Sowing the Seeds of Victory (ePub)

Sometimes, to move forward, we must look back. Gardening activity during American involvement in World War I (1917-1919) is vital to understanding and informing our current work in agriculture and food systems. Although many Americans are familiar with the Victory Gardens of World War II, few realize that their origins lie in the Liberty Garden program that enjoyed widespread participation during World War I. This book examines three programs: the National War Garden Commission, the United States School Garden Army, and the Woman's Land Army (which some women used to press for suffrage). The urgency of wartime mobilization enabled proponents to promote food production as a vital national security issue. The connection between the nation's food readiness and national security resonated within the context of America's political and cultural life, as the nation struggled to synthesize urban and rural interests, grappled with the nation's plurality and the challenges and opportunities presented by millions of immigrants, and considered the role of America in a global context. Could the same message—that food production is vital to national security—resonate today? These World War I programs resulted in a national gardening ethos that transformed the American food system for the duration of the war, and they provide a model that may help transform today's food system.