Graham cracker was meant to tamp down your sex drive

Sylvester Graham was a puritan who believed that “carnal desire” caused headaches.

How the cracker went from an anti-sex propaganda meal to the backbone of America’s favorite campfire treat is one of the food world’s most bizarre stories, experts and historians told The Post…

“He was on a strong anti-masturbation crusade. He said, ‘If you’re eating meat, you’re acting like an animal and you should avoid those types of primal instincts — like the urge to have sex,’” said Adam D. Shprintzen, who wrote about the cracker’s odd origin story in his book, “The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817-1921.”

The minister urged his devotees to help launch one of America’s first vegetarian movements by swearing off meat. He believed wholesome food made wholesome people.

So he set out to create a snack that reflected his values: a brittle, flavorless whole wheat biscuit.

“He spoke about how the cracker could help suppress sexual desire, particularly in adolescent boys. And he gained some hard-core followers,” said Shprintzen, who is also a professor of history at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.