Food Flash: Don't Waste Bread

1945
Sound
1m

Crumbs! Victory celebrations give way to postwar austerity as shortages leave countries short of dough in more ways than one.

The low-carb option proved a necessity rather than a diet trend after WWII. This 'Food Flash' - a short government-sponsored message interspersed in the cinema programme - was an early sign of ongoing shortages in the postwar period. The introduction of rationing for bread on 21 July 1946 was a bitter pill to swallow, since it was one of the few commodities that escaped rationing even during the height of war. The ration was lifted in 1948.

Ministry of Information 'Food Flash' urging the public not to waste bread as there are world food shortages after the war.

Ration Book Britain

As if the bombs weren't enough, wartime Britons faced another fearsome foe: the ration book...

Everyday goods, from food and fuel to clothing, became luxuries - especially with supplies from Britain's Empire territories routinely intercepted by Nazi U-boats. Public information messages urged housewives to get creative with dried eggs and potato peel. Austerity was soul-sapping, and lasted long after the peace was won.

But rationing did help foster a sense of 'all in it together' and focused minds on managing scarce resources (while also creating profitable opportunities for the entrepreneurial 'spiv'). Make-do-and-mend became second nature, and wartime Brits recycled and salvaged more diligently then even today's eco-conscious citizens.