We often regard food and water as the fundamental sources of nourishment—essential fuel for our bodies and minds. Yet today, these vital resources have been weaponized, exploited by corporate and political systems. From the processed foods on our plates to the fluoridated water we consume, the very substances we depend on for life are actively undermining our physical and mental health. This chapter will delve into the mechanisms of this manipulation, highlighting how corporate influence shapes our diets and hydration. We will uncover the connections between these practices and a larger system that profits from our dependence on unhealthy choices, driving us into the arms of another colossal industry: Big Pharma.
How the Food We Eat Affects Our Brain and Body
The connection between diet and health is undeniable, and the reality goes far deeper than simple nutrition. The food industry, driven by convenience and profit, has engineered products that harm our bodies. Processed foods, packed with sugars, unhealthy fats, and artificial chemicals, are designed to be addictive and cost-effective rather than nutritious.
This manipulation is no accident. One of the most troubling connections comes from Philip Morris, a company notorious for manufacturing highly addictive cigarettes. When regulation and public awareness made it harder to market tobacco products, Philip Morris shifted to food. The company bought Kraft Foods and General Foods and leveraged its expertise in addiction to develop processed foods consumers could not resist. Using similar techniques, such as engineered flavors, strategic marketing, and targeted additives, the company transitioned from selling cigarettes to selling food. The same principles that hooked people on nicotine were applied to everyday products, with devastating effects on public health.
Seen through this lens, the food industry’s practices are not only about profit; they are about control. This chapter explores how corporations like Philip Morris have shaped our diets and health in ways that prioritize their bottom line. By filling our lives with selectively engineered foods, they create cycles of dependency that are hard to break, much like tobacco once did.
Lobbying, Subsidies, and Ads: How Processed Foods Rose
The rise of processed foods in America traces back to the Great Depression. During that crisis, the U.S. government created agricultural subsidies to stabilize the food supply and keep farmers afloat. The intent was noble. The downstream effects were profound.
Today, corn, soy, and wheat dominate American agriculture, not because they are the most nutritious crops, but because policy made them the most profitable. What began as a safety net evolved into an industrial complex that favors yield and shelf life over human health.
In the 1970s, soaring food prices created a perfect storm. With cheap corn flooding the market, manufacturers needed an outlet. As sugar prices climbed, scientists sought a low-cost alternative and delivered high fructose corn syrup. HFCS quickly became a go-to sweetener for food makers because it was inexpensive and versatile. It infiltrated everything from sodas to sauces and turned countless products into sugar-dense staples. At the same time, most American corn shifted to genetically modified varieties, raising long-term questions about health and ecology. Corporate profits rose. So did obesity and chronic disease.
Around the same period, the dairy industry hit pay dirt. Under President Jimmy Carter, new subsidy policies attempted to rein in milk prices after a steep rise. Farmers ramped up output and converted excess milk into cheese, butter, and powder to capture subsidy dollars. At one point, the U.S. government held roughly 500 million pounds of surplus dairy across dozens of states, which led to the distribution of about 300 million pounds of “government cheese” to low-income families. It met an immediate need and left a cultural imprint.
In 1992, the USDA Food Pyramid arrived. Marketed as clear guidance for healthy eating, it became a lever for dairy, grain, and meat interests that lobbied heavily. Despite mounting evidence for more balanced approaches, official recommendations leaned toward overconsumption of subsidized staples. The result was generational: a system that shaped habits, misinformed millions, and still echoes today.
One of the pyramid’s worst errors was its emphasis on carbohydrates, recommending six to eleven servings of grains per day without distinguishing whole grains from refined starches. The guidance encouraged blood sugar spikes, fat storage, and a cascade of metabolic illness. The algorithm of control embedded in policy only tightened, ensuring corporate interests stayed centered in official advice.
Then came a marketing masterstroke. In 1993, the dairy industry launched “Got Milk?” The slogan did more than sell cartons. Paired with the pyramid’s messaging, it cemented milk as a health pillar just as subsidies ended and consumption declined. Celebrity endorsements and cultural icons embedded the belief that milk was essential for strong bones and general health, even as research increasingly questioned those claims and as large portions of the population, particularly minorities, were lactose intolerant or allergic.
The meat industry was not idle. A few firms consolidated control of processing, pushed prices, and reaped record profits. Their lobbying spend climbed, their subsidies accumulated, and federal dietary language shifted from “decrease consumption of meat” in the late 1970s to “two to three daily servings” in later guidance. Money talked, and policy walked.
The “Farm Bill” became a lobbying magnet. Hundreds of millions of dollars were deployed between 2019 and 2023 alone, with steady year-over-year growth. These groups began lobbying the day the last bill passed. When companies can purchase influence, the public is right to ask whether the science follows the money.
Even the organic label has not escaped capture. Large operations lobbied to soften rules, diluting standards and confusing consumers. What once signaled a clear alternative now requires vigilance to interpret.
The revolving door between industry and government cements these outcomes. Former officials enter lucrative corporate roles and return to regulate their old clients. Agencies intended to guard the public lose independence when careers hinge on pleasing the entities they oversee. The FDA and USDA were built to protect. In practice, their decisions often reflect the interests of the largest players in the system.
Consider Thomas Vilsack. After service in Iowa politics and two terms as Secretary of Agriculture, he became President of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, then returned to lead the USDA again. The pattern is familiar across sectors such as food, pharma, oil, and finance. The names change. The incentives do not.
We will revisit this pattern as we turn to Monsanto. The problem is not only on our plates. It is in our policies, our courts, our hospitals, and our communities.
Monsanto’s Legacy: From Lab to Plate
Few companies are as controversial as Monsanto, known for genetically modified seeds and for herbicides such as glyphosate. Its record includes products and practices implicated in environmental damage and public health concerns.
Michael R. Taylor illustrates the revolving door. He served at the FDA and USDA, moved to private practice, became a Monsanto vice president for public policy, and returned to the FDA. During his government tenure in the 1990s, key GMO policies took shape, including marketing with minimal safety testing or labeling requirements. The outcome was predictable. Corporate control of seeds expanded, patents tightened, and farmers became dependent on an annual purchase cycle.
“Roundup Ready” crops, engineered to tolerate glyphosate, allowed heavy herbicide use without killing the plant. The combination of patented seed and chemical created a lock-in effect. Meanwhile, Roundup litigation uncovered internal documents, now known as “The Monsanto Papers,” that detailed ghostwritten studies, pressure on regulators, and campaigns to discredit independent findings such as the IARC classification of glyphosate as a carcinogen. Thousands of plaintiffs with non-Hodgkin lymphoma won verdicts or settlements, and the company, now under Bayer, faced billions in liabilities.
Aspartame adds another thread. Discovered in 1965 by G.D. Searle, later acquired by Monsanto, the sweetener was controversial for years. Donald Rumsfeld, then Searle’s CEO, used political capital to push approval in 1981 after a long period of FDA resistance. Debate over neurological and metabolic effects continues while the product remains widely used.
Internationally, the human costs extend beyond courtrooms. In India, GMO cotton adoption coincided with cycles of debt and crop failure for many smallholder farmers, contributing to a tragic wave of suicides over several decades. Patented, non-replantable seed and expensive inputs magnified risk in fragile economic conditions.
Monsanto’s 2018 merger with Bayer concentrated power across agriculture and medicine. When a company accused of causing harm merges with a company that profits from treating the resulting diseases, people notice. It is not fiction. It is a business model.
Fluoride in the Water: A Problem Hiding in Plain Sight
Fluoride was introduced into public water systems in the 1940s to reduce tooth decay. Its industrial origins and the lobbying that supported its adoption complicate the story. Fluoride is a neurotoxin at high doses, and concerns remain about cumulative exposure, developing brains, and long-term effects. Many countries proceed cautiously. The United States largely stayed the course. When a former industrial waste stream becomes a daily exposure, skepticism is not paranoia. It is prudence.
Factory Farms: Consolidation, Contamination, and Costs
Corporations such as Tyson, Perdue, and JBS dominate U.S. meat. Their reach is national, their influence is legislative, and their practices shape the food system. Crowded conditions require antibiotics to keep animals alive long enough to slaughter, which contributes to antibiotic resistance, a crisis that causes millions of infections every year. Growth hormones and rapid weight-gain protocols reshape animal biology and raise concerns about puberty timing and cancer risk in humans.
Pathogens thrive in crowded facilities. E. coli and salmonella contamination routinely triggers recalls. Independent testing has found alarming rates of salmonella in retail chicken. Meanwhile, “Ag-Gag” laws criminalize filming and whistleblowing at farms, “Right to Farm” statutes shield operations from nuisance suits, and exemptions from environmental and animal welfare laws reduce accountability.
The Teflon Story: C8 and the Forever-Chemical Problem
C8, or PFOA, used in Teflon production, is a “forever chemical.” It resists breakdown, bioaccumulates, and has been linked to cancers, liver damage, and reproductive harm. Communities along the Ohio River learned this firsthand when water supplies were contaminated. Litigation pried loose internal documents and secured compensation, but chemicals do not obey court orders. They linger in bodies and ecosystems, sometimes for generations.
Microplastics: The Silent Invasion
Plastic, once celebrated for convenience, now appears everywhere. Microplastics have been detected in air, food, blood, and even brain tissue. These particles can cross the blood-brain barrier, trigger inflammation, and carry endocrine-disrupting chemicals that interfere with development and fertility. They accumulate up the food chain and entangle entire ecosystems. The algorithm of convenience pushes single-use plastic; the bill arrives as chronic exposure.
Breaking Free: Reclaiming Health in a System Built for Control
Convenience has a cost. The food we consume reflects systems designed to shape choices without our full awareness. Transparency and accountability are not luxuries. They are survival tools.
Advocate for stronger standards. Demand safer materials and clear labels. Support practices that prioritize soil health, animal welfare, and clean water. Hold corporations responsible for the harms they externalize. Learn how to read studies, look for absolute risks, and follow the funding. Share what you learn with neighbors and family. Boycotts and coordinated purchasing work. The first step is to understand. The second is to organize. The final step is to act.
We do not have to be passive targets of a predatory food economy. Armed with knowledge, we can change how we eat and how we regulate. Small individual choices add up. Collective action moves policy. The power is ours. The question is when we choose to use it.
The Algorithm of Control 