Chemistry's role in food production and sustainability: past and present

Chemistry’s Role in Food Production and Sustainability: Past and Present......Page 2
 Chemistry’s Role in Food Production and Sustainability: Past and Present......Page 4
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data......Page 5
Foreword......Page 6
Guilt by Association: Can Chemists Lead the Way Out of the Nutritional Advice Wilderness?......Page 8
Subject Index......Page 9
Part I. Setting the Context......Page 10
 Setting the Context......Page 12
 Is the “Safety Net” Safe?......Page 13
  Figure 1. Kaliapparat of Justus von Liebig (left), photograph courtesy of Roger Rea; American Chemical Society logo with a stylized kaliapparat (right). Reproduced with permission from the American Chemical Society.......Page 14
 Government Regulation of Food Additives......Page 15
 Fertilizers......Page 16
 Nutrition and Diet......Page 17
  Figure 2. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s dining advice 34 was geared precisely toward maintaining one’s physical and mental well-being. National Library of Medicine Digital Collection.......Page 18
 Teaching about Food......Page 19
 Food and the Future......Page 20
 References......Page 21
 Mission of the United States Department of Agriculture......Page 26
 Research, Education, and Extension for Food and Agriculture......Page 27
  Figure 2. Traditional research areas of the USDA. Image courtesy of the USDA National Agricultural Library Special Collections.......Page 28
  Figure 4. Soil health and conservation has always been part of the USDA mission. Image courtesy of the USDA National Agricultural Library Special Collections.......Page 29
 Food Security in the United States......Page 30
 Government, Academic, and Industry Partnerships......Page 31
 References......Page 32
Part II. Sustainability in the Past......Page 36
 Importance of Agricultural Development......Page 38
 The Greatest Breakthroughs in Agricultural History......Page 39
  Figure 1. Antique illustration of a seed drill. Image credit: iStock.com.......Page 40
 The 19th Century......Page 41
  Figure 4. Cyrus Hall McCormick (1809–1884). Image credit: iStock.com.......Page 42
 The 20th Century......Page 43
 Other Developments......Page 44
  Figure 6. Combined harvester and thresher. Photo courtesy of Kansas Historical Society.......Page 45
 Industrial Agriculture......Page 46
 Trends and Challenges......Page 47
 Sustainable Agriculture......Page 48
 Organic Agriculture......Page 49
 Herbicides......Page 50
 Insecticides......Page 51
 Conclusion......Page 52
 References......Page 53
 Early Medicinal Purposes for Salt......Page 56
 Salt as a Meat and Fish Preservative......Page 57
 Salt Mining: Ancient Times to the Present......Page 58
  Figure 2. Salt deposits on shores of the Dead Sea in Israel. Photo courtesy of M. V. Orna.......Page 59
  Figure 3. Salt-evaporation ponds at Maras, Peru, at approximately 3400 m elevation. Photo courtesy of Freeimages.com/Caetano Lacerda.......Page 60
 Trade Routes......Page 61
 Salt Taxes......Page 62
 Modern Use of Salt To De-ice Roads......Page 63
 Salt as a Nutrient......Page 64
  Figure 6. A Meissen porcelain salt cellar, gilt and hand-painted in underglaze blue. This piece is part of a large (approx. 200-piece) Meissen dinner set. Photo courtesy of a private upstate New York collection.......Page 65
 Commercial Varieties of Currently Available Salt......Page 66
  Figure 7. Close-up photo of Himalayan Pink Salt. Photo courtesy of the author.......Page 67
 References......Page 68
 Introduction......Page 72
 Phase 2: Early Centuries CE......Page 73
 Phase 3: 700 to 1500 CE. The Spread of Cane Sugar to the Medieval Islamic World......Page 74
 Phase 4: 16th to 18th Centuries. Sugarcane Cultivation and Manufacture  in the New World......Page 75
 Phase 5: 19th Century. Production of Sugar from Sugar Beets in Europe and the Introduction of Mechanization and Modern Processing Technology......Page 76
 Phase 6: 20th Century. High Fructose Corn Syrup and Other Artificial Sweeteneers......Page 77
 Phase 7: 21st Century. New Natural Sweeteners and Other Uses for Sugar......Page 79
  Figure 6. Illustration of the multifunctional uses of sugar in foods, beverages, and non-foods such as concrete production. See Eggleston et al. for more information on the uses of sugar 30.......Page 80
  Figure 7. Photograph of panela sold in powdered or cone form, which is a popular noncentrifuged sugar product produced in Latin America.......Page 81
 References......Page 82
 Introduction: The Poison Squad......Page 84
 Harvey Wiley: Pure Food and Public Health......Page 85
 Enforcement: The Battle for Public Opinion......Page 86
 Preservatives in Ketchup......Page 87
 Coca-Cola and Caffeine......Page 88
 Transitions: From Purity to Nutrition and Diet......Page 89
 Limiting Risks......Page 90
 References......Page 91
 Introduction......Page 94
 Adulteration of Foods—A Widespread Practice......Page 95
 Fredrick Accum, an Early Food Purity Pioneer......Page 96
  Figure 1. A cartoon by Thomas Rowlandson of Accum giving a chemical lecture before an audience at the Surrey Institution of London. The old man in the lower left-hand corner has a copy of “Accum’s Lectures” projecting from his coat pocket. Reproduced with permission from ref 21. Copyright 1925 American Chemical Society.......Page 97
  Figure 2. Title page of Accum’s “Treatise on Adulterations of Food.” This work, which passed through many editions in England, the United States, and various European countries, marked the beginning of the modern pure food movement. Reproduced with permission from ref 22. Copyright 1925 American Chemical Society.......Page 98
 William B. O’Shaughnessy—A Voice Crying in the Wilderness......Page 99
 Arthur Hill Hassall—Public Attention at Last......Page 100
  Figure 3. The table of contents for Arthur Hill Hassall’s Adulterations Detected, or Plain Instructions for the Discovery of Fraud in Food and Medicine, 2nd ed.; Longmans, Green, and Co.: London, 1876; pp vii–viii (ref 29).......Page 101
 The Physiological Effects of Heavy Metal Poisoning......Page 102
 The Advent of Aniline Dyes......Page 103
 The Advent of Synthetic Food Dye Regulation......Page 105
  Figure 4. Progressive legislation on the chopping block. Reproduced with permission from ref 51. Copyright 2005 Food and Drug Law Institute. Courtesy of S. W. Junod.......Page 106
  Figure 5. The canned food industry’s reaction to Wiley’s regulations. Reproduced with permission from ref 51. Copyright 2005 Food and Drug Law Institute. Courtesy of S. W. Junod.......Page 107
 Food Colorant Usage Comes Full Circle......Page 110
  Figure 7. Carmine, a metal chelate complex of carminic acid.......Page 112
 Of Labels—What’s in a Name?......Page 113
 References......Page 114
Alcoholic Beverages as the Universal Medicine before Synthetics......Page 120
 Setting the Stage for Archaeological Pharmaceutics......Page 122
 A Primate Love for Alcohol......Page 123
 The First Biotechnology......Page 124
 Ancient China: A Paradigmatic Example of Alcoholic Beverages  Being the Universal Medicine of Humankind......Page 126
  Figure 1. Early Neolithic jars, with high flaring necks and rims, from Jiahu (Henan province, China), ca. 6,000–5,500 B.C.E. Analyses by the author and his colleagues showed that such jars contained a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey, and fruit (hawthorn fruit and/or grape). (Photograph courtesy of J. Zhang, University of Science and Technology in China, and Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, nos. M252:1, M482:1, and M253:1 [left to right], height 20 cm [leftmost jar].)......Page 127
  Figure 2. Bronze you jar, which contained a medicinal rice beer that was still liquid when it was recovered in 1998 from the Changzikou tomb, dated ca. 1250–1000 B.C.E., in Luyi Country, eastern Henan Province. (Photograph courtesy of J. Zhang and Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Henan Province.)......Page 129
  Figure 3. Thermal desorption GC-MS analysis of lidded you jar from the Changzikou tomb. Chromatographic peaks a, b, and c are due to benzaldehyde, camphor, and α-cedrene, respectively. Possible wine-derived propanoic acid derivatives account for the two most intense peaks near 10 minutes. Other peaks correlate with ubiquitous environmental contaminants, especially phthalates.......Page 130
 References......Page 132
 Brief History of Fertilizers......Page 138
  Figure 2. Deutsches Museum replica of Justus von Liebig’s laboratory now dismantled. Photograph courtesy of Marie Sherman.......Page 139
  Figure 3. Synthesis of TSP, by Sir John Bennet Lawes and Sir Joseph Henry Gilbert.......Page 140
 Definition of a Fertilizer......Page 141
 Composition of Fertilizers......Page 142
  Figure 4. A typical fertilizer package label, Turf fertilizer 25-0-6. Photograph courtesy of Mary Virginia Orna.......Page 143
 Urea [(NH2)2CO]......Page 144
 Phosphorus (P)......Page 145
 Organic Fertilizers......Page 146
 Chemical Fertilizers......Page 147
 Eutrophication......Page 148
  Figure 7. The 2017 Gulf of Mexico dead zone, at 22,730 km2 (approximately the size of the state of New Jersey), is one of the largest ever measured in U.S. waters. Courtesy of N. Rabalais (LSU/LUMCON) and R.E. Turner (LSU). Funded by: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.......Page 149
 Risk Assessment and Fertilizer Regulation......Page 150
 References......Page 151
Part III. Sustainability in the Present......Page 156
 Introduction......Page 158
 New England Graham Flour......Page 159
 Gluten......Page 160
  Figure 2. A typical gliadin, the “culprit” that triggers celiac disease. Photo courtesy of M. V. Orna.......Page 161
 Milling......Page 162
 To Bleach or Not To Bleach......Page 163
 New Orleans Swans Down Cake Flour......Page 164
 Building Better Wheat......Page 165
 Biographical Information......Page 166
 References......Page 167
 Introduction......Page 170
  Figure 1. Chemistry in the headlines.......Page 171
 Food and Health......Page 172
 When the Sample Size is N = 1......Page 173
 Diabetes + Obesity = Diabesity Crisis......Page 174
 Meet a TOFI and a CRONie......Page 175
 The Chemistry of Metabolism......Page 176
 Beyond Science: From Dieting to the Role of Advertising and  “Sugar’s ‘Tobacco’ Moment”......Page 177
 The Science of Sugars......Page 179
  Figure 6. Cyclic and acylic forms of glucose and fructose. Glucose can cyclize to a 6-membered ring and fructose into a 5-membered ring.......Page 180
 Are You Eating Alone?......Page 181
 Is Fermentation the Latest Food Hype?......Page 182
  Figure 8. Examples of starch components amylose and amylopectin, as well as the resistant starch inulin.......Page 183
  Figure 9. Selected chemicals that stimulate the brain reward center; some are more addictive than others.......Page 185
  Figure 10. The way we eat and exercise can influence how our genes are expressed.......Page 187
  Figure 11. Cows belch methane gas.......Page 188
 Closing Remarks......Page 189
 References......Page 190
 Introduction......Page 196
 A Long History......Page 197
 Production versus Environment......Page 198
 Analysis of Honey......Page 199
 Analysis of Olive Oils......Page 200
 The Issue......Page 201
 Conclusion......Page 202
 References......Page 203
 Introduction......Page 206
  Figure 2. Projected land loss for coastal Louisiana over the next 50 years if no action is taken 4. Image courtesy of Coastal Master Plan.......Page 207
  Figure 3. Salt marsh areas have four times the ability to sequester carbon than neighboring nonmarshy areas 8. Image courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.......Page 208
 Conclusion......Page 209
 References......Page 210
 Early Food Cultivation......Page 212
 Genetic Modification......Page 213
 The Great GMO Debate 7......Page 214
 GMOs Cause Farmers To Over-Use Pesticides and Herbicides......Page 215
 Farmers Cannot Replant Genetically Modified Seeds......Page 216
 References......Page 217
 Background......Page 220
 Domestication of Plants and Animals......Page 221
 Food Storage......Page 222
 Endogenous Enzymes......Page 223
 Oxidation......Page 224
 Temperature, Time, and Humidity......Page 225
 Natural Substances......Page 226
 Glass Containers......Page 227
 Polymer-Based Packaging......Page 228
 Tamper-Resistant and Tamper-Evident Packaging......Page 229
 Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)......Page 230
  Figure 2. Physical model of a film barrier. Image courtesy of Mary Virginia Orna.......Page 231
 Radio Frequency Identification Tags......Page 232
 Unintended Consequences......Page 233
 References......Page 234
Part IV. Food and the Future......Page 238
 Understanding the Chemistry of “Natural” Food Ingredients......Page 240
 Developing More Advanced Analytical Techniques for Food......Page 241
 Conclusion......Page 243
 References......Page 244
 Gillian Eggleston......Page 248
 Alvin F. Bopp......Page 249
Indexes......Page 250
Author Index......Page 252
 F......Page 254
 N......Page 255
 U......Page 256
 W......Page 257