Remembering Osman Nuri Koçtürk, the scientist who disrupted the game of American food imperialism

Today, American imperialism is increasingly in a process of decline. The America that some still long for no longer exists.

Nevertheless, the cultural dimension of its imperialism continues to a significant degree.

In this context, it is useful to look at both the past and the present.

In this article, I would like to recall the connection between olive oil and cultural imperialism based on food in the past, in order to avoid falling into new traps.

Everyone knows the importance of olive oil today. However, let us go back a little. Once upon a time, olive oil was almost ostracized, and solidified fats were made dominant in nutrition.

And the folk song “I cannot eat olive oil, oh my, I cannot wear a calico dress, oh my…” began to be sung in these lands.

Of course, this folk song of ours also has a story. This story showed how American imperialism, the dominant imperialism of the twentieth century, interfered even with our folk songs.

How Did American Imperialism Enter Folk Songs?

The process was initiated primarily with the end of the Second World War. With the creation of a bipolar world by the United States (USA) and the Soviet Union, Turkey was left under the hegemony of the USA.

For imperialism, it was first necessary to brainwash people. In this context, there was a need for the masses to adopt liberal-capitalism, the economic pillar of imperialism.

Minds were washed with the idea that “just as the laws of nature are generally valid everywhere, the laws that govern history, society, and them are also generally valid like the laws of nature.”

And this philosophical approach simultaneously revealed and imposed the idea that the only and unique truth in the economy was a liberal-capitalist order, as a universalist discourse.

In this transformation, certain thinkers (!) in the USA and Britain played an important role. With the support of the monopoly firms behind them, they established foundations, institutes, and communication networks to spread their ideology.

They funded certain scientists, writers, and politicians.

Through these ideological efforts, liberal-capitalism was accepted by a large segment as a normal and natural part of the process.

In summary, a significant level of cultural hegemony was established in this regard. The saying, “If you can occupy people's brains, their hearts and hands will follow,” was realized.

Economic aid was also put into play to maintain the liberal-capitalist order.

One of the most prominent of these was the US-sourced Marshall Plan aid package, which was put into effect between 1948 and 1951 after the Second World War.

Under this plan, economic development aid(!) was provided by the USA to 16 countries, including Turkey.

How Was Olive Oil Ostracized?

Under the aid package, foods such as margarine and powdered milk that had accumulated in the USA were given to Turkey. One of the conditions of the Marshall Plan was that Turkey would buy corn oil from the USA.

In parallel with this, the first margarine factory was established in Turkey.

Lies such as "if olive oil is heated, it causes cancer" were fabricated and spread through the press.

Hundreds of thousands of olive trees were uprooted, causing a great massacre. The prices of margarine were lowered, and the masses were turned away from olive oil and accustomed to corn oil and margarine.

To disparage olive oil, a folk song titled “I cannot eat olive oil, oh my…” was commissioned to TRT. Moreover, the calico fabric of our textile factories, such as the Nazilli Weaving Factory, which played a pioneering role in Turkey's industrialization, was also disparaged by adding the line “I cannot wear a calico dress…” to this song.

Coming to the present day, as stated at the beginning, the educated and middle-income social strata of the public know the harms of margarine and synthetic fabrics.

However, a significant portion of the public continues to consume margarine and wear synthetic fabrics.

On the other hand, our children and youth consume products from American fast-food restaurant and coffee shop chains, as well as their colas.

And diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer, which stem from unhealthy nutrition, have exploded.

Who was the scientist who disrupted the game of American food imperialism in the past? His name was Osman Nuri KOÇTÜRK.

Osman Nuri Koçtürk, who was a veterinarian by profession, tried to inform the public against soybean oil and powdered milk through radio broadcasts in those years.

Meanwhile, he constantly advised the public to eat tarhana. He became known as “Tarhana Osman.”

Koçtürk used to say: “Today (in the Cold War), you do not need cannons and rifles to tame a society, to govern it, to reduce its intellectual capacity, and to create a society consisting of individuals who think less. You can achieve this in peace and with feelings of gratitude by taking over nutrition policies. This is what American imperialism does.”

After he defended olive oil against margarine, his radio broadcasts were terminated. During a trip to Konya, he was attacked and they wanted to kill him.

However, he never gave up; he continued to defend olive oil. They tried to starve him, and most interestingly, his professorship at the medical school was blocked by certain scientists(!) who were pro-American and under the control of international margarine industrialists.

In a secret CIA report disclosed by Natural Senator Haydar Tunçkanat in 1966, Koçtürk's name was also on the list of those acting against US interests in Turkey.

He was also detained for a while after the September 12, 1980, coup.

Koçtürk also authored numerous books. Among these are: “Basic Questions and Answers on Nutrition Principles, Food Imperialism in Terms of Neocolonialism, Some Basic Issues of Agricultural Workers and Turkish Agriculture, Silent War, Agriculture and Industry in Turkey's Development: A New Order Agrindus, The Fear of Hunger.”

We bid farewell to our teacher Osman Nuri Koçtürk to eternity in 1994. Because he practiced science with integrity, he was not forgotten by the Turkish society and was remembered years later.

In 2016, a bust was commissioned in memory of Koçtürk, who was also from Karşıyaka, by the then-mayor of Karşıyaka Municipality, Hüseyin Mutlu Akpınar. May he rest in light.

In memory of our teacher Osman Nuri Koçtürk; we can protect his legacy by not consuming products from fast-food restaurant and coffee shop chains, which are a branch of American food imperialism, and by adopting the motto “Produce locally, consume locally.”

This is the only way for our social health.