From the North Wales Chronicle, 12th April 1918.
FOOD VALUE OF CARROTS.
The Food Survey Board of the Ministry of Food wishes to impress upon the public the food value of carrots. In food value 3lbs. of carrots would be approximately equal to 2lbs of potatoes, to 1lb. of veal, to ½lb. of bread, to 5lbs. of tomatoes, to 1lb. of chicken, or to seven or eight eggs.
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Presumably 'food value' here means calories. It seems a bit misleading to suggest that these foods are interchangeable in other ways. A tomato diet, for instance, would be completely lacking in protein, as far as I know.]
Sounds like they were either trying to encourage people to eat a strange vegetable (radicchio anyone?)in anew variety or it was during a time of food shortages. The war was winding down and there was a flu pandemic so it may have been shortages.
ReplyDeleteThere were severe food shortages at that time, and many foods were rationed, so this was a way of trying to persuade the public that eating home-grown vegetables was as good as eating lots of meat. The war was actually a long way from winding down - the Allies nearly lost the war in 1918.
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