History of National Junk Food Day
Upon searching for the history behind this food filled day, we found no information on the origin of this day. It was most likely created by a diet conscious individual or group who desired to eat junk food, without guilt, at least one day a year, sounds like a great idea to me.
For it to become a “national” day it requires an act of congress. I don’t mind celebrating it anyway.
But, what about junk food? When did this start to come into our lives? Well, this coincides with the advent of packaged foods throughout the late 1900s. Of course, for decades, home-cooked meals were still the standard. However, after WW2, junk food really started to take off.
The population was traveling more and eating out more, and this resulted in fast food chains and the frozen food aisle really taking off.
There were so many different foods for people to choose from. However, it was not until the 1970s that junk food started to get a bad name.
This was when microbiologist, Michael Jacobson, actually coined the phrase. His aim was to try and curb our appetite for high preservative, high salt, and high sugar foods, which we were eating at a worrying rate.
Since then, there has been more knowledge and information about junk food, and a lot of food manufacturers have tried to make healthy versions of the junk food that we love the most!
Nevertheless, if you have junk food now and again yet you generally maintain a healthy diet, it should not do you any harm! After all, we all deserve a treat now and again, right?