1940's Medicine and Health | "America Is Learning What to Eat"

Newspaper article, Illustration

By: Clive M. McCoy

Date: March 28, 1943

Source: "America Is Learning What to Eat." The New York Times, March 28, 1943.

About the Author: Clive M. McCoy was a professor of nutrition at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, a school well known for its research in agriculture and human nutrition.

Introduction

The traditional American diet in the early twentieth century wasn't fancy. The Great Depression of the 1930s left many households short of money, forcing housewives to stretch their food dollars further. While they did have to worry about affording food, they did not have to wonder whether they could find the foods they wanted to buy. A standard cookbook published in 1931 lists dinner menus that include meat, potatoes, several vegetables, bread or rolls, and dessert—sometimes all preceded by an appetizer of soup or...