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Food in USA during the interwar years (1919-1941) - Coggle Diagram
Food in USA during the interwar years (1919-1941)
Impact of WW1
Food propaganda during WW1
anti-food wastage propaganda influenced the way Americans viewed food even after the war.
propaganda campaigns like "meatless mondays", "local is best" and "eat less wheat' were all from WW1, but stayed prominent long afterwards
1920s economic boom
Farmers were badly affected by the introduction of mass production
As farmers produced more produce using their new machines. the price of their crops dropped.
When these farmers could not sell their crops, the prices fell even more
Price of wheat and barley hit an all-time low in 1929, partly due to Prohibition banning the production of alcohol (farmers would use wheat to make moonshine)
Frozen meals became popular
American households were now wired with electricity, which meant that food was able to be kept frozen
Birdseye was one such company that developed and marketed frozen dinners
Meat could be frozen and kept for longer periods of time
American households were able to afford electricity bills to use their refrigerators
Link to Prohibition, finger foods and sandwiches were popular, as these were commonly served at speakeasies
Great Depression [1929-1933]
Soup kitchens were set up for the unemployed [provided free meals to those that could not afford it]
Famously, Mobster Al Capone ran a soup kitchen in Chicago during the Great Depression
Livestock was precious and
generally
families that owned livestock were not as heavily impacted by the lack of food
dairy from cows and sheep
milk gained prominence during the 1930s as it was considered "complete food"
eggs from ducks and chickens
meat was very rarely eaten, as those that owned livestock did not want to eat their profits
furthermore, many households were no longer able to afford to use the refrigerator, which meant that foods that spoiled easily were no longer popular
Many relied on grain and dried goods
did not spoil easily
The Dust Bowl.
The Southern Plains region of the United States which suffered severe dust storms during a dry period in the 1930s. People and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region.
killed imporrtant crops like wheat
Prohibition movement [1920- 1933]
Eighteenth Amendment- illegalization of the manufacturing. transportation, and sale of alcohol
Devastated fine-dining restaurants
, which relied heavily on the sale of alcohol
Cocktail parties at homes or speakeasies became more common, and gave rise to a wide array of
finger foods
Link to overproduction of crops, farmers could no longer legally use their wheat and barley to make whiskey (moonshine), which badly affected their income