Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Food is a weapon: Don't waste it!, 1943 US poster: A painted empty plate holding a wishbone and bones, with knife, fork

Food is a weapon: Don't waste it!

A painted empty plate holding a wishbone and bones, with knife, fork, crumpled napkin and a near-empty glass on a green ground. The headline 'Food is a weapon' and the instruction 'Don't waste it!' with 'Buy wisely - cook carefully - eat it all' carry a military word onto household eating, a transfer from the war effort to the dinner table.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1943
Period
Second World War
Made by
Office of War Information
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, War and the military
Event
World War II
Regime
Roosevelt administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-378 (NAID 513830).

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

FOOD IS A WEAPON

DON'T WASTE IT!
BUY WISELY - COOK CAREFULLY - EAT IT ALL

FOLLOW THE NATIONAL WARTIME NUTRITION PROGRAM

[imprint:] OWI Poster No. 58. Additional copies may be obtained upon request from the Division of Public Inquiries, Office of War Information, Washington, D.C.
[imprint:] U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1943-O-520466

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