Starting most prominently in World War I with the infamous "liberty cabbage," wartime food propaganda completely altered the way Americans ate food. Whether it be changing the names of food, or even changing the ways Americans ate food, war propaganda created a brand new dinner table for the average American household.
Fueled with anti-German sentiment throughout the duration of the first World War, Americans began persecuting German-Americans, eliminating any and all hints of the hated war enemy. In hopes of countering the steep decline in sauerkraut consumption after the war, the Federal Food Administration received a petition to change the German side dish to "liberty cabbage." Other German or German-sounding names such as hamburgers, dachshunds, and German measles were changed to liberty steaks, liberty pups, and liberty measles respectively. This gave rise to the modern term of "hot dogs," which was previously referred to as frankfurters. Bitter anti-German sentiment and wartime propaganda caused Americans to distance themselves from Germany in all aspects, creating the common food names we see in our world today.
Fast forward to World War II, the rationing policy and new-found prosperity among the American working class changed the types of food eaten, as well as the way it was distributed. Previously poor American families were able to buy goods that were previously out of their reach, which fueled the culture of consumerism in America. This is for a multitude of reasons.
First, the rationing and limited resources of the war caused people to scramble and stock food, giving rise to the usage of preserved or canned food. Despite nationwide ration policies and wartime food shortages, the processed food industry allowed for little change in the American diet, because Americans were able to prepare for hunger by stocking upon food beforehand.
Second, as seen in the propaganda poster above, the government prodded the consumption of foods with high energy content. This idea directly translated to the increased consumption of red meat, as each American ate 2.5 pounds of red meat in a week on average, whereas British workers had to get by with less than half of that amount. The previously "high class" meal was now accessible to all Americans, which continued consumerism after the war ended, as all people wanted to enjoy those same luxuries. However, on a side note, this created a new black market for food, as Americans became increasingly picky on the type of meat they consumed. The demand for meat caused butchers and slaughterhouses to spring up, bypassing inspectors, and selling meat illegally. Now how does this translate to the consumer culture in America?
The widespread consumption and demand of more "high class" food such as beef, coupled with the government's encouragement to continue the culture of preserving and stocking up food even after the war, created a new image of the working man. People were able to improve their conditions and demand consumables, which would come full circle by fueling productivity and keeping men in jobs. Thus, that Thanksgiving turkey you ate last week can be seen as a product of the World Wars: buying surplus food, economic equality, and consumer culture.
Sources:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/03/wwii-food-america_n_1398132.html
http://knowledgenuts.com/2014/07/02/hot-dog-and-many-other-names-came-from-anti-german-sentiment/
https://www.historyonthenet.com/authentichistory/1914-1920/2-homefront/4-hysteria/
https://thetakeout.com/how-wwi-food-propaganda-forever-changed-the-way-america-1798259481
Andrew, I found your post on the American diet during World War Two to be fascinating. My grandmother grew up in Los Angeles during the war and has told me many times about how she ate during the war. She often described her diet of being primarily made up of meat and potatoes, this now makes a lot of sense to me. Also, one of her favorite stories to tell me is how she got the man at the store to give her butter, which he was stockpiling in the back because of the rationing policy. Another interesting thing that you might like is that she told me that her family raised rabbits to consume and I wonder if you might know if a lot of families did this. Thanks for such an interesting post!
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