We’ve all seen the slogan: ‘Dig For Victory!’, but how easy was it for people to be veggie during the war?
For soldiers, it was kind of hard. Rations consisted of a chicken, tuna, ham or Spam option in 1944, very little veggie options there. Unless of course, you had cake. Cake was part of the emergency ration kit, that included sugar and tea, and was designed as a high-energy supplement to keep you on your feet. Shame out your teeth though…
The problem for a life in the army, particularly a mobile war like WW2 was storage. Tinned meats were easier to store and transport, while vegetables could go bad well before being needed. And it wasn’t as if the soldiers had time to tend allotments out on the front lines!
At home, things were a little easier. Our name sake foodstuffs, vegetables, were never rationed and as the war progressed, people were encouraged to ‘Dig for Victory’. However, by 1940, rationing was in full effect, leaving veggies without easy access to supplements like cheese and cereals to maintain a healthy diet.
Standard Rations From 1940
Veggies Fight For Cheese!
The Vegetarian Society had begun to lobby the government for support and recognition from as early as 1937. When rationing was introduced, vegetarian societies entered negotiations for fairer rationing options in exchange for their meat rations. By 1942, they had secured more eggs, cheese and nuts for registered vegetarians.
- Vegetarians were allowed two eggs per week, rather than 1
- Vegetarians were allowed 75g/3oz of extra cheese ration, 50g more than standard rations
Around 50,000 people across the UK registered as vegetarian during the war, though this number is known to have included sneaky families who claimed to have a veggie in the family to get more cheese. But cheese is great, so I guess you can’t really blame them.
After the war, the concessions were widely considered to be the official recognition of the lifestyle and is held up as a time of great healthy eating. Lots of veg, delicious brown bread, low meat and sugar, what’s not to love?
The post Digging For Veg-tory! | Being A Vegetarian In World War 2 appeared first on V8 UK.