Food Will Win the War: Minnesota Crops, Cook, and Conservation during World War I

Chapter 3: The Staff f Life, the Stuff f War

43 3 The Staff f Life, the Stuff f War I don’t know if I’ve spoken of the meals here, but they sure are wonderful. The bread is “like mother used to make” (years ago). It’s made here at the post bakery by enlisted men and sure tastes like homemade bread. We always have whole-wheat bread, as well as white, and real butter. Granville Gutterson, Army Air Corps, March 1918, Texas1 Bread, which provides a balance of carbohydrates and protein, especially when spread with a bit of fat, was considered a near perfect food. Bread was easily distributed and tasty when eaten without being heated. According to Herbert Hoover, citizens in countries already at war in April and May 1917 consumed one-half to two-thirds of their total daily calories as bread.2 In the United States, before war had affected food production, bread was typically served at every meal and represented an estimated one-third of a citizen’s total calories. A “menu for healthy eating” sent to The Farmer by Fanny K. of Michigan on April 28, 1917, just as the war began, said that breakfast should include bread, fruit, cereal, and eggs or a “small amount of meat.” The noon meal should include bread, a hot meat dish, a cold meat or a very heavy salad and soup, potatoes, and dessert. Her evening meal suggestion included bread, meat and potatoes, vegetable, and salad. Wheat is the essential ingredient in bread, and Minnesota farmers could play a key role in stretching the supply. Many farmers across the nation were already in the fields planting for the 1917fall harvest when President Wilson called for war against Germany in April. But in the northern-tier state of Minnesota, farmers had not yet been able to put in their crops. A. D. Wilson, director of the university’s Agricultural Extension Service, immediately urged farmers to shift from Food Will W in t he War 44 their usual oat, alfalfa, and corn crops to wheat. Mid-April reports of drought-driven failure of Kansas’s winter-wheat crop added urgency to the efforts.3 State Farm Bureau agents in 16 Minnesota counties quickly responded to a survey sent by F. E. Balmer, chief of the agent program. Some responses were completed on April 4, the day President Wilson declared war, and sent to University Farms by return mail. The agent for St. Louis County in northern Minnesota wrote: “Experimenting with new and untried crops at this stage is out of the question , but by all means grow and cultivate to the fullest extent any crop now known to be safe and reliable.” Shipping disruptions , caused by the diversion of merchant ships to troop transport and by continuing submarine warfare, had reduced the availability of imported cane sugar from Cuba and Java.4 In addition to giving solid information about which crops were usually planted in Minnesota’s counties, the agents were asked how much additional acreage could be cultivated to grow more corn, oats, barley, and spring wheat. Their answers highlighted other war-related problems. Even before men were drafted into the army, farmers in Dakota County, south of St. Paul, had trouble cultivating and harvesting crops: “Average farm in Dakota County about 155acres. Big labor problem.” The Grant County agent in the west central part of the state raised another nagging issue: “Many of our farmers would resent a campaign for larger production unless they Quick waR BRead 2 tablespoons vinegar 2 cups milk½ cup sugar 3cups graham (whole-wheat) flour 1¼ teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup flour½ cup molasses Preheat the oven to 325° F. Put the vinegar in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Add milk to make 2 cups. Stir and let stand until milk is soured, about 5minutes. Combine the sugar, graham flour, baking soda, salt, and regular flour. Add molasses and soured milk; stir well. Pour mixture into 2greased and floured 4 × 8 loaf pans. Bake until fi m in the center, about 50–60 minutes. (The Farmer’s Wife, June 1918) t he St aFFoF l iFe 45 can be shown that fair prices are in sight.” Closer to the Iowa border, the Faribault agent recommended, “Men who have studied and followed special courses of crop and food production can be of great assistance in obtaining production of the needed food supply. Farmers who have...