“When war began in summer 1914, the United States declared its neutrality, seeing the conflict as European. That position held, despite the mid-1915 death of 128 Americans in the Lusitania sinking. The campaign slogan, “He Kept Us Out of War” helped re-elect Pres. Woodrow Wilson in 1916.”
“Neutrality was soon impossible: in early 1917 Germany began unrestrained submarine attacks on Atlantic shipping … the United States entered The Great War on April 6, 1917”. (Manning, WWI Centennial Commission)
The US Food Administration was created by Executive Order No. 2679-A (August 10, 1917), under authority of the Food and Fuel Control (Lever) Act of the same date, with Herbert Hoover as Food Administrator. Hoover had already established a headquarters for the agency on May 4, 1917, following his return from a fact-finding tour of Europe. (National Archives)
The Food Administration was given broad powers to control the production, distribution, and conservation of food. It also had responsibilities for preventing monopolies and hoarding and maintaining governmental control of foods by means of voluntary agreements and a licensing system for the importation, manufacture, storage, and distribution of foodstuffs. (National Archives)
The Food Administration had very little enforcement powers and relied primarily on encouraging voluntary cooperation in conservation and sales with posters for outdoor and indoor display with slogans such as “Food Will Win The War” and pledge campaigns to “enroll all men, women, and children …in a food conservation army.” (National Archives)
These programs relied heavily on using the “weapon of publicity” to appeal to the “patriotism and loyalty of citizens.” Prices were controlled mainly through local price interpreting (“fair price”) committees which prepared and published fair price lists and “retail price reporters” who investigated violations. (National Archives)
Local food administrators tried to “hold in check the forces of speculation and avariciousness” and prevent “extortionate profits” by merchants by publicizing the names of business that did not follow the price guidelines. (National Archives)
In the Islands, in a cable sent in April, 1917, Secretary of Agriculture Lane asked Governor Lucius E Pinkham that Hawaii make itself as self-supporting as possible and increase its exports of foods, especially sugar to the mainland.
Legislation was rushed through the closing days of the Legislature and Act 221, which created the Territorial Food Commission and allotted it $25,000, was approved by Governor Pinkham on May 2, 1917. (Hawai‘i State Archives)
One of the first tasks undertaken by the Hawai‘i Commission was an inventory of the different food supplies on hand in the Islands and a comparison of it with the Custom House imports of the same goods, to see which island products could be increased and imports of it decreased.
It also undertook the investigation of such things as hoarding, wasting of food and excessively high costs and prices. In this endeavor, it used its powers to fix a ceiling on the price of Hawaiian grown rice and taro. (Hawai‘i State Archives)
The Food Control Act of August 10, 1917 and subsequent Presidential proclamations did give the Food Administration the authority to license the manufacture, storage, and distribution of “certain necessaries” including …”
“… the milling of corn, oats, barley and rice; the manufacture of “near-beer” and similar cereal beverages; operation of warehouses to store food or food commodities; baking; cotton ginning; salt water fishing and the distribution of seafood; importation of flour; and use of commercial feeds for livestock, cattle, and hogs.” (National Archives)
“An ongoing 1917-18 effort was food conservation. Herbert Hoover, Pres. Wilson’s ‘Food Administrator,’ exhorted Americans to stretch and increase available food. Food saved by civilians could feed frontline troops. Patriots would plant Victory Gardens, avoid waste, and not horde.” (Manning, WWI Centennial Commission)
“Hawaii must feed more troops, stationed here or passing through. Shipping food to Hawaii took valuable cargo space. Better to use less, eat local foods, and dry or can fresh produce.”
“Key military ration ingredients were targeted for conservation. ‘The woman handling the home food supply is equal to the man who handles a battlefield gun,’ wrote an advocate. Housewives were encouraged to observe Meatless Monday and Wheatless Wednesday.”
“While an egg saved in Hawaii might not reach the troops, flour not needed here could. Ways to stretch flour, and avoid waste were pushed. A patriotic Love’s Bakery experimented with a recipe for a ‘Victory Loaf’ – sandwich bread made from bananas.”
“Patriotic letters to the editor pushed ‘Bread Economy’: a slice a day per person saved in Hawaii translated into food for thousands. Love’s Bakery ads suggested ideas for cooking with stale bread – ‘Don’t Waste.’”
“To ‘Do Your Bit,’ Love’s said, buy their ‘Truly Patriotic Loaf’ – Graham Bread made with ingredients not used in white breads. If all Honolulu ate Love’s Graham 2 days a week, 10,000 lbs. of wheat would be saved ads bragged.” (Manning, WWI Centennial Commission)
Most of the enforcement powers of the Food Administration were ended by a Presidential proclamation of January 1, 1919. (National Archives)
The US Food Administration officially existed for less than 24-months and yet its legacy included momentous impacts to the political, social, and economic landscape of the nation, along with a profound influence on peace negotiations and international affairs. (Buschman)
Perhaps the Territorial Food Commission’s most important project was the initiation of the county agent system for the purpose of advising and instructing planters of crops other than sugar cane and pineapple, about matters pertaining to planting, cultivating, spraying, harvesting and marketing.
These agents, one each on Oahu, Maui and Kauai, and two on Hawaii, also served as marketing demonstrators for the Marketing Division of the Board of Agriculture and Forestry.
They supplied them with information about crops that were planted or about to be marketed and other data of interest …. County agents also acted as representatives of the Federal Food Administration in 1918. (Hawai‘i State Archives)
The Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and the University of Hawai‘i developed its own version of an extension program, which was the basis of a successful appeal to Congress after several years of struggle for Hawai‘i’s inclusion in the Act.
The CTAHR Cooperative Extension Service is a part of the world’s largest non-traditional education system, the Cooperative Extension System. CES is the third major component of land grant universities, along with instruction and research.
It is a partnership between federal, state, and local governments and has responsibility for providing science-based information and educational programs in agriculture, natural resources, and human resources. (CTAHR)
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