Belief-Based Food Products

Do Food Companies like Domino's, Quaker and Hebrew National Have Ideologies?

Did you know that many food companies we take for granted were founded by people with ideological faith-based perspectives? Sometimes the owners of the food companies simply wished to convey a symbolic message associated with a particular religious group such as simplicity, integrity and honesty. The food product may have grown out of a particular religious group's need for a faith-based product. Some entrepreneurs have even used the money from the sales of their products to promote certain faith-based political agendas or advertising to change popular culture. Here are four to ponder:

QUAKER OATS (Society of Friends)

Founded in 1901 by Henry Seymour and William Heston of Ravenna, Ohio, legend has it that William Heston, a descendent of Quakers was impressed by an illustration of William Penn, the Pioneer Quaker and father of Equal Rights and egalitarianism. Along with John Stuart of Iowa, and a German immigrant Ferdinand Schumacher of Akron, Ohio, the Quaker Oats Company came into existence. They were one of the first companies to include premiums packaged inside the boxes such as china dishes. The Quakers (Society of Friends) did not take lightly to the company using their organizational likeness to promote products, especially when Quaker introduced advertising for kids using Popeye hitting on Bluto. The Quakers sued on the grounds that Popeye is contrary to their pacifist message of non-violence. The company was sold in 2001 to PepsiCo and continues to enjoy success in part because of the oatmeal company's claim to lower cholesterol. www.quakeroats.com

HEBREW NATIONAL (Jewish)