September 15, 2021: 12:00 AM EST
Protein, once a niche bodybuilding supplement, has gone mainstream in a big way, and is now added to a vast range of foods and drinks. Though scientists acknowledge humans really don’t need to eat all that protein, for many consumers the word protein signals “virtuous self-restraint, visibly striated musculature, and pert buttocks.” According to writer Sirin Kale, it means “nut bars nibbled elegantly between MacBook-led meetings… and reaching for a thinner version of ourselves.” However, added-protein snacks are often far from healthy: they can be highly processed, and packed with ingredients such as saturated fat-laden palm oil and corn syrup. It is ironic that in an age when processed foods are anathema to health-conscious consumers, “now, nobody cares,” says the marketing manager for a protein snack company.
Sirin Kale, "Muscles and methane: How protein became the food industry's biggest craze", The Guardian (London), September 15, 2021, © Guardian News & Media Limited
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