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Origin of Everything: Why Do We Eat Artificial Flavors?

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      (Describer) Logo: PBS Digital Studios. A woman with brown skin appears.

      [upbeat music]

      Every day, we see studies about the potential dangers and drawbacks of the artificial flavorings present in most processed foods. But the world has tons of naturally occurring flavors, so why did we ever start inventing fake ones?

      (Describer) "Origin of Everything." Danielle Bainbridge, wears braided hair.

      [upbeat music]

      As more and more Americans are trending away from foods with complex ingredient lists and more towards the growing organic-food craze, we wanted to ask about the artificial flavors that we've all come to love or hate because it seems like every few days, there's a news story about a company that promises to switch out the artificial ingredients in its products for more wholesome fare. So, we wanted to ask: If there are so many natural flavors in the world, then why, and when, did we start inventing fake ones? To get to the early beginnings of the fake-flavor craze, we have to start with a taste that's become so widespread, it's usually used as a synonym for "bland" or "ordinary"-- vanilla. Because it's the totally not-bland history of vanilla that actually led to the world of artificial flavors we're living in today. With over 18,000 products on the market using this signature flavor, it's safe to say that vanilla is pretty ubiquitous, especially in sweets. But natural vanilla can have prices ranging up to $300 a pound, second only to saffron as one of the world's most expensive spices. But today, natural vanilla accounts for less than 1% of the world's vanilla consumption, largely because harvesting vanilla beans is insane. Vanilla usage dates back to the pre-Columbian Maya and other Mesoamerican civilizations. After colonial contact, European settlers were infatuated with vanilla's fragrance and sweet taste. Vanilla plants only naturally grow 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the equator, and the pods that have the vanilla beans inside grow as a clinging vine, reaching lengths of up to 300 feet, and sprouts a flower four inches in diameter. The flower is only open for 24 hours, and has to be pollinated by Melipona bees. And, if it's not pollinated, it dies, and then: no vanilla. And cultivating natural vanilla is a highly specialized skill. So, after being introduced to Europe, the vanilla flowers wouldn't grow, 'cause, like we said, it's ridiculous, and European cultivators were stumped until Belgian horticulturalist Charles Morren speculated that the bees used to pollinate the vanilla flower weren't native to Europe. Then, in 1841, a 12-year-old enslaved boy named Edmond Albius from the Bourbon Islands developed the method for pollinating vanilla still used today. He found that the vanilla plant could be hand-pollinated either with a blade of grass or by gently using your thumb. The process helped increase vanilla production worldwide, but it was still time-consuming to do each one by hand. As the global demand for the tasty substance surpassed the amount that could be harvested naturally, in the latter half of the 19th century, scientists searched for an alternative and began chemically manufacturing vanillin-- a vanilla substitute that can be extracted from more readily available sources such as pine bark, wood pulp, and clove oil. This was one of the earliest examples that showed artificially produced flavors can help meet global demand and drive down costs. And this sparked a wave of manipulating flavors through science and industry. Today, about 99% of people consuming "vanilla" are using a substitute flavor that tastes pretty close to the genuine article, with some portion of that including extraction from natural vanilla beans. So, real vanilla was and is prohibitively expensive and challenging to harvest, leading to a huge market demand for more affordable vanilla stand-ins. But not every flavor is super expensive or out of reach for the average consumer, so that leads us to the next question: Why did the artificial-flavor market skyrocket, and why are we still eating them today? Well, according to Nadia Berenstein, a scholar who studies the history of fake flavors, the problem is multifaceted. The first problem is that agriculture now occurs year-round instead of seasonally to meet demands of consumers. So, this process sacrifices some flavor to save on costs. The second is that flavors added into the processed foods are designed to make them tastier and more crave-worthy. Because, let's face it-- if I asked you what topping you wanted on your movie-theater popcorn, butter or diacetyl, it's pretty obvious most people would pick the one that sounds, well, edible. But if you've ever made fresh popcorn with melted butter from your fridge, it's never quite the same. That's because, for most people, diacetyl is closer to the taste we imagine when we recall eating movie- theater popcorn with butter, even more so than the naturally churned stuff. When companies started mass-producing food in the 1920s, they had a hard time keeping all the products tasting the same since one batch of natural butter could use the milk from dozens of cows. And, when you're producing a product on a national scale, it has to taste pretty much the same every time so that consumers will be satisfied. Then Dutch scientists found that the chemical diacetyl produced that unique buttery flavor we most often associate with movie-theater popcorn and started adding it to fake butter and real butter alike. I mean, they found a way to make butter taste even more like butter. That's pretty insane. And this is most often the case with artificial flavors. They amplify the quality of tastes we enjoy to make them tastier. But sometimes, more off-beat artificial flavors don't always bear a strong resemblance to their natural namesakes, like fake grape. It definitely has a signature scent and taste, but it's not a direct replica of fresh grapes or necessarily about making grapes taste more grapey. Well, Methyl anthranilate, the berry-ish flavor that we've now associated with grape Kool-Aid, candy, gum, and soda, was already in use in the 1890s as a component of neroli, an oil derived from orange blossoms. But, although that was popular in perfumes, it wasn't until the turn of the 20th century that it was introduced to food to give that unique grape-ish flavor that is almost as polarizing as fake banana taffy. It seems like an all-in or completely opposed type of situation. And it wasn't until after it was being used to give that signature grape-ish flavor that scientists discovered the chemical is also present in Concord grapes. Besides candy and perfume, Methyl anthranilate is also commonly used as a bird repellent. But before you start hunting down everything with grape flavoring in your house and spreading it across your lawn to get rid of pigeons, it's important to remember a few key facts-- All the food you eat contains chemicals. Water is a chemical, and even drinking too much of that can prove deadly, causing hyponatremia. So, while that chemical may appear in something safe to eat, and something that's definitely not safe to eat, it's important to investigate all the facts before drawing conclusions. Just because it's the same chemical, the form and the amount matter. And it's probably best to do research from reliable sources instead of relying on hysteria. So, how does it all add up? Well, it seems the artificial flavors we ingest today run the gamut from sweet to savory. In the case of flavors like vanilla, the increased production of vanillin helped bring down costs and spread the use of the product worldwide. And diacetyl started out as a way to meet the demand for quality and uniformity during mass production, while grape became the nostalgic taste of childhood drinks and treats. The result is that the flavoring industry, or the mad scientists behind what makes certain foods taste so addictive, is now a multi-billion-dollar endeavor. There are whole sectors of flavor specialists who focus on making our mass-produced food pack the most punch. And, oddly enough, some consumers are starting to love the fake stuff more than the real deal, even when it's advisable to eat fewer highly processed goods. Just look at childhood favorite Trix cereal. In 2015, General Mills announced it would be removing artificial flavors and colors from its cereals starting in 2016. But, by 2017, the company recanted and brought back the brightly colored, artificially flavored favorite due to an increase in customer complaints. So, it seems that fake flavors often become more widespread than the original, causing a topsy-turvy world where one of the most expensive spices in the world has become a stand-in for the word "generic," and the stuff used to flavor your grape candy wasn't actually discovered in real grapes until years later-- who knew? Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

      (Describer) Logo: PBS Digital Studios.

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      Now Playing As: English with English captions (change)

      The "Origin of Everything: Why Do We Eat Artificial Flavors?" video explores the transition from natural to artificial flavorings in food. It delves into the history of vanilla, illustrating its expensive nature and the discovery of synthetically produced vanillin, which revolutionized the food industry by reducing costs and meeting global demands. The video highlights how artificial flavors such as diacetyl and methyl anthranilate have been utilized to maintain consistency in processed foods and replicate enticing flavors. By examining the work of historic figures like Edmond Albius, the video illustrates the intersection of agriculture, industry, and chemistry. The content stresses the importance of investigating chemicals in food and their impact on flavor perceptions. Overall, the video provides valuable insight into consumer behavior and the flavor industry's role in food production.

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