Margarine became a source of political controversy in the U.S. soon after its arrival in the 1870s. The spread had been invented in France in 1869 by a chemist who had been encouraged by the Emperor Louis Napoleon III to create a cheap alternative to butter, but American dairy farmers did not welcome the competition. As documented in thishistory of butter vs. margarine in National Geographic, “In 1886, passionate lobbying from the dairy industry led to the federal Margarine Act, which slapped a restrictive tax on margarine and demanded that margarine manufacturers pay prohibitive licensing fees. Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio went a step further and banned margarine outright.”
And that was not all. Thirty-two states barred margarine makers from dyeing their product yellow (its natural color is white)—with Vermont, New Hampshire and South Dakota adding the extra requirement that margarine must be dyed pink. (The U.S. Supreme Court eventually overturned the mandatory dyeing).
But despite political opposition margarine persisted and grew in popularity during the Depression because of its price. By that time margarine manufacturers were using an updated formula which relied on vegetable oils rather than animal fats, as it had originally.
But the butter industry continued to flex its political muscle. A story in the May 29, 1948 issue of LIFE headlined “The Butter Lobby Wins” recounted its latest victory—and also the rising opposition.
Spearheading margarine’s counteroffensive was Edward Mitchell, a U.S. congressman from Indiana who had been a margarine dealer before entering politics. Mitchell posed for LIFE staff photographer Francis Miller in front of a phalanx of pro-margarine congressman, and was also shown hosting a margarine party in which he donned a chef’s hat and served up samples.
Another of Miller’s photos shows an anti-butter display from the margarine lobby which proclaimed “No food has a corner on any color.”
While the butter lobby won the day in 1948, two years later Congress turned around and repealed the margarine tax. And in 1967 Wisconsin, a dairy capital, became the last state to rescind its ban on coloring margarine yellow.
By then butter makers’ worst fears were coming true. In the 1960s margarine overtook butter as America’s spread of choice, and it built a commanding lead through the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. But butter mounted a comeback and overtook margarine in the mid-2000s. With the taxes gone, the battlegrounds in this war became taste and health.
When it comes to health, the consensus seems to be that margarine is better for you because it is fats are mostly unsaturated—and that is especially true when the margarine is the softer variety that is sold in tubs. But butter generally wins when it comes to taste, and it is also perceived as being more natural.
So today the butter vs. margarine debate is really about the choice between what is better for you and what you enjoy more.
If Congress wants to try legislating that, good luck.
U.S. Representative Edward Archibald Mitchell (foreground) led the pro-margarine forces in Congress as they attempted to repeal a tax against butter’s chief competitor, 1948.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
U.S. Representative Edward Archibald Mitchell, in a chef’s hat, held a party for the pro-margarine forces in Congress, 1948.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
U.S. Representative Edward Archibald Mitchell, in a chef’s hat, held a party for the pro-margarine forces in Congress, 1948.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
U.S. Representative Edward Archibald Mitchell, in a chef’s hat, held a party for the pro-margarine forces in Congress, 1948.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
U.S. Representative Edward Archibald Mitchell, in a chef’s hat, held a party for the pro-margarine forces in Congress, 1948.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
From a 1948 story on the fight over butter vs. margarine in Congress.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
For years many states prohibited margarine makers from coloring their product yellow, a restriction margarine makers fought against,1948.
Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
