Ms. Warner recounts what life was like in poor areas before the introduction of vitamins into food substances, the fortification of white flour and milk, and the widespread availability of items like orange juice: Many people suffered from rickets (because of insufficient vitamin D and calcium), scurvy (vitamin C), pellagra (vitamin B3) and beriberi (vitamin B1).
It has invested disproportionately high resources in people, distribution, research and development, principally marketing Oreos and orange drink Tang, its top-selling items out of its dozens of brands.