencies. States give considerable attention to nutrition services and employ nutrition personnel.
The Children's Bureau publishes height and weight tables for children under six years of age for use by health workers and issues a publication, Nutrition Work for Preschool Children, which provides one of the first descriptions of the activities of nutrition workers on behalf of preschool children.
The American Child Health Association expands its scope of interest to include nutrition.

Years: 1930-1939:

1930 - Nutrition is a major concern of the 1930 White House Conference, which focuses on child growth and development.
1935 - Nationwide food consumption survey is initiated by the USDA.
1935 - Title V of the Social Security Act is passed and provides for three grant-in-aid programs, Maternal and Child Health, Crippled Children's Services, and Child Welfare. Nutrition positions are established in state health agencies and progressively increase in number as a result of the availability of Title V funds.
1936 - The Children's Bureau employs its first nutrition consultant, Marjorie Heseltine. She provides national leadership and is a pioneer in the development of nutrition services in maternal and child health.
1939 - Emergency relief and food assistance for people in need receive high priority, and the Food Stamp Program is created.

Years:1940-1949:

1940 - The 4th White House Conference on Children addresses problems of nutrition and includes nutrition services among its recommendations.
1941 - The National Nutrition Conference results in the development of Recommended Dietary Allowances.
1941 - A second nutritionist, Helen Stacey, is added to the staff of the Children's Bureau.
1943 - Graduate Training Programs in Public Health Nutrition are developed and Title V funds are made available for a nutrition training program.
1946 - The National School Lunch Program is established.

Years: 1950-1959:

The Children's Bureau develops workshops on nutrition and diet in relation to mental retardation to upgrade the knowledge and skills of nutrition personnel in this area and provide a basis for the planning and development of nutrition services.
The Indian Health Service, Public Health Service, establishes a nutrition unit to expand and improve nutrition services to Native Americans and Alaska natives.
Nutrition Practices: A Guide for Public Health Administrators is published by the American Public Health Association.

Years:1960-1969:

1964 - The Head Start Program is established and includes a nutrition component.
1964 - Dietary consultation services in states continue to expand (e.g., New Jersey surveys feeding practices in a sample of pediatric units of hospitals).
1966 - The Child Nutrition Act is passed and expands food programs for children.
1967 - Title V funds support establishment of an intensive course in pediatric nutrition to upgrade knowledge and skills of nutrition practitioners.
1968 - Supplementary Food Programs for Low Income Groups Vulnerable to Malnutrition are initiated by the USDA .

Years: 1970-1979:

1972 - The Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is established as an adjunct to health care.
1977 - The Nutrition Education and Training Program is established.
1978 - Guide for Developing Nutrition Services in Community Health Programs is published.
1978 - The Child Care Food Program becomes a permanent program and serves child care centers, settlement houses, recreation centers, institutions for the handicapped, and other group care facilities.

USDA’s Nutrition Timeline 1976- 2000
(Reprinted with permission of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The timeline appears online.

1976
SuperSlurper patented, a combination of starch and a synthetic chemical that absorbs hundreds of times its own weight in water.
Beef Research and Information Act passed.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act repealed Homestead Act and many other land laws.Propagated bovine leukemia virus in cell culture.
Daws soft white winter wheat released; outstanding cold hardiness.
Citrus black fly eradicated using lab-reared parasites as biocontrol agents.
Designed, built, and operated a prototype system to continuously process raw cotton stock into yarn.
Crystalline sugar produced from sweet sorghum.
Atlantic potato released; number one Propagated chipping variety.
Controlled alligator weed in the southeastern U.S. using biological control.
Developed rapid, nondestructive technique for determining quality of forages used as feed for livestock, using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy.
1977
Methods developed to determine exact sequence of DNA.
Demonstrated the stability of the transmissible mink encephalopathy agent.
Developed practice of spraying calcium chloride or calcium nitrate on unsprayed fruit to reduce blemishes.
Discovered direct relationship between Neotyphodium coenophialum fungus in fescue and disease in cattle.
1978
United States declared free of hog cholera Cryotherapy proved in treating malignant cancer in successful animals.
Developed technique to accurately measure vitamin D2 in plants, vitamin D3 in animals and their 11 metabolites.
1979
Smallpox eliminated, the only microbial disease ever completely defeated.
Sunburst tangerine released.

Years: 1980 -1990:

Lactase enzymes evaluated; provided basis for lactose-reduced dairy products.
Supreme Court ruled that microbes created by genetic engineering could be patented.
Term "transgenic" coined to describe mice that carried a new, recently introduced gene.
NW-63 small red bean released; most widely grown small red cultivar in the U.S.
Discovered that peroxide dissolves lignin in crop residue so that the digestive bacteria in livestock can reach the cellulose fibers.
System developed to hold, transport, and deliver broilers and turkeys from the farm to the processing plant.
Developed vacuum infusion process by removing citrus peel from fresh fruit.
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act passed.
CREAMS:A Field Scale Model for Chemicals, Runoff, and Erosion From Agricultural Management Systems published.
Eurasian pine adelgid in Hawaii controlled using biological control.
Marshall hard red spring wheat released.
Nosema locustae became the first protozoan registered as a microbial insecticide in the U.S.
1981
Foot-and-mouth disease vaccine developed; first effective subunit vaccine for any animal or human disease using gene splicing.
Isolated antitumor agent sesbanimide from coffee bean seeds.
Developed method for vaccinating chicks against Marek's disease through the eggshell, demonstrating for the first time that resistance to disease could be established by that method.
Determined that locoweed poisoning, in combination with high altitudes, could cause congestive heart failure in cattle.
Discovered plasmids that could be used to breed plants with desirable traits.
Cablegation developed; an automatic surface irrigation system that uses gravity to deliver water.
Columbia root-knot nematode discovered.
Lemhi Russet released; out yields Russet Burbank.
Developed techniques for the first commercial application of nematodes for control of carpenter worm in commercial fig orchards in California.
1982
New infectious agent, "prions," discovered; proposed as cause of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases.
Genetically engineered human insulin produced.
First genetically engineered crop plant developed (tomato).
Developed the tree-banding technique used by homeowners to prevent gypsy moth caterpillars from crawling up tree trunks.
1983
Polymerase chain reaction devised; replicates large quantities of DNA from a small initial sample.
Discovered "jumping genes," or moveable genetic elements.
Lemont rice released; one of leading varieties grown in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Controlled alfalfa blotch-leaf miner in the eastern U.S. using biological control.
1984
First transgenic farm animals born (sheep and pigs).
Tracheal mite found in honeybees.
Alginate gels and granules from seaweed used to encapsulate chemical or biological pesticides.
Bozoisky Russian wild rye released; dominant variety in the West.
Hycrest released; first inter-specific hybrid of crested wheatgrass.
1985
Food Security Act established Conservation Reserve Program for highly erodible lands.
DNA fingerprinting invented.
Hole in Earth's ozone shield discovered over Antarctica.
Chester thornless blackberry released; predominant blackberry of its type in the world.
Discovered rubisco activase; protein responsible for action of rubisco.
Discovered that chemicals produced by aquatic microorganisms, geosmin and BIV, cause off-flavors in catfish.
1986
Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) established; the world's most comprehensive database of agriculturally important plants.
Starch-encapsulation technique for pesticides developed.
Federal Technology Transfer Act passed.
First genetically engineered vaccine licensed by USDA, for pseudorabies in swine.
Synthesized pheromone from the papaya fruit fly as the first environmentally safe lure for females.
Discovered hormone PTTH that controls growth and molting in gypsy moth.
Discovered that pyrrolizidine alkaloids--natural chemicals found in hundreds of plants--kill livestock by causing cumulative and irreversible damage to the liver.
Isolated and characterized the structure of insect neuropeptides.
Othello pinto beans released; dominated acreage in the U.S. and Canada from 1988 to 1997.
Developed sunflower hybrids that produce oil several times higher in oleic acid than traditional sunflower oil; provided genetic material to industry to create NuSun hybrids.
Conducted studies that led to Bacillus thuringiensis registration as the first microbial insecticide for use on stored grain.
1987
Developed Fast Africanized Bee Identification System (FABIS) to distinguish European honeybees from Africanized honeybees.
First 100-percent soybean ink developed in four colors.
Released germplasm lines of sunflower with genetic resistance to all known races of downy mildew.
Developed microinjection technique to move a whole chromosome into a single cell of another plant.
Discovered that boron is a nutritionally necessary trace mineral.
Fallglo tangerine released; Sunburst and Fallglo comprise most of the early season tangerine market in Florida.
1988
Virus genes transferred to chickens to impart resistance to avian leukosis virus.
First authorized release of genetically altered bacteria outdoors.
Varroa mites found in Wisconsin.
First patent for genetically engineered animal issued.
Madsen soft white winter wheat released; first winter wheat variety in the U.S. with resistance to strawbreaker foot rot.
Discovered that lactose significantly reduced Salmonella bacteria in infected chickens.
Proved that antibiotics produced by soil bacteria responsible for take-all decline.
Developed anaplasma probe used to detect infected ticks.
Fortune plum released.
Sparkleberry holly released.
Created first relatively inexpensive and safe soil monolith collection procedure for 70+ milligram soil monoliths for lysimeters.
1890 Initiative by USDA
1989
Successfully separated living sperm into male- and female-producing batches.
Water Erosion Prediction Project model developed.
Waldo trailing blackberry released; first thornless trailing blackberry.
Identified a new parasite, Neospora caninum, as a cause of birth defects in cattle and sheep.
Isolated and cloned gene that triggers production of ACC synthase; modified gene to block ethylene production and delay ripening of tomatoes.
Ambersweet released; the first orange created by hybridization and selection.
Discovered the hormone that controls sex pheromone production in moths.
Bounty peach released.
Blackhawk black bean released; the first bean completely resistant to anthracnose. 1990
Oatrim fat replacer for food developed from soluble oat fiber and natural enzymes.
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act passed.
Technique developed to grow taxol-producing cells in tissue culture.
Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act passed.
Africanized honeybees entered the U.S.
Demonstrated that genes could be infected using a commercially available inoculation device dubbed "gene gun"
Developed test to rapidly diagnose citrus blight. 1991
Rely soft white club wheat released; main club wheat cultivar in the U.S. since 1996.
Ranger Russet potato released.
Discovered first-ever homeobox—region of a gene that enables it to control other genes—in plants.
Patented new soybean inoculant--live, nitrogen-fixing bacteria--that increased soybean yield up to 2.9 bushels per acre.
Shasta viburnum released.
Diana hibiscus released.

Years: 1992-1999:

1992
Entire sequence of one out of 16 chromosomes of a yeast identified.
Generated molecular probes to detect citrus canker disease.
SoilGardTM, the first commercial biocontrol agent for soil-borne diseases, developed in cooperation with industry.
Identified and cloned genes responsible for antibiotic production in soil bacteria responsible for take-all decline.
First sensitive and specific test for Babesia equii antibody developed.
Patented test to differentiate strains of citrus tristeza; a virus that can kill trees. Eskimo viburnum released.
Galaxy magnolia released.
1993
First genetic map of blueberry constructed.
Developed paper from chicken feathers.
Showed that deficiency in either selenium or vitamin E can trigger a mutation in a normal benign human virus; first report of a specific nutritional deficiency permitting a nonvirulent virus to become virulent.
Discovered that latex from guayule does not contain the allergens found in latex from the Brazilian rubber tree.
Potomac pear released.
Developed remote-sensing technology to measure surface soil moisture, temperature, and other landscape characteristics.
1994
Fantesk invented; an inseparable mixture of starch and oil.
Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) method of measuring antioxidant capacity automated.
Developed method to genetically modify Brucella abortus Strain 19, to differentiate between naturally infected and vaccinated animals.
First genetic linkage maps of cattle and swine constructed.
First sensitive and specific test developed for malignant catharrhal fever in sheep.
Black emerald grapes released.
1995
First complete genome sequence of a microorganism described.
Little Giant processing blueberry released.
Conducted extensive outdoor tests with PAM, polyacrylamide powder, showing its efficacy in preventing irrigation water from carrying away soil particles as the water flows down a furrow and leading to widespread use.
First two postharvest biofungicides registered with EPA—ASPIRE and BIO-SAVE 11—based on ARS research.
Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation completed. Valley Forge and New Harmony elm trees released; tolerant to Dutch elm disease.
Experimentally infected cattle with transmissible mink encephalopathy and scrapie agents.
Dwelley, Sanford, and Myles chickpeas released; resistant to ascochyta blight.
1996
Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act passed.
Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act passed.
Isolated and developed DNA test to identify bacterium that caused swine diarrhea.
First sensitive and specific test for anaplasmosis antibody in cattle developed.
1997
Cloned a plant-derived gene for resistance to a plant virus, the "N" gene.
"Dolly" cloned from an udder cell of an adult sheep.
Phytoplasma discovered as the infectious cause of commercially desirable free-branching growth habit in poinsettia.
Developed technique for large-scale extraction of limonoid glucosides from citrus. Trailblazer alfalfa released.
1998
Bacterial microbe mixture PREEMPT developed for competitive exclusion of Salmonella.
Method developed to recycle chromium-containing solid waste from leather production.
First genetically engineered vaccine for shipping fever in cattle developed.
First effective lure for German yellowjacket and golden paper wasps developed.
Discovered that dogs are a definitive host for Neospora.
First sensitive and specific test to detect Babesia caballi antibody in horses developed.
Gene-based test for Johne's disease in cattle developed.
Bluebyrd plum released.
1999
Executive Order 13112 on Invasive Species signed.
Modified live-bacterium fish vaccine approved; protects young channel catfish against enteric septicemia.

Years: 2000-Present:

2000
First DNA sequencing of a plant genome, the flowering mustard Arabidopsis thaliana. ARS one of a three-member U.S. team.
Pierce’s disease first discovered in U.S.
First cloned transgenic animal produced that carries a gene designed to enhance the health and well-being of the animal. This cow has the potential to produce an enzyme that destroys mastitis-causing bacteria.
Nutrim, obtained from the thermo-mechanical processing of oats, developed and patented as a commercial soluble oat fiber nutraceutical.
First pathogenic bacterium identified that does not need or use iron. The bacterium causes Lyme disease in humans.
Demonstrated that pure prion proteins can trigger normal proteins to change shape and become infectious.
Molecular technique developed that will enable researchers to induce mutations in the Marek's disease herpes virus genome, called overlapping cosmid clone library (OCCL).
First soybeans with complete nematode resistance developed.
The major human allergen in soybean seed suppressed by sequence-mediated gene silencing in transgenic soybeans.
Green Dixie, the first green blackeye-type southernpea, released.
Biomass Research and Development Act.
ARS-imported Russian honey bees transferred to the U.S. honey bee industry, resulting in honey bees resistant to parasitic mites.
Food Safety Initiative, modified food safety inspections to decrease food-borne illnesses.
Chemicals that induce an otherwise healthy plant to form a tumor to resist infection--called bruchins--discovered.
First molecular map of the ribosome, the cell's essential protein factory, completed.

Now it's up to you or your friends and family members to create the research for the next decade of 2010-2020 and beyond. How about inventing a device that video records forests so fires may be prevented? Oh that's right, a teenager has developed this invention and is on the way toward becoming a scientist. What's next? It's your turn to add to the time line with knowledge backed by wisdom.