What's Cooking,

UnCle sam?
New Archives Exhibit Examines Governments Effect on the American Diet
By Alice Kamps

rank n. meyer was recruited by the U.S. department of agriculture (USda) for his passion for plants and his willingness to walk long distances. determined to prove he was the man for the job, meyer traveled some 10,000 miles, mostly on foot, during expeditions to China, Siberia, and what was then manchuria, Turkestan, and mongolia. The purpose of his travels, in his words, was to skim the earth in search of good things for man. The good things he sought were mainly new varieties of fruits, nuts, and grains for american agriculture. He trekked the far corners of the earth from 1905 to 1918, venturing into many territories that had never been explored. more than 2,500 types of seeds and shoots survived the journey home to be tested in american soils.
Opposite: Vitamin-enriched products, including donuts, were produced in response to two small studies that found that Americans were deprived of Vitamin B1 (thiamine). The National Nutrition Division declined to endorse the term Enriched Donuts. Top left: Apricots (seen here), pistachios, pomegranates, and what is now known as the Meyer Lemon are a few of Meyers contributions to American agriculture. Top right: To skim the earth in search of things good for man is how Frank N. Meyer described his work as an agricultural explorer. He is pictured in Chinese Turkestan, ca 1910.

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If the USda were to develop a line of action figures, meyer would top the list. accessories sold separately would include his revolverfor frightening off bears, tigers, and wolvesand a Bowie knife for defending himself against murderous outlaws and bandits. The USda fastidiously documented the foreign plant explorations undertaken by meyer and others. The photographs, correspondence, and maps tracing their journeys and discoveries line multiple shelves in the stacks of the national archives. records illustrating meyers adventures are on display in Whats Cooking, Uncle Sam?an exhibition in the Lawrence f. oBrien gallery at the national archives in Washington, d.C., through January 3, 2012. Whats Cooking? comprises an eclectic assortment of records with one thing in commonthey were produced in the course of
Opposite: President Lyndon B. Johnsons first state dinner was a Texas-style barbeque. He held so many of these casual events during his time in office that the term barbeque diplomacy was coined. Top left: With the world at war in the 1940s, farmers had to feed troops, civilians, and overseas allies. Top right: With canned goods in short supply during World War I, people were encouraged to grow more fruits and vegetables at home.

U.S. government efforts to feed americans an ample, safe, and nutritious diet. Spanning the revolutionary War era through the late 1900s, the documents, films, and photographs in the exhibition echo many of our current concerns about governments role in the health and safety of our food supply.
WilEy CAmpAiGNs AGAiNst ADultErAtioN of fooD

The exhibition explores government activities in four areas (farm, factory, Kitchen, and Table) that had an impact on food in america. Sometimes the impact was significantthe Pure food and drug act of 1906 made it illegal to sell products doctored with toxic chemicals. Sometimes the impact was less dramaticLyndon B. Johnsons Pedernales Chili recipe spiced up the cooking repertoire of some of his fans. Sometimes there was little or no impact at all, despite the governments best effortsthe World War II nutrition campaign had a negligible effect on eating habits. and sometimes the impact was completely unintended many children of immigrant parents came to prefer the white bread they first tasted in their school lunches. The stories related here, like

the others in the exhibition, provide context and insight into todays conversation about the role of government in our daily diet. In the factory section of the exhibition, we learn about an unusual experiment that took place in the basement of the Bureau of Chemistry. Just a few years before meyer began traversing mountain passes and fording streams in Central asia, Harvey Washington Wiley became the USdas chief chemist. Wiley had focused his career and his considerable skills, ambition, and energy on the subject of food adulterants. Tall, barrel-chested, with a monolithic head and penetrating gaze, Wiley was an imposing figure. He objected to food adulteration on moral grounds and approached his work with the zeal and passion of a crusader. food adulteration was a fraud perpetrated on the american people, a fraud he was determined to expose to justices harsh light. Industrial age foodstuffs were commonly doctored with arsenic, formaldehyde, sodium benzoate, boric acid, copper sulfate, and other substances. These chemicals were added to foods as dyes or preservatives or to mask substandard ingredients and spoilage. Chemical preservatives, Wiley believed, posed the most danger to the consumer. But he needed proof.

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spECiAl mEAls prEpArED for 12 BrAvE youNG mEN

Wiley devised an experiment designed to provide evidence that these substances were indeed harmful. He rounded up 12 young, robust fellows, to volunteer for what he called the Hygienic Table. Perhaps motivated by the promise of free meals, the medical students and agriculture department underlings signed on to eat food laced with progressively increasing amounts

This exhibition, go to www.archives.gov/exhibits/ whats-cooking/. This exhibitions documents and images, go to flickr at http://tinyurl.com/ usnatarchives-flickr-cooking. other national archives online exhibits, go to www.archives.gov/exhibits/.

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of chemical preservatives. Their motto: none but the brave dare eat the fare. The young men also committed to collect and submit all of their waste products for the duration of the experiment (a satchel and containers were provided for this purpose.) Wiley had a mail room kitted out as a dining hall complete with white tablecloths. old Borax, as Wiley came to be known, even prepared some of the meals himself. The experiment surprised Wiley on two counts: the fascination it held for the presswho gleefully dubbed it The Poison Squadand the severity of the illness caused by the adulterants. news of the Poison Squad contributed to the mounting public outcry for protection. The results of the tests (now in the Bureau of Chemistry records at the national archives) convinced Wiley that these substances should not be allowed in foods. In 1906 Wiley, and other supporters of the Pure food and drug act, prevailed.

our EAtiNG HABits BEComE mAttErs of NAtioNAl sECurity

In the Kitchen section of Whats Cooking, Uncle Sam? we learn how the government tried to protect americans not only from unsafe food but from bad eating habits as well. In the years approaching americas engagement in World War II, nutrition became a matter of national security. at the time, it was widely believed that a significant portion of americans were malnourished. The health and fitness of the

Opposite top: This food group poster, ca. 1945, recommended that in addition to the Basic 7, you could eat any other foods you want. Opposite bottom: As soon as the Pure Food and Drugs Act was passed, products, such as Extra Fancy Cream Sugar Corn, began to proclaim the purity of their ingredients. Top: The slogan and special insignia, U.S. Needs Us Strong, was used on foods approved by the Nutrition Division as part of a healthy diet during World War II.

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Left: Wiley recorded his subjects headache, nausea, and vomiting on this page of his meticulous notes. Although there was no official follow-up, anecdotal reports suggest that none of the volunteers suffered any long-term harm.

as its full-time executive secretary. although mead was confident she could discover the links between culture and diet that would light the way forward, she seems only to have revealed how complex and difficult such an undertaking would be.

population were critical for both soldiers and civilians if america was to fight the war and maintain production of food and weapons on the home front. To combat this hidden hunger, the nutrition division of the War food administration designed and deployed a new food guide to reflect the realities of wartime food shortages and rationing of meat, sugar, eggs, and butter. Previously in separate groups, meat and eggs were combined with beans and fish as alternative proteins. The daily 7 was illustrated as segments of a circle. The freshly minted symbol of a healthy american familydesigned with help from commercial advertising agency volunteerswas placed in the center. around the symbol a spiffed-up slogan proclaimed, U.S. needs Us StrongEat the Basic 7 Every day. a version of that slogan, U.S. needs Us StrongEat nutritional food was part of a separate initiative that co-opted the commercial food industry. The slogan and a special insignia modeled on the Good Housekeeping seal of approval could be used on foods

approved by the nutrition division as part of a healthy diet. requests for this endorsement poured into the nutrition division. Eating breakfast cereal and other foods was quickly promoted as a patriotic contribution to the war effort. Even the doughnut Corporation of america sought permission to promote their products as Enriched doughnuts. after several months and pages of correspondence, the term Enriched flour doughnuts was officially sanctioned.
AssEssiNG uNClE sAms impACt oN our DiEts

There are many more fascinating stories in Whats Cooking, Uncle Sam? With more than 100 original records on display, there is much to discover about the scope and history of the governments effect on the american diet. The food records at the national archives contain elements of tragedy, irony, gravity, and even mystery. our hero frank n. meyer is a good example of the latter. He embarked on his fourth and final expedition in 1916. Wearying of his travels and anxious about the deteriorating political situation in China, he had begun to consider resigning his post. Still, he kept on, collecting wild pears, peaches, and other plants. on friday, may 31, 1918, he boarded a riverboat on the Yangtze bound for Shanghai. That night, he was reported missing. five days later, his body was found in the river. The circumstances of his death remain unknown. P
Author
Alice Kamps became a curator at the national archives in 2009. Before that, she was a freelance exhibit developer in Chicago, where she created exhibits for Shedd aquarium and the museum of natural History. She started her museum career at the Chicago Childrens museum. She has been a great fan of food since her earliest introduction and likes to think she knows her onions.

Teaching people about the nutritional value of foods was one thing; getting them to change their eating habits was quite another. The national research Council formed a Committee on food Habits to explore ways to get americans to apply the new rules to the packing of lunch pails and filling of grocery carts. members of the committee were leading social scientists, including cultural anthropologist margaret mead, who served

Whats Cooking, uncle sam? is on display in the lawrence f. oBrien Gallery at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., through January 3, 2012.

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Summer 2011

Whats Cooking, Uncle Sam? The Governments Effect on the American Diet, based on the National
Archives Experience exhibition, traces the governments

Eating with Uncle Sam: Recipes and Historical Bites from the National Archives features over
150 historical and modern-day recipes from the collection at the National Archives, including a wide selection of regional favorites from each of the Presidential libraries. With a message from Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero and an introduction by Americas 2011 Outstanding Chef of the Year and Chief Culinary Adviser to the National Archives Experiences Whats Cooking, Uncle Sam? exhibition Jos Andrs, Eating with Uncle Sam explores Americas rich history of food.
144 pages; hardcover, $29.95

efforts to change the way Americans eat back to the Founding Fathers. Written by exhibition curator Alice D. Kamps, with a message from Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero and a foreword by award-winning chef and the exhibitions Chief Culinary Adviser Jos Andrs, the catalog explores the various ways the federal government has affected the American diet. The full-color catalog features correspondence, legislation, photographs, pamphlets, posters, and even presidential recipes and menus from the vast collection of records in the National Archives.
96 pages; hardcover, $29.95; softcover, $19.95

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