CANADIAN FOOD CONTROL, 1917-1918
In the last two years of World War I, Canada created a Food Control Office, which later became known as the Canada Food Board.
This entity regulated Canadian food consumption to greater extents than had before thought possible. In just two years it brought in over 38 food regulations. It became illegal to hoard flour or sugar, to make candies, and to put icing on cakes and pastries. Margarine became legal, the use of grains in alcohol production became illegal, and serving beef or pork in restaurants on Tuesdays or Fridays was outlawed. Anyone breaking these rules risked fines, business closures, and up to 3 months’ imprisonment.
In my forthcoming book, I include a whole chapter on Canadian food control during the Great War. But what I have not yet explored, and what I find endlessly fascinating, are the types of foods that the federal government wanted Canadians to conserve. Do not buy fats, sugars, wheat, red meat, or poultry, said the government; instead, conserve these foods so the Canadian Expeditionary Forces could send them overseas. Canadians were instead to eat fish, barley, rice, beans, fruits, and vegetables.
Given the heavy campaigning the Canadian government did around white flour, sugar, butter, beef, and pork, it becomes apparent that these were sought-after foods in Canadians’ diets. The majority of Canadians, if government posters are to be believed, preferred to eat white bread, baked treats, beef, and bacon than they did any other kind of substance. Indeed, the government frequently urged Canadians to save these foods for the soldiers; their strength and longevity, it was said, depended on their access to such quality items.
And yet what is most interesting is that today, sugar, carbs, and red meat are listed as among the most dangerous foods for Canadians’ ingestion. According to the Canadian Food Guide, that Bible of Canadian food health, all of these foods should be eaten in moderation, and preferably avoided. Heart attacks, high blood pressure, bad teeth, fatigue, and various nutrient deficiencies are just some of the results of such calorie-laden, carbohydrate-stocked victuals.
So, how did white bread, pastries, and red meat go from highly sought after foods to foods that are considered harmful? And by what processes have fruit, vegetables, fish, rice, and whole grains become the new health food “normal"? It’s a complicated tale indeed, one that I — and many other Canadian food historians — hope to unravel.
Here is another Canadian food poster from the period. Note how it says that soldiers “need" “meat," “bread," “pastry," and “butter." Regular Canadians, it turns out, would have to get by on “fish," “vegetables," “fruit," and “drippings."
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