1914: Then Came Armageddon
Food on the American Home Front
“I consider [home drying manuals] the most complete and serviceable ever produced; and excepting only the family Bible.”
Home Canning & Drying of Vegetables & Fruits, 1919.
How Did Food Help?
During the First World War, organizations working on food rationing included the U.S. Food Administration, the Food Administration Grain Corporation, the Department of Agriculture, the National War Garden Commission, and the American Forestry Association. Herbert Hoover, while serving as the director of the US Food Administration, worked to prevent forced rationing and to ensure the stabilization of grain prices. Through these efforts, Hoover became a central figure in the American household, as he promoted “a voluntary reduction of individual consumption.” (Hoover, America’s Grain Trade, 1918) Hoover believed rationing was not a viable option for food conservation because the lack of access to wheat bread would hurt lower-class Americans and the effort to organize the rationing would divert energy away from the war effort. While Hoover’s “voluntary reduction of individual consumption” occurred with an original goal of reducing American wheat consumption by ten percent, mills were later instructed to export fifty percent of their output to U.S. soldiers and allies. At the same time, the British public was conserving thirty percent of their grain. (Hoover, America’s Grain Trade, 1918) Although wheat was undoubtedly important to the war effort, meat, vegetables, sugar, and their substitutions were crucial to the home front as well.
Wheat
Germany’s effective use of submarine warfare in World War I, as demonstrated by the sinking of the RMS Lusitania and attempted sinking of the SS Gulflight (The Literary Digest of History of the World War Volume nine, 1919) made Atlantic and European waters treacherous to navigate. German submarine attacks combined with the need to use ships to transport soldiers, meant that the number of ships available to transport grain greatly diminished. As a result, “the European governments with their shortening shipping had been compelled to abandon the more remote markets in the world and had established single agencies in this country for the purchase of their necessary foodstuffs in competition with our own people.” (Hoover, America’s Grain Trade, 1918) This “competition” for wheat led Americans to find many creative substitutes. Corn, used as a staple crop in America for hundreds of years, had worked its way into the modern American diet in a variety of forms, including cornbread, corn fritters, and corn chowder. Americans wondered why corn could not be shipped to Europe for the Allies to eat, in lieu of wheat rationing or conservation. But the integration of cornmeal into the European diet during wartime was deemed too difficult due to a lack of knowledge on how to use the product, the short life of cornmeal, and a lack of mills to create cornmeal on behalf of Europeans. (Hoover, America’s Grain Trade, 1918) In response to the struggles to integrate corn into the foreign diet, rye, whole wheat, potato, oat, and cornbread became more prevalent in America, allowing the States to ship available wheat to be sent to European allies. The United States government also promoted starches like rice and potatoes. In addition to using substitutes, it became common place to use the entire loaf of bread, including stale crumbs. (War Economy in Food, 1918)
Vegetables
Americans growing food at home became an important factor in not being forced into active rationing during World War One. This trend of growing food at home came out of a national campaign that solidified the infamous victory garden in American history. The victory garden helped not only to provide cheap and healthy sources of food to the American public but also in stretching meals further and clearing railways for the movement of troops and supplies, rather than transporting produce. Authors in magazines and pamphlets targeted the middle-class housewife and touted the essential “salts and ‘mineral matter’” in fruits and vegetables that were especially good for growing children’s health. (Vegetables for Winter, 1918)
While helpful for lowering grocery costs, the rapid growth in available vegetables inspired another government campaign that argued it was patriotic to take up the processes of canning, drying, and pickling. With at least five different types of canning, as well as many recipes for pickling, carefully detailed in government-sponsored manuals, these manuals, such as Home Canning & Drying of Vegetables & Fruits, were circulated to promote food preservation for use in winter. In addition, the increases in Americans canning food resulted in a shortage of glass jars. The shortage of glass jars combined with the need for tin to be used in the war effort, resulted in drying becoming the most economical option to save money and space. (Home Canning & Drying of Vegetables & Fruits, 1918)
To effectively transport the most food with the boats available, the United States shipped more sugar than any other product because it was shelf stable, provided quick energy, and was easier to prepare than vegetables.
Sugar
Europeans used imported sugar to preserve foods. With submarine sinkings, loss of sugar beet land, factories in battle areas, and curtailment of shipping (A Sugar Program, 1918), the best way for the European allies to obtain sugar was through American shipments. However, this required voluntary rationing by the American public. The US Food Administration recommended many different substitutes to sate the public’s sweet tooth with the hope that alternatives would increase sugar available for export. Americans began to substitute syrups, honey, maple sugar, molasses, raisins, and dates for sugar. Not only were these substitutions helpful in saving sugar, but recipe book authors were inspired to use the new ingredients in creative ways, including combinations with sweet fruits, popcorn, and nuts in the confections to stretch the sugary coating. (Sugar for the Common Table, 1918)
The U.S. government did not mandate rationing. Yet they did establish guidelines everyone was encouraged to follow. For sugar, people living in cities were to purchase no more than two pounds at a time, while in the country, people were to purchase no more than five pounds at a time. This was a good general rule to follow, but it was permissible to buy more sugar if needed for canning. (A Sugar Program, 1918)
Lasting Influence
Only when entering the war in the third year of fighting, did middle-class housewives fight on the food front. The most essential soldiers in the Hooverization of the American food system were American wives, mothers, and daughters, enlisted not only to feed their loved ones but the whole of the allies. The recipe books they were provided suggested that whether America would win or lose depended solely on the actions of women in the kitchen. “The question of planning meals grows daily more important, because it is more evident that food is to win or lose the war.” (War Economy in Food, 1918) This deeply ingrained sense of purpose resulted in permanent changes in American food culture. The list of different breads to choose from for toast at your local diner, the aisle of canned fruit and vegetables in the supermarket, and the modern resurgence of canning in America all have roots in the kitchen of the First World War.
