The idea that certain foods—organic, unprocessed, raw and often vegetarian—are more “fit” to eat than others and the promise of overall good health through diet are interwoven in the fabric of three cultural meaning systems: holistic medicine, hippie counterculture and environmentalism. Together, these discourses critically address the dominant institutional social structure and encourage an alternative natural way of life.

With its rejection of the classic medical model and its focus on multiple aspects of physical condition, “alternative” medicine has moved the body from physicians’ control of physicians into the realm of personal responsibility Food becomes an important component of healthy lifestyle choices, alongside exercise and emotional well-being.

Environmentalism’s decoding of social problems likewise speaks to individual accountability in the salvaging of an endangered natural equilibrium. It encourages all but abandonment of agricultural pesticides and large-scale, inhumane animal rearing in favor of organic farming and a meatless diet. Foods like tofu, meatless burgers and nuts are the dietetic signifiers of nutritional and political coherence. Finally the hippie and, more recently New Age movements equate the natural with spirituality and peace, privileging the cruelty free choice of a vegetarian diet.

The disparaging adjective “junk” associated with food that is salty starchy or, like McDonald’s, fatty fast and cheap, coupled with a growing multimillion nutritional supplement and animal protein substitutes industry suggests health food is here to stay.