The U.S. government was responsible for popularizing the idea that spinach gives superhuman strength
the verdict
REFUTED
the evidence says no
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
0 sources for · 2 against
AS REPORTEDno primary record reached; this is what the reporting says
Available evidence shows that the popularization of spinach and its association with strength (via Popeye and dietary beliefs) stemmed from existing cultural norms and an interpretation error in scientific measurements of iron, rather than any U.S. government campaign or responsibility.
No. The 'eat your vegs' campaign as an established social norm is older, started with World War One, not during the Depression. Further, spinach is no meat substitute, whether you look for any iron or protein. Whether 'the government' provided some funds as well to this is possible, but for example the "Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation" . Indirectly, this campaign against malnutrition also involved many politicians and a few agencies, like the USDA and US Children's Bureau. But such early efforts meant that there was no need to directly influence a cartoon, which merely drew upon existing stereotypes. That an already hugely popular comic would need such an 'incentive' seems highly questionable. What Popeye allegedly achieved was indeed a certain demand from children for spinach, primarily fresh, but also the canned and thus unsavory Popeye form, protecting American farmers
Was a misplaced decimal point responsible for the popular belief that spinach has a lot of iron? No. It was an interpretation error of von Wolff's findings, of about a factor of ten. What happened was that von Wolff ( correctly ) measured the iron content of dried spinach, but his numbers were interpreted as the iron content of fresh spinach (which happens to be less by about a factor of ten). SPINACH, IRON and POPEYE: Ironic lessons from biochemistry and history on the importance of healthy eating, healthy scepticism and adequate citations has the whole story, and contains lots of links to further sources on how the myth began and was perpetuated. Funny sidenote: Our metabolism cannot even digest the iron...
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