The same month the United States entered World War I, Yale economist Irving Fisher famously argued that the barley used in brewing beer could be put to better use baking bread to feed American troops. Others asserted that alcohol was a luxury that gobbled up much-needed resources and impaired job performance in wartime factories.
These calls were fueled as much by a yearning for prohibition as they were by patriotism, but they were ultimately successful in winning restrictions on booze.
In and , measures were enacted limiting everything from the sale of alcohol around military bases and munitions plants to the amount of grain allotted to beer brewers. Other countries made similar efforts to keep their citizens clearheaded.
Britain shortened pub hours and made it illegal to buy drinks for other patrons, and King George V tried to set an example by swearing off alcohol for the duration of the war. In Russia, Czar Nicholas II took the more extreme step of banning the sale and production of vodka outright. During both World War I and II, many countries strictly rationed foods such as meat, sugar, butter and canned goods. That was bad news for American women, many of whom had been crazy for nylon stockings ever since they hit shelves in the first batch of 4 million sold out in only two days.
Automobile production was halted in February and auto manufacturers began the massive retooling efforts needed to convert their factories to full-time war production. No new cars were produced for more than three years and inventories existing when production stopped were only available for purchase by designated "essential drivers", such as physicians.
It is estimated that by , only 30, such vehicles remained in inventory. Since no new cars were available, maintenance of existing vehicles was essential, and manufacturers began to emphasize their dealers' expertise in repair and maintenance activities. This approach also had the additional benefits of protecting individual dealers businesses and keeping the manufacturers' names before the public. These General Motors advertisements, published in the spring of , were typical examples of this new approach to the consumer market.
Note the extensive use of text in these advertisements to educate consumers, a feature common to many ads, especially in the early days of the war. Food Administration advocated Americans conserve fats. But eating less fat was not for weight loss; it was so fats would be available for the war effort. The Administration promoted using less oil by baking, broiling, and boiling food rather than frying.
They issued numerous tips on saving oil and drippings and how to render and reuse fats. A number of recipes substitute butter with margarine or shortening.
In order to win the war, the United States needed to provide a large quantity of food. A number of organizations mobilized civilians to create liberty gardens, as growing food would allow more commercially-grown produce to be available for our troops and European Allies, who had been ravaged by years of war.
Liberty gardens provided an opportunity for many people to serve. The campaign resulted in over five million gardens. Every child in a garden. They grew beans, corn, cabbage, peaches, and raspberries over four acres and held classes in canning and preserving.
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