World War I exists as one of the most globally impactful events in recent human history. The historical and geopolitical impacts of the conflict cannot be overstated. Within the United States, there were consequences that may be less widely known. The First World War had a massive impact on the average American’s kitchen, diet, and relationship with food. From the way they shopped, cooked, and even referred to food, America’s culinary world was altered due to the war.
Rations and Dietary Changes
World War I changed the way that many Americans were able to cook and eat. Nationwide rationing was implemented to conserve food and ensure that the soldiers fighting overseas always had enough to eat. Rationing made several food items unavailable, forcing companies and people to find substitutes for many common foods. One notable example of this is Crisco. Animal lard was a common source of fat in cooking but was replaced by the vegetable shortening Crisco due to rationing. Wheat cereals were replaced by oatmeal, and in some instances, sugar was replaced with honey. Many people turned to potato flour or cornstarch as alternatives for wheat-based baking.
President Woodrow Wilson appointed future president Herbert Hoover to head the new United States Food Administration. This federal agency was responsible for controlling the production, distribution, and conservation of food during World War I. Part of this department’s role was also to invent dishes that utilized alternative ingredients to assist Americans in their attempts to replace common foods in their diets. The US Food Administration released recipes and photographs of foods they created like “War Bread” made of potato flour, Genoa Cake made of almond paste, and broiled salted mackerel instead of a beef dish.
The War Department produced posters encouraging citizens to ration, with phrases like “Meatless Monday” and “Eat Less Wheat” being created for these posters. Those phrases and many of the food substitutes used on the home front during World War I have become popularized again in the 21st century, over 100 years later. Gluten-free, meatless, and low sugar diets have again become commonplace, reminiscent of how many people ate during the First World War.
Anti-German Food
When the United States entered World War I, the largest non-English-speaking minority group in the U.S. were Germans. First and second-generation German Americans made up 8 million of the 92 million United States population counted on the 1910 census. Anti-German sentiments had been growing in the United States in the years leading up to the war with the sinking of the Lusitania by German U-Boats and the interception of the Zimmerman Telegram sent from Germany expressing support for a Mexican invasion of the American southwest. When the United States finally declared war on Germany and the Central Powers, anti-German sentiment peaked.
It became distinctly unpatriotic to be German. Patriotism and paranoia led to the German names of cities, dogs, food, and more being changed to more American names. Anything that appeared to be German was either shunned or covered up. Sauerkraut became Liberty Cabbage, and Frankfurters became hot dogs, Salisbury Steak became meatloaf, and Dachshunds became Liberty Pups.
New forms of Grocery Stores
Prior to 1916 when grocery stores operated more similar to a newspaper stand, where you would tell the grocer what you wanted, and they would retrieve items from behind the shelf for the customer. Most of the food that grocery stores carried at this time was processed and canned. In order to buy produce, meats, or baked goods, shoppers would have to go to specialty stores like a bakery or a butcher. Grocery stores were primarily places where people went to purchase packaged foods.
As World War I raged on in Europe and the United States participated in the conflict, rations were put into place so that the military always had enough food to eat. This forced many changes to America’s eating habits. Additionally, with the onset of the war, food prices rapidly increased. Prices of essential items such as sugar, meat, and flour doubled or even tripled. The price increases led many people to turn to gardening as a food source. There were also fewer mouths to feed as many men were overseas for the war effort. These factors, combined with the fact that there were limited supplies available, placed an incredible amount of stress on grocery stores. Operating expenses increased, and only wealthy families could afford to shop at their stores. To offset these costs, grocery stores turned to a self-service model that allowed customers to browse aisles and pick out food themselves.
The first store to do this was Piggly Wiggly in 1916, with others such as Safeway and Kroger following suit in the coming years. This model of the store was rapidly successful, even after the war. By 1929, eleven years after World War I ended, one-third of all grocery stores across America had transformed into the self-service model. These stores were also able to offer a wider variety of products, leading to a decline in specialty stores. The term “supermarket” was coined to describe stores with a diverse selection of available products.
Sources:
- Amy Dee Stephens, How War Rationing Changed Grocery Shopping
- Together We Win, Food Conservation During WWI
- Oliver Arney, The Story of Piggly Wiggly: The First Supermarket
- Doughboy Foundation, How WWI Changed How And What Americans Eat At Mealtimes
- When Sauerkraut Became ‘Liberty Cabbage’