Fredrick J. Stare

Fredrick J. Stare
Born(1910-04-11)April 11, 1910
Columbus, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedApril 4, 2002(2002-04-04) (aged 91)
Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
Known forOne of the country's most influential teachers of nutrition
Scientific career
FieldsNutrition
InstitutionsHarvard School of Public Health

Fredrick John Stare (April 11, 1910 – April 4, 2002) was an American nutritionist regarded as one of the country's most influential teachers of nutrition.[1]

Life and career

Stare was born in Columbus, Wisconsin, and educated in chemistry and medicine at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago.[2] In the aftermath of the Second World War he worked in the Netherlands, devising a dietary regime to cope with the malnutrition facing the Dutch population.[1]

In 1942, Stare founded the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, which he led as a professor of nutrition until his retirement in 1976.[1][2] He was a firm believer in the essential goodness of the typical American diet, holding that "prudence and moderation" was the key to healthy eating. As an adviser to the US government, Stare rejected the idea that 'the American diet' was harmful; stating for example that Coca-Cola was "a healthy between-meals snack"[1] and that eating even great amounts of sugar would not cause health problems.[3][4] He was also a leading campaigner for fluoridation, which his critics suggested was part and parcel of his endorsement of sugar.[5]

Stare was critical of fad diets and claims of alternative medicine.[6] He died of complications from prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease in 2002, in Wellesley, Massachusetts.[7]

Controversy

In his autobiography, Adventures in Nutrition, Stare states that in 1960 he obtained a grant of $1,026,000 from General Foods for the "expansion of the School’s Nutrition Research Laboratories" and that in the 44-year period as a nutritionist he raised a total of $29,630,347.[8] For instance, Kellogg's funded $2 million to set up the Nutrition Foundation at Harvard. The foundation was independent of the university and published a journal Nutrition Reviews that Stare edited for 25 years.[4]

Stare also co-founded and served as chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Council on Science and Health. In 1980, during his tenure as Chairman, he sought funding from US tobacco giant Philip Morris USA for ACSH's activities.[9][4]

Selected publications

  • Panic in the Pantry: Facts & Fallacies About the Food You Buy (with Stephen Barrett and Elizabeth Whelan, 1975)
  • The One Hundred Percent Natural, Purely Organic, Cholesterol-Free, Megavitamin, Low-Carbohydrate Nutrition Hoax (1983, with Elizabeth Whelan)
  • Fad-Free Nutrition (1998, with Elizabeth Whelan)
  • Adventures in Nutrition: An Autobiography (1991)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Frederick J. Stare, defender of the American diet, died on April 4th, aged 91". The Economist (Obituary). 18 April 2002.
  2. ^ a b Wolfgang Saxon (April 11, 2002). "Fredrick J. Stare, 91, Dies; Influential Early Nutritionist". The New York Times (Obituary).
  3. ^ Michèle Hozer (1 May 2016). Sugar Coated (Video). Canada.
  4. ^ a b c Hess, John L. (August 1978). "Harvard's sugar-pushing nutritionist". The Saturday Review. pp. 10–14.
  5. ^ Kevin Myron (April 18, 2002). "Frederick J. Stare, defender of the American diet, died on April 4th, aged 91". The Economist (Obituary).
  6. ^ Baron, Robert B. (1983). Book Review: The One-Hundred-Percent Natural, Purely Organic, Cholesterol-Free, Megavitamin, Low-Carbohydrate Nutrition Hoax. The New England Journal of Medicine 308: 1369-1370.
  7. ^ "Fredrick J. Stare papers". Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine).
  8. ^ Stare, F.J. (July 1991). Adventures in Nutrition. Hanover, MA: Christopher Publishing House. ISBN 0815804709.
  9. ^ Fred Stare, American Council on Science and Health Untitled letter to Helmut Wakeham of PM Letter. December 5, 1980. Bates No. 1000283163/3165