Guns & Butter: American Food Experiences During the World Wars
July 24, 2018 -
Food History class (Summer 2018)
Dr. Beth Forrest
Guns & Butter showcases many aspects of the relationship between food, World War I, and World War II in American history. The title of the exhibit draws on the economic theory of a nation’s resources. As part of the National Defense Act of 1916, a Congressional debate over the use of nitrates for American farmers or to build munitions brought the phrase “Guns vs. Butter” into public consciousness. In this exhibit, CIA students not only mark the centennial of the armistice of WWI, but reframe the debate to illustrate the intimate relationship between guns AND butter, that is war and food.
This exhibit was researched and curated by students in the fall 2017 Food History class, part of the Applied Food Studies program at the CIA.
