On April 6, 1917 the United States went to war. During the Great War Americans would be called on to give their sons and daughters to the cause, to conserve food and to donate money among other things. Total war would demand a total commitment to fight that war. (Pifer, 2017) Food conservation was necessary for several reasons. In the US there had been a problem with poor grain harvests in the years leading up to the war. The fighting forces would need food as they were mustered and trained in the US and sent overseas to fight. The Allies were starving after suffering through years of war and food needed to be sent to them. In order to meet these demands food conservation became the responsibility of every American. In order to meet this responsibility every woman was asked to sign a Food Pledge. Pifer (2017) explains the elements of the Food Pledge. Americans were to eat one wheatless meal per day, eat beef, mutton and pork only onc...
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