Nutrition, Behavior, and the Criminal Justice System: What Took so Long? An Interview with Dr. Stephen J. Schoenthaler

Abstract

In the ongoing series of interviews, Challenges Advisory Board member and Nova Institute for Health Fellow Alan C. Logan meets with thought leaders, scientists, scholars, healthcare professionals, artisans, and visionaries concerned about health at the scales of persons, places, and the planet. Here, Dr Stephen J. Schoenthaler of California State University, Stanislaus, responds to a set of questions posed by Challenges. For over forty years, Dr. Schoenthaler has been at the forefront of the research connecting nutrition to behavior and mental health. In particular, Dr. Schoenthaler’s work has examined relationships between dietary patterns, nutritional support, and behaviors that might otherwise be associated with criminality and aggression. Although the idea that nutrition is a factor in juvenile delinquency was popularized in the 1950s, the area received little scientific attention. In the 1970s, the idea that nutrition could influence behavior gained national attention in the US but was largely dismissed as “fringe”, especially by those connected to the ultra-processed food industries. Today, relationships between diet and behavior are part of the robust field called “nutritional psychiatry”; emerging studies demonstrate clear societal implications, including those within the criminal justice system. Here, Dr. Schoenthaler discusses how we got here and updates Challenges on where the field has moved, with an eye toward future possibilities. Dr. Schoenthaler reflects on the early influences that shaped his interest in the field and discusses the ways in which this research, especially in the context of criminal justice, is related to the many interconnected challenges of our time.

Nutritional Criminology: Why the Emerging Research on Ultra-Processed Food Matters to Health and Justice

“…However, in 1977, the absence of science in the field of nutrition and behavior was illuminated by the United States Senate. In hearings intended to query the consequences of nutritional deficiencies and junk food on mental illness and juvenile delinquency, the Committee found an absence of evidence [63]. The Chair, Senator George McGovern, concluded that the topic of nutrition and behavior was poorly funded and warranted increased attention [64].…”

“…Despite the Senate's acknowledgement of the lack of evidence, media headlines such as "Junk Food: What's it doing to your mind?" [65] pushed ideas that would form the basis of the "Twinkie Defense" in criminal law [63].…”

“…Reed acknowledged that diet was not an exclusive contributor to antisocial behavior and underscored that she wanted the topic to be researched by experienced scientists: "I am not saying that food is to blame for every act of violence, but if crime can be reduced by even a small percentage, then I think it is something worth investigating" [69]. One of the first scientists to answer Reed's call was social scientist and criminologist Dr. Stephen J. Schoenthaler [63]. In the early 1980s, a chef in a Virginia juvenile detention facility working under the direction of a state nutritionist altered the institutional menu with the primary aim of lowering the overall content of refined sugar.…”

“…High-sugar and high-fat snacks such as cookies and potato chips were replaced with fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, and whole-grain products. Whole-grain bread and brown rice replaced the refined white versions [63].…”

Is prison food really food?

“…What defines head and shoulders above? We argue that measuring outcomes related to mental health and behavior vis à vis the presence or absence of ultra-processed foods, which is to say, food-like products, will aid in the transformation of the prison food environment (Logan & Schoenthaler, 2023 ).…”