Changing Eating Habits on the Home Front: Lost Lessons from World War II Research

Programs intended to improve nutrition often fall short of expectations. One exception, however, occurred during the rationing years of World War II, when U.S. citizens were encouraged to incorporate protein-rich organ meats into their protein-deficient diets. Unfortunately, most of the insights resulting from these efforts remained unpublished or in limited distribution. For the first time, the author synthesizes selected studies from this era according to how the program restructured social norms, changed perceptions of taste, and helped assimilate variety into the U.S. diet. The author discusses the behaviorally driven implications from these “lost lessons” in the context of the empirical contributions they made in defining what makes an unfavorable food acceptable.