This thesis examines how the United States federal government used public relations to improve the diets of everyday Americans during World War II. The government invested in several years of research, led by Margaret Mead, to understand the competing forces that influence dietary habits, choice, and folkways. Information about healthy eating was distributed to media and food companies along with other messages about rationing restrictions and compliance. A vestige of that time that still exists today is the USDA's Recommended Dietary Allowances. This study examines cookbooks, newspaper and magazine articles as examples of how nutrition information was presented. The study finds that the government chose not to prioritize nutrition messages as part of their overall PR strategy, but the messages were embraced by private industry and integrated into promotional materials. The addition of this story to public relations history challenges current PR histories as it demonstrates a comprehensive campaign that integrated research, planning, implementation, and evaluation of those efforts. / MA / Forty percent of draftees were rejected from service in World War II because they suffered from malnutrition-related diseases. This inspired the government to find a way to encourage Americans to eat healthier, and led to the development of the Recommended Dietary Allowances. A team of social scientists led by Margaret Mead researched how culture might influence eating choices, and this paper investigates that research as well as how nutrition information was communicated in newspapers, magazines and cookbooks. This paper finds that while the government did not prioritize nutrition messages, corporate food producers integrated the government’s nutrition guidelines into their own advertising enthusiastically.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/96196 |
| Date | 29 June 2018 |
| Creators | Purcell, Laura |
| Contributors | Communication, Myers, Marcus Cayce, Tedesco, John C., Waggenspack, Beth M. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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