Lecture 32: War, Nutritionism, and the Great Depression
Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover as the practical dictator of the
government’s wartime Food Administration. In 1917, Wilson passed
through Congress the Lever Act, or the Food and Fuel Control Act,
which basically gave the government complete control of prices,
transport of food (to prevent hoarding and shortages), and careful
control of all exports. Perhaps most importantly, Hoover was given
control of a huge propaganda machine to convince people to eat
less so that food could be sent to soldiers and allies abroad. When the war ended, Hoover insisted that the United States
continue aid—even to the Germans, who he thought would never
be allies in the future if they were allowed to perish. The allies
prevented it, and of course, he was right. However, food did get to
most of Europe , in so-called care packages. All of the food industries that had retooled to make quick,
convenient, and shelf-stable foods for the war effort were not about
to discontinue those lines, so after the war, they simply marketed
them to civilians. Army rations in cans are a good example. The post-war period was also relatively prosperous. Brand-
name, nationally distributed products fl ourished, mounting huge
advertizing campaigns. They developed attractive packaging to
sell products, and foods (often originally designed for war) were
increasingly marketed with convenience in mind. Underlying all of
these changes was the fact that more people were now living and
working in cities, so there was a demand not only for more food,
but also more diverse kinds of food that could be prepared quickly
by busy people. By 1900, the food processing industry accounted for 20 percent
of the nation’s manufacturing. Increasingly, there were fewer and
fewer food giants; instead, big corporations controlled the supply
of food. By the 1920s, a few big companies—including Nabisco,
Heinz, and General Foods—were dictating what people ate. At this
time, food manufacturing was the largest industry in the country,
surpassing even steel and textiles in the amount of money invested.