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OCR for page 168
IMPACT OF THE WAR ON LOCAL FOOD HABITS
MARCH 27, 1943
This meeting was devoted to a series of papers presented by individuals
who were in particularly advantageous positions to observe the changes in
the food habits of selected groups of the population. Each paper was com-
mented on by Mr. W. M. Drummond, Assistant Washington Representa-
tive of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board of Canada.
The reports illustrated clearly the fact that food habits are not a question
merely of individual behavior, but respond to the impact of an enormous
number of changing situations. Most obvious is the change in the amount
of food available. In Detroit, according to Sir. Andrew Brown. of the Divi
-
sion of Services to Labor, Detroit Council of Social Agencies, the supply of
vegetables was the same as for last year, but was no longer adequate because
of the influx of 350,ooo more people. Mrs. Esther Marenholtz, of the Divi-
sion of Program Surveys, Department of Agriculture, reported that on the
West Coast many people had had no fresh meat at all for as much as six weeks
and that they had requested that meat be included in the rationed food.
In addition to the change in food supply, there are decreases in food ser-
vices. In Detroit, 6C/o of the restaurants were reported to have closed, be-
cause of both the manpower shortage and the cuts in food allocations, and
at the same time an increase in restaurant eating was anticipated. There was
a solo decrease in retail stores in Detroit, not among those operating on
narrow margin, but supposedly among the many grocers who felt that they
could not stand the pressure any longer.
Alterations in the price structure and shifts in the economic level account
for some changes. The difference in arrival time in New York and Detroit
of an Office of Price Administration telegram freezing prices resulted in a
real shortage of snap beans in Detroit, since they could be sold for higher
prices in New York, where the market was still open when the wire arrived
and the prices were raised before they were frozen. In some areas meat short-
ages are attributed to the fact that some groups in the lower economic levels
have much more purchasing power than previously and can buy meats which
they formerly save purchased only by others, as, for example, in a Virginia
county. Dr. Arthur Raper, of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United
States Department of Agriculture, reported that the lower income tobacco
growers there have made more money than ever before, and so bought
beef roast every two or three weeks during the tobacco sale season instead
of only once or twice a year.
The attitudes toward the changes taking place will determine whether the
changes are likely to become permanent or will be considered only temporary,
to be discarded as soon as the war is over. A study in the Chicago area
* See.minutes of the Liaison Session of the Committee on Food Habits, March 27,
, under same title.
I68
OCR for page 169
Impact of the War on Local Food Habits
~69
made by Mr. Herbert Passin and Mr. John Bennett, Office of War Informa-
tion, showed that the reactions of people to rationing, scarcity, and short-
ages are determined to a great degree by their general attitudes tow-arc the
war; those with a midwestern type of isolationism are likely to be against
rationing. In many other areas, people are relying on rationing to solve the
problems of shortages; they think of it as a means of equal distribution and
of insuring enough for all, not as a conservation measure.
Changes in the frames of reference of some people were reported, a shift
in prestige from expensive items to those dietetically valuable, and an in-
creased emphasis upon husbands' diets and needs as hard-working men, with
differential rationing suggested. On the other hand, the rigidity of thinking
in regard to meal patterns was shown by the attitude on the West Coast that
"lunch meats" were not a substitute for meat and by the general resistance
in the Seattle area to talking about "substitutes." In Seattle, they preferred
to think that they were making choices and were confident they could take
care of themselves.
A second function of the meeting was to illustrate the interdependence be-
tween Canada and the United States, because what is done in one country
is interpreted very often on the basis that both countries are alike, with
little understanding of the differences. Mr. Drummond pointed out some of
the 'differences in the dietaries of the two countries, such as the greater con-
sumption of potatoes and butter in Canada, due partly to the smaller supply
of other vegetables and fats, as well as the differences in attitude toward
shortages caused by the war, which had been felt for a longer period of time
in Canada, and also cited the greater control over purchasing power in
Canada.
The need for a more inclusive plan in regard to food in this country was
emphasized. Although rationing may in some cases encourage the purchase
of rationed foodstuffs, it cannot be expected to influence the diet of the people
unless all essential foods are rationed, nor is this considered at present to
be a legitimate purpose. There are many problems not being met by any
agency, such as are created by the disappearance of retail stores or restaurants,
or by the absence of ice supply for an entire community, or those created
by lack of adequate eating facilities in industrial plants. These situations
point to the vital need for a coherent program including all aspects of food
supply and distribution.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
local food
