This book, first published in 1940, is a systematic analysis of Britain’s principal food supplies and the means by which they are distributed to the people. Its calculates the total quantities of food required to feed the whole nation properly, examines pricing structures and the sources of the food stuffs. Both home produced and imported foods are covered in this survey, as are restrictions in the form of the wartime governmental controls.
Food for War is a ground-breaking study of Britain's food and agricultural preparations in the 1930s as the nation once again made ready for war. Historians writing about 1930s Britain have usually focused on the Depression, appeasement, or political, military, and industrial concerns. None have dealt adequately with another significant topic, food and agriculture, as the nation moved, albeit reluctantly, from peace to war. In this new account Alan F. Wilt makes right this omission by examining in depth the relationship between food, agriculture, and the nation's preparations for war. He reveals how food and agriculture became closely linked to rearmament as early as 1936; that the government's preparations in this sector, as contrasted with other areas of the economy, were relatively well-developed when war broke out in 1936; and that rural and farm interests well understood the effect that war would have on their way of life. He argues that food and agriculture need to be integrated into the more general historical discourse, for what happened in Britain in the 1930s not only set the stage for World War II, but also contributed to a more robust agriculture in the decades that followed.
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Because of the exceptionally high proportion of imports in Britain’s food supply and the determined efforts of the enemy to sever the supply lines, efficient management of food resources was an essential element in the British national war effort. This volume was the first comprehensive study of this vital aspect of government strategy and fills a gap in the historiography of this period. This volume provides a balanced picture by drawing together the diverse elements that went into food policy: economic and social trends, international trade relations and labour issues. The author also traces the evolution of food policy during the pre-war planning period and the early part of the war, and analyses the roles of the United States and the labour organizations.
