How cereal companies funded the research that shaped your morning routine for decades.

Sources & References

• "Breakfast is the most important meal" origin — 1944 Grape-Nuts campaign: General Foods "Eat a Good Breakfast — Do a Better Job" campaign. Documented in The Atlantic, Priceonomics, and multiple food history sources.
• John Harvey Kellogg / anti-masturbation cereal: Widely documented in Kellogg biographies and food history — Heather Arndt Anderson, "Breakfast: A History" (2013); Abigail Carroll, "The Invention of the American Meal."
• No evidence breakfast promotes weight loss — BMJ 2019 meta-analysis: Sievert K, Hussain SM, Page MJ, et al. "Effect of breakfast on weight and energy intake: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials." BMJ 2019;364:l42. Monash University, Melbourne.
• +260 calories/day for breakfast eaters: BMJ 2019 meta-analysis (above). Mean difference 259.79 kcal/day (95% CI 78.87 to 440.71).
• Breakfast skippers weighed ~1 lb less: BMJ 2019 meta-analysis (above). Mean difference 0.44 kg (95% CI 0.07 to 0.82).
• Dr. Flavia Cicuttini quote ("never made sense"): Nature Reviews Endocrinology, February 2019. Commentary on the BMJ meta-analysis.
• Tim Spector editorial on individual preferences: Linked BMJ editorial accompanying the 2019 meta-analysis.
• Kellogg-funded breakfast research: Vox investigation into breakfast research funding. Marion Nestle, Food Politics (NYU). Multiple documented instances of Kellogg-funded observational studies concluding breakfast aids weight management.
• General Mills / Kellogg cereal study — "interpretation bias": Marion Nestle, Food Politics — analysis of Bell Institute-funded cereal study with favorable spin on neutral results.
• Kellogg Breakfast Council ($13,000/year, contract terms): Associated Press investigation (2016), reported by STAT News. Dietitians paid, prohibited from working with competitors, required social media promotion.
• Kellogg Breakfast Council academic paper — edited by Kellogg employee: AP investigation (2016). Employee asked for removal of line about sugar limits being "too high."
• Kellogg lobbying USDA / FDA: Multiple reporting sources including My Health Forward, STAT News, and industry disclosures.
• Kellogg's lost UK court case: R (Kellogg Marketing and Sales Company) v Department of Health and Social Care. High Court ruled against Kellogg's challenge to food promotion restrictions. SPECTRUM Consortium analysis, 2022.
• Honey Smacks — 56% sugar by weight, more than a Twinkie: Environmental Working Group analysis of 84 children's cereals. Kellogg's Honey Smacks: 20g sugar vs. Twinkie: 18g sugar per serving.
• 44 children's cereals have more sugar than 3 Chips Ahoy cookies: EWG analysis (above).
• 10 lbs of sugar per year from daily cereal: EWG analysis of 1,556 cereals (2014). Based on actual serving sizes, not manufacturer-listed portions.
• Breakfast cereals = 5th highest source of added sugar in children under 8: EWG citing Reedy and Krebs-Smith 2010; Slining and Popkin 2013.
• Breakfast history (Romans, Native Americans, medieval Europe): Abigail Carroll, "The Invention of the American Meal"; Heather Arndt Anderson, "Breakfast: A History"; Caroline Yeldham (food historian).
• Global breakfast cereal market (~$58B+): Market research estimates, 2024–2025.
• Kellogg's $1.4B profit: Kellogg Company financial reports, 2019.