by Mary S. Choate, M.S., R.D.

Back to the Future:
Nutrition Circa 1936

The 1930s were an exciting era of nutrition discovery. This decade was part of a period that became known as the "Golden Age of Nutrition." Scientists were discovering that certain diseases were caused by nutritional deficiency and could be cured by diet. By 1936, scientists had discovered vitamins A, B1, B3, B6, C, D, E, and K, and identified the minerals zinc, iron, iodine, manganese, and magnesium among others necessary for health.

Deficiency diseases caused by wartime famine or lack of knowledge were being cured. This meant that proper nutrition could bring an end to afflictions such as bone-deforming rickets when foods rich in vitamin D were consumed. Scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency that caused failure to thrive in children, as well as bleeding gums, weakened bones, and soreness in adults, could be prevented with citrus and other vitamin C-rich produce. Beriberi, a debilitating and often fatal nerve disease, could be prevented with adequate thiamin from whole instead of refined grains.

The founders of the Hanover Co-op from 1936 knew their nutrition. The limes, oranges, and grapefruit they purchased are examples of vitamin-rich foods still encouraged as part of a healthy diet today. This photo from 1982 shows 10 of the original 17 charter members from the 1936 Hanover Co-op.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
A large number of modern-day nutrition concerns were also of concern to these nutrition pioneers. While they were only just beginning to identify and utilize their research about nutrients in foods, they also had glimmerings of other, as yet unidentified nutritional factors in foods. They knew that some vitamins, minerals, and what we now know as phytochemicals were missing from highly processed foods, and warned about this in their writings and teaching. Then, as now, research showed that what we ate had an effect on our health. Studies revealed that, on average, workers ate two more pounds of food per day in 1928 than in 1914 and consumed higher amounts of refined sugar, bread, and starch products, leading to obesity and health problems.

Researchers in the 1930s had a surprisingly accurate insight into nutrition and health that we continue to build upon today. A 1934 textbook, Food and Health, stated that choosing a diet rich in "protective" foods such as produce, whole grains, and beans serves us doubly by "ensuring against nutritional deficiencies and increasing our ability to resist infection." It goes on to note that, "however important the inherited constitution and…genes…there is yet a very great opportunity [for optimal health]… through intelligent food habits."

The forward-thinking 1927 text, The Foundations of Nutrition, discussed the relationship between excess weight and diabetes, and wisely addressed the problem of overweight in children by suggesting increased activity while specifically warning against a calorie-restricted diet, which would interfere with a child’s normal growth.

In the 1930’s text, Diet in Disease, it was understood that the refining of grains and the removal of the bran and germ made it storable for longer periods without going rancid, but also removed important vitamins. The same text notes that the search was on for sugar and fat substitutes to use in the treatment of diabetes.

Modern Meals
By the 1930s, meals similar to the way we eat today were becoming common. Breakfasts that in earlier years had consisted of heavy meats and breads became citrus fruit, dry cereal and milk, or eggs and toast. Lunches were light: sandwich, salad, and soup. Dinner portions became smaller: roast or broiled meat, potatoes, vegetables, and a light ending with a simple fruit dish, if dessert was included at all.

Depression-era Food Guidance
The economic depression of the 1930s influenced government food guidance publications. In 1933, the United States Department of Agriculture published family food plans at four different cost levels to meet the needs of all family members.

The plans were based on 12 major food groups: milk; potatoes and sweet potatoes; dry beans; peas and nuts; tomatoes and citrus fruits; leafy green and yellow vegetables; other vegetables and fruits; eggs; lean meat, poultry, and fish; flours and cereals; butter and other fats; and sugars. These food plans recognized that foods such as cereals, potatoes, and dry beans supply nutrients most inexpensively.

The first national dietary survey was the Consumer Purchases Study of 1936-37, conducted by several Federal agencies. Its results indicated that one-third of the nation’s families had diets that were poor by nutritional standards. Interestingly, they found that lower income farm families consuming diets rich in their own home–grown protective foods such as fruits and vegetables had higher quality diets than village or city dwellers who spent more of their income on food. Spending food dollars on fresh produce, or growing your own if you can, continues to be a sound plan.

Short-lived Soy Celebration
Amazingly, soy, the most popular bean of the new millenium, had a starring role at the 1934 World’s Fair! The menu served at the Ford exhibit featured soy in every course, from the pineapple ring with soybean cheese and soybean dressing to the soybean croquettes with tomato sauce. Henry Ford, an early fan of soy’s qualities, was way ahead of his time. However, after the fair, soy went back into the shadows as an animal feed crop, vegetable oil, and unpretentious processed food ingredient until the natural foods movements of the 1970s.

A Little Bit of Science Still Goes a Long Way
During the late 1930s, many people were gripped by "vitamin-mania." The vitamin and mineral discoveries meant that fruits and many vegetables once considered extras and not essential to a good diet were now very important. Most Americans were not quite sure what vitamins were, but were convinced that they could lead to improved health, stamina, and long life.

Vitamin- and mineral-enriched foods were seen as a wide-open marketing opportunity to food processing companies. Parents, not wanting their children to grow up "vitamin-deficient," were a prime target of manufacturers’ advertising efforts.

General Foods (Post Toasties, Jell-O), Standard Brands (Chase and Sanborn, Royal Baking Powder), General Mills (home of "Betty Crocker"), and Sunkist competed fiercely for grocers’ shelf space. Cereals, bread, milk, and other products claiming to be nutrient-enriched were promoted vigorously on the radio and in print. Even marginal food items, such as Fleischmann’s yeast, were promoted for their vitamins and minerals; yeast was advertised to cure pimples, boils, "fallen stomach," and other health problems.

What the food producers neglected to mention was that their highly processed foods needed enrichment because they had lost vitamins during processing. Food companies did not promote eating the nutrient-rich whole unprocessed or minimally processed food as an option.

Ahead of Their Time
Without a doubt, the founders of the Hanover Co-op were up to date on the latest nutrition news. The first items the Hanover Consumers’ Club purchased cooperatively were limes, oranges, and grapefruit— examples of some of those vitamin-rich, protective foods that nutrition researchers were encouraging folks to eat back then and still are today.

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