Feeding The Nation In World War Ii

One of the main dangers to Britain during the Second World War was the possibility of the country being starved out of the war. Indeed, it was what Churchill feared the most. Before the war, Britain was hugely dependent upon foreign imports of food and supplies, but with unrestricted submarine warfare these lifelines were in danger of being cut and the amount of imports hugely reduced. Britain was not unprepared. Lessons had been learned during the First World War, when people had been encouraged to grow more of their own food. The Ministry of Food, in particular, had detailed plans in the event of a future war and the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign rightly went down in history as one of the great successes of the British Home Front. For the farmers of Britain the war meant a massive upheaval, as the government ordered them to plough up millions of acres of land to grow valuable arable crops. Meanwhile, with rationing a daily and inescapable part of life, the people of Britain had to get used to different foodstuffs, including powdered egg, Spam and even whale meat. Incredibly, the diets of many British people actually improved during the war and the fact that the country avoided starvation demonstrated not only the success of government planning, but also the determination and ingenuity of the wartime generation.

One of the main dangers to Britain during the Second World War was the possibility of the country being starved out of the war. Indeed, it was what Churchill feared the most. Before the war, Britain was hugely dependent upon foreign imports of food and supplies, but with unrestricted submarine warfare these lifelines were in danger of being cut and the amount of imports hugely reduced. Britain was not unprepared. Lessons had been learned during the First World War, when people had been encouraged to grow more of their own food. The Ministry of Food, in particular, had detailed plans in the event of a future war and the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign rightly went down in history as one of the great successes of the British Home Front. For the farmers of Britain the war meant a massive upheaval, as the government ordered them to plough up millions of acres of land to grow valuable arable crops. Meanwhile, with rationing a daily and inescapable part of life, the people of Britain had to get used to different foodstuffs, including powdered egg, Spam and even whale meat. Incredibly, the diets of many British people actually improved during the war and the fact that the country avoided starvation demonstrated not only the success of government planning, but also the determination and ingenuity of the wartime generation.

This book tells how the Soviet Union fed itself after the invasion by the Germans during World War II. The author argues that central planning became much less important in feeding the population, and civilians were thereby forced to become considerably more self reliant in feeding themselves. A rationing system was instituted soon after the war began, but quickly became irrelevant because of the chronic food shortages. The breakdown in central supplies of food was accompanied by the diminished importance of the ruble, which in many places was replaced by bread and clothing as the medium of exchange. Although the Soviet army was given high precedence over civilians, the author also shows that the population living under German occupation was much worse off than were Soviet civilians living in the rear. In addition to extensive use of American and German archives from the war period, the author interviewed more than thirty Soviet emigrés who survived the war.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2012 Food, and in particular the lack of it, was central to the experience of World War II. In this richly detailed and engaging history, Lizzie Collingham establishes how control of food and its production is crucial to total war. How were the imperial ambitions of Germany and Japan - ambitions which sowed the seeds of war - informed by a desire for self-sufficiency in food production? How was the outcome of the war affected by the decisions that the Allies and the Axis took over how to feed their troops? And how did the distinctive ideologies of the different combatant countries determine their attitudes towards those they had to feed? Tracing the interaction between food and strategy, on both the military and home fronts, this gripping, original account demonstrates how the issue of access to food was a driving force within Nazi policy and contributed to the decision to murder hundreds of thousands of 'useless eaters' in Europe. Focusing on both the winners and losers in the battle for food, The Taste of War brings to light the striking fact that war-related hunger and famine was not only caused by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, but was also the result of Allied mismanagement and neglect, particularly in India, Africa and China. American dominance both during and after the war was not only a result of the United States' immense industrial production but also of its abundance of food. This book traces the establishment of a global pattern of food production and distribution and shows how the war subsequently promoted the pervasive influence of American food habits and tastes in the post-war world. A work of great scope, The Taste of War connects the broad sweep of history to its intimate impact upon the lives of individuals.

One of the main dangers to Britain during the Second World War was the possibility of the country being starved out of the war. Indeed, it was what Churchill feared the most. Before the war, Britain was hugely dependent upon foreign imports of food and supplies, but with unrestricted submarine warfare these lifelines were in danger of being cut and the amount of imports hugely reduced. Britain was not unprepared. Lessons had been learned during the First World War, when people had been encouraged to grow more of their own food. The Ministry of Food, in particular, had detailed plans in the event of a future war and the 'Dig for Victory' campaign rightly went down in history as one of the great successes of the British Home Front. For the farmers of Britain the war meant a massive upheaval, as the government ordered them to plough up millions of acres of land to grow valuable arable crops. Meanwhile, with rationing a daily and inescapable part of life, the people of Britain had to get used to different foodstuffs, including powdered egg, Spam and even whale meat. Incredibly, the diets of many British people actually improved during the war and the fact that the country avoided starvation demonstrated not only the success of government planning, but also the determination and ingenuity of the wartime generation.

Eggs or Anarchy is one of the great, British stories of the Second World War yet to be told in full. It reveals the heroic tale of how Lord Woolton, Minister for Food, really fed Britain. As a nation at war, with supply routes under attack from the Axis powers and resources scarce, it was Woolton's job to fulfil his promise to the British people, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in particular, that there would be food on the shelves each week. Persuading the public to not resort to the black market and to manage on the very limited ration was one thing, but Woolton had to fulfil his side of the bargain and maintain supplies in time of crisis. A grammar school-educated genius, he was a fish out of water in Churchill's cabinet and the PM himself doubted Woolton would survive due to the unstinting criticism he faced from colleagues, the press and public. This is the story of how he battled to save his own career while using every trick in his entrepreneurial book to secure supplies. He battled to outwit unscrupulous dealers on the black market streets of cities within the British Empire - such as Alexandria in Eygpt - persuading customs authorities to turn a blind eye to his import schemes. If Britain had gone hungry the outcome of the war could have been very different. This book, for the first time, finds out the real story of how Lord Woolton provided food for Britain and her colonies and discovers that for him there were days when it was literally a choice of 'eggs or anarchy'.

This book recalls how the housewives of Britain learned to make do and kept the nation 'fighting fit'. Contains a vast collection of recipes, including Steak and Potato Pie, Stuffed Marrow and Eggless Sponge Pudding, showing how war-time food is still delicious. Includes food from street parties and other victory celebrations that marked the end of the war. These celebratory dishes feature both home cooking and inspiration from the countries of our allies. Savour the tastes of the war years with this nostalgic collection of recipes.

"World War II was the largest and most destructive conflict in human history. It was an existential struggle that pitted irreconcilable political systems and ideologies against one another across the globe in a decade of violence unlike any other. There is little doubt today that the United States had to engage in the fighting, especially after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The conflict was, in the words of historians Allan Millett and Williamson Murray, "a war to be won." As the world's largest industrial power, the United States put forth a supreme effort to produce the weapons, munitions, and military formations essential to achieving victory. When the war finally ended, the finale signaled by atomic mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, upwards of 60 million people had perished in the inferno. Of course, the human toll represented only part of the devastation; global environments also suffered greatly. The growth and devastation of the Second World War significantly changed American landscapes as well. The war created or significantly expanded a number of industries, put land to new uses, spurred urbanization, and left a legacy of pollution that would in time create a new term: Superfund site"--