Vintage Dept. Of Agriculture Posters(Part 2)

Dateline: 30 December 2016

In Part 1 of This two-part post from Upland I showed you some old Department of Agriculture posters that I found on the internet. Now, the poster above is worth it's own post.

It is from the World War 1 era, which was 1914 to 1918. It's an action-packed and dramatic call to HELP FEED YOURSELF and DO YOUR SHARE.

The small wording is hard to see in the picture above, so I've put the message in each of the four sections of the poster together below in an easier-to-read format....

Also, directly under the picture of a row of canned food it says: Children canned and saved these perishables for winter use.

Speaking of Famine

In my previous post I mentioned the American government's concern over famine in this country, as evidenced by one of the old posters. Many Americans surely experienced abject poverty, malnutrition, and subsequent death as a result of malnutrition during America's Depression era. However, this country has never experienced a true famine.

That said, it is worth noting that famine was significant in Russia in 1921. Incredible as it may sound, those who suffered and died the most from that famine were self-reliant peasant communities in the most fertile and productive farmlands of that country. The famine came as a result of drought and government confiscation of seed and food stores. Millions of people died.

The story of the epic Russian famine of 1921 is documented in the PBS film titled, The Great Famine. You can click on that link and watch the documentary on YouTube, and I recommend that you do so. It's always good to keep in mind some historical perspective when it comes to the critically important subject of food.

Part of the amazing story of the Great Famine of 1921 in Russia is that America—and Herbert Hoover in particular (before he became President)—saved the lives of millions of starving Russians with an enormous humanitarian effort. It is a story I never knew about, and I now think it is a story that every American should know about. It's a good story, in the midst of a horrible story.