"Food in World War Two" Topic

"For many people who experienced World War Two on the homefront, their most vivid memories were of food. Rationing changed the way people cooked and ate – food shortages meant that home cooks often had to use their initiative to create meals out of meagre rations. This led to popular dishes such as Lord Woolton Pie, Vinegar Cake and Spam Hash.

The government rationed food in World War Two to ensure people got an equal amount of food each week. In 1939 Britain only grew enough food to feed one person in every three and with Nazi U-boats threatening to starve the country into defeat, the government had to take action to prevent a food shortage. It was also worried that as food became scarcer, prices would soar and people would hoard food…"

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Armand

Interesting article. Perhaps I should go looking for similar information on American rationing.

I have been told that, in the United States, chicken did not count as a meat for rationing purposes and farmers were allowed to sell chickens unhindered.

Beef was limited, though. The problem was that rationing was based on what restaurants had sold before the war, which discriminated against new places with no track records. Since these were often built near the new defense factories, the workers in the plants became unhappy. After all, they had been through the Great Depression, with its lack of jobs and money, eating beans. Now the workers had jobs and money and wanted to enjoy them. So, there was a black market.

Comparing black markets in the various wartime economies would be an interesting study, too.

Grelber