June 12, 2024 • 57min

BTC186: Fiat Food & Bitcoin w/ Matthew Lysiak (Bitcoin Podcast)

We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network

In this episode of the Bitcoin Fundamentals podcast, host Preston Pysh interviews investigative journalist Matthew Lysiak about his book "Fiat Food" which explores the history of fiat food policies, corporate interests in the food industry, and how monetary policy has impacted nutrition in America. Lysiak, known for his work with the New York Daily News, discusses how his background in investigative journalism allowed him to uncover the complex web of interests that have shaped American dietary guidelines and food policies over the past century.

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Key Takeaways

The history of fiat food policies reveals a complex interplay between government, industry, and religious interests that have shaped the American diet over decades
Influential figures like Ansel Keys played a major role in promoting flawed nutritional science that demonized saturated fat and promoted processed foods
The shift to fiat currency in 1971 incentivized the government to alter the food supply to obscure rising food costs due to inflation
Corporate interests, particularly from the seed oil industry, have heavily influenced nutritional guidelines and research to promote their products
Many nutrition studies are observational and cannot prove causation, yet are used to make sweeping dietary recommendations
The food industry and government have engaged in a decades-long "gaslighting campaign" to change American eating habits away from nutrient-dense whole foods
Modern processed foods and dietary guidelines have likely contributed to declining metabolic and cognitive health
Bitcoin and hard currencies could help solve the issue by removing the incentive for governments to distort the food supply

Introduction

In this episode of the Bitcoin Fundamentals podcast, host Preston Pysh interviews investigative journalist Matthew Lysiak about his book "Fiat Food" which explores the history of fiat food policies, corporate interests in the food industry, and how monetary policy has impacted nutrition in America. Lysiak, known for his work with the New York Daily News, discusses how his background in investigative journalism allowed him to uncover the complex web of interests that have shaped American dietary guidelines and food policies over the past century.

Topics Discussed

Lysiak's Background and Motivation (1:17)

Matthew Lysiak explains his background as an investigative reporter for two decades, primarily with the New York Daily News. He describes how his personal health struggles as a child, including obesity and cancer, sparked his interest in nutrition. Lysiak was inspired to write "Fiat Food" after reading Saifedean Ammous' chapter on food in "The Fiat Standard," which led him to investigate the claims further.

Lysiak's experience as an investigative journalist allowed him to uncover hidden connections and motivations in food policy
Personal health struggles as a child following government dietary guidelines motivated his interest in nutrition
Reading Saifedean Ammous' work inspired deeper investigation into fiat food policies

The Influence of Ansel Keys (10:25)

Lysiak discusses the pivotal role of Ansel Keys in shaping American nutritional guidelines, particularly his promotion of the diet-heart hypothesis that demonized saturated fat.

Ansel Keys was not a trained nutritionist, but became the leading voice in nutrition science in the mid-20th century
Keys promoted the idea that saturated fat caused heart disease, despite lack of evidence
The Minnesota Coronary Survey, a major study led by Keys, was suppressed for decades when it failed to support his hypothesis
Keys' work was heavily influenced by funding from the sugar industry and other corporate interests

Government Involvement in Food Policy (19:19)

The podcast explores how the U.S. government became heavily involved in shaping food policy, particularly after the Nixon administration decoupled the dollar from gold in 1971.

The government recognized that rising food prices could lead to political instability
After 1971, there was a concerted effort to change the American diet to obscure the effects of inflation on food prices
Massive subsidies were directed to corn, soy, and sugar industries to lower the cost of processed foods
Earl Butz, Nixon's Secretary of Agriculture, played a key role in reshaping American agriculture and diet

Corporate Interests and Seed Oils (29:19)

Lysiak details how corporate interests, particularly the seed oil industry, have shaped American dietary habits and nutritional guidelines since the late 19th century.

Procter & Gamble's efforts to market cottonseed oil as food in the 1880s marked the beginning of industrial seed oil consumption
The creation of the Nutrition Foundation by industry to produce favorable studies and influence media narratives
How seed oils, originally industrial waste products, were marketed as healthier alternatives to traditional fats

The Role of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (31:40)

The podcast discusses the surprising influence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on American dietary guidelines and the food industry.

Ellen G. White's visions and beliefs about diet shaped the church's approach to nutrition
John Harvey Kellogg, a Seventh-day Adventist, invented corn flakes as part of a broader agenda to reduce libido through diet
The church's influence extended to the creation of the American Dietetic Association and government nutritional institutions

The Impact of Fiat Currency on Food Policy (36:22)

Lysiak explains how the shift to fiat currency in 1971 dramatically altered the government's approach to food policy and subsidies.

The ability to print unlimited money allowed for massive subsidies to certain agricultural sectors
Government grants were directed towards institutions like Loma Linda University to produce studies supporting plant-based diets
The change in monetary policy coincided with a significant shift in American eating habits, including a dramatic reduction in red meat consumption

Modern Nutritional Guidelines and Their Flaws (37:48)

The discussion covers how modern nutritional guidelines, such as the food pyramid and more recent recommendations, have been influenced by flawed science and corporate interests.

The 1992 Food Pyramid recommended 6-11 servings of grains daily, dramatically altering American diets
School lunch programs were required to follow these guidelines, potentially compromising children's health
Recent guidelines like the Tufts Food Compass bizarrely rank processed cereals as healthier than whole foods like eggs

The Cholesterol Myth and Nutritional Misinformation (46:20)

Pysh and Lysiak discuss the persistent myth about dietary cholesterol and eggs, and how nutritional misinformation becomes entrenched.

The idea that dietary cholesterol leads directly to high blood cholesterol is not supported by current science
A press release under Lyndon Johnson demonizing eggs to lower prices has had lasting effects on public perception
The importance of looking at the health of those giving nutritional advice, rather than just their credentials

The Potential of Bitcoin to Solve Food Policy Issues (54:56)

The episode concludes with a discussion on how Bitcoin and hard currencies could potentially solve many of the issues in food policy by changing incentive structures.

A hard currency would remove the government's incentive to distort the food supply to hide inflation
Bitcoin's decentralized nature makes it resistant to confiscation, unlike gold
Every Bitcoin purchase is seen as a small act against the fiat system that enables food supply distortions
Encouraging listeners to support local farmers and use Bitcoin when possible to gradually end market distortions

Conclusion

Matthew Lysiak's investigation into the history of fiat food policies reveals a complex web of government, corporate, and religious interests that have dramatically shaped the American diet over the past century. The shift to fiat currency in 1971 created perverse incentives for the government to alter the food supply, leading to a "gaslighting campaign" that promoted processed foods and demonized traditional nutrient-dense foods. The influence of figures like Ansel Keys and institutions like the Seventh-day Adventist Church have had lasting impacts on nutritional science and dietary guidelines.

The podcast highlights how many nutrition studies are observational and cannot prove causation, yet are used to make sweeping dietary recommendations. Corporate interests, particularly from the seed oil industry, have heavily influenced nutritional guidelines and research to promote their products. This has likely contributed to declining metabolic and cognitive health in the population.

Lysiak argues that Bitcoin and hard currencies could help solve these issues by removing the incentive for governments to distort the food supply to hide inflation. The episode encourages listeners to think critically about nutritional advice, consider the health of those giving the advice, and to experiment with traditional, nutrient-dense diets. Ultimately, the discussion emphasizes the importance of personal autonomy in health decisions and the potential for decentralized currencies to positively impact food policy and public health.