It isn’t, really. I know that goes against what we were taught growing up. What generations and generations of us were taught, in fact.
But we’ll get into that.
First, what exactly is breakfast?

It’s a simple question that comes with a simple answer, right? It’s the first meal of the day. Even the etymology of the word supports that definition. You fasted during the night (you were sleeping) and, when you take your first meal after waking up, you’re breaking the fast. It’s such a no-brainer that if asked what breakfast is, thinking is not even required. A version of my answer would probably come out of your mouth without any need to pause and ponder.
But those science-y people disagree that the definition of breakfast is that simple. Not when assessing whether, insofar as health and nutrition go, it is an important meal and whether it is, in fact, the most important meal of the day. It’s a very interesting read. If you need a teaser, how about:
- Does breakfast require the inclusion of solid food? Do protein shakes or brewed coffee qualify as breakfast?
- Is breakfast necessarily eaten in the morning and at what time in the morning? See, in today’s reality, not everyone works a nine-to-five job. Even if they do, it may be in someone else’s time zone. Think outsourced customer service. Call center agents. Their sleeping hours are different; so is the time when they take their first meal. If they wake up at 5.00 p.m., eat at 5.30 p.m. and leave for work at 6.00 p.m., is the 5.30 p.m. meal breakfast?

For purposes of this post, let’s just agree that whatever is first ingested after waking up, at whatever hour, is breakfast. It can be a cup of coffee, a piece of bread, a full plate of eggs, meat and carb, a puree of fruits or vegetables mixed with soya milk, or even a bowl of ice cream. What people eat for breakfast varies from culture to culture so it’s just useless to judge what is and what isn’t “real” breakfast. So, breakfast is whatever is first ingested after waking up.
Just how important is breakfast?
The importance of breakfast is based on the belief that the first meal fills you up and prevents food cravings later in the day. Ergo, breakfast equals weight loss or, put another way, skip it and you gain weight. It’s a belief peddled for generations. But it’s a lie.
The truth is, breakfast is just another meal, and not more important than lunch or dinner
That’s not what we heard in school, right? That’s not what our mothers and grandmothers said either. Sadly or infuriatingly, or both, generations were made to believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day in order to sell “breakfast food”. I am not joking.
Before the Industrial Revolution, no one really bothered about how important it was to eat breakfast. Whatever breakfast consisted of were simple ingredients for making easy to prepare meals. The first meal was often what was left over from the previous night’s dinner. In farms, there were eggs and cured meat.

Then, the Industrial Revolution happened. Workers moved from farms to factories where movement was limited. Digesting heavy farm breakfast became an issue.
Birth of breakfast cereals
Enter the followers of the newly-founded Seventh Day Adventist church. Health gurus calling for healthy living. They opened sanatoriums and introduced vegetarian diets. One of them was James Caleb Jackson who in 1863 invented the first breakfast cereal which he called Granula.
“He baked graham flour into brittle cakes, which he then crumbled and baked again,” write Hilary Greenbaum and Dana Rubenstein for The New York Times Magazine. “It was not an immediate success; in fact, it was edible only when soaked in milk overnight.” (Smithsonian Magazine)
Then, there was John H. Kellogg who, around 1877, developed a softer and more chewable version of Granula. He called it Granola to avoid further legal problems with James Caleb Jackson. Later, Kellogg developed corn flakes.
C. W. Post (yes, the founder of the Post cereal brand) spent time at sanatorium managed by Kellogg and, in 1895, founded Postum Cereal Co. and introduced its first product, Postum cereal beverage.
You should read about the legal battles of these breakfast cereal pioneers. And the patents they filed. And the accusations of stealing each other’s recipes. I don’t think that’s in the holy name of healthy living. Sounds more like aggressive moves to shut down competitors in what proved to be a very lucrative market. So long as people kept believing that breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and that breakfast should contain very specific food groups (no meat), they will keep buying breakfast cereals.
Bacon for breakfast
With the Western world hooked on the belief that breakfast is the most important meal of the day but meat having no place in it, how did bacon and eggs become THE American breakfast?

There’s this guy, Edward Bernays, dubbed the “father of public relations” who was working for Beech-Nut company which sold bacon. In the 1920s, bacon sales were down and Bernays was tasked to boost the sales. What did Bernays do?
Well, Bernays did not push for more bacon sales. Instead, he created a public mindset that bacon was a scientifically desirable breakfast food. And Beech-Nut’s problem was solved.
Bernays got a doctor to agree that a protein-rich, heavy breakfast of bacon and eggs was healthier than a light breakfast, and then sent that statement to around 5,000 doctors for their signatures. He then got newspapers to publish the results of his petition as if it was a scientific study… (The Guardian)
There is a video of Barnays explaining how exactly he mounted his bacon campaign.
So what did I have for breakfast today? Coffee. Of course. Never mind that it used to be known as Satan’s drink. Coffee in the morning is heaven for me.
Discover more from Umami Notes
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.