Content note: A grieving woman holding an infant with an emaciated child clinging to her, as issued. This object is shown as it was published. Why
One Reason for Food Conservation: Eat One Less Ounce of Meat a Day
A hooded, grieving woman holds an infant while a thin, one-legged child clings to her, above a boxed text addressed to 'Americans.' The text asks readers to 'come to know stern realities' about starving populations abroad and to eat one less ounce of meat a day, ending 'Study this picture again and you will agree.' The tell is the pairing of a suffering family with a very small, specific request, so that the image carries the argument.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1917
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- U.S. Food Administration
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Wilson Administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- Home front, War and the military
- Event
- World War I
- Regime
- Wilson administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 4 (U.S. Food Administration), World War I Posters (NAID 512439), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
U.S. Food Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, 4-P-113.
Text on the object
One Reason for Food Conservation Americans— are the biggest-hearted, kindest and most generous folk that people a nation—A happy contented lot, living in a land of freedom and plenty, and it is hard to bring ourselves to GRIM REALIZATIONS. The full weight of seriousness of this history-making, blundered, monarch-bossed war in Europe, into which we were innocently dragged, has not yet fully dawned on all of us. But People We Must "Come to" Know Stern Realities Before It Is Too Late Ten million helpless, human beings in Europe are starving to death at this minute, and there is positively no help for them except from this country. Let us prove our wholeheartedness in the most striking way known to man by sharing our food with these unfortunates and show every nation on the face of the earth that there is not one atom of selfishness in our systems. Start right now Eat One Ounce Less of Meat a Day You'll feel better—the slight sacrifice will mean that America will have four million four hundred thousand meat animals more each year to send to the warring Allies and keep the body and soul of our starving neighbors together and create a reserve stock for American fighters—and ourselves too. Eat more vegetables, salted and fresh fish, cheese, milk, eggs, poultry and game, peanut butter, beans and nuts—and spare the meat. STUDY THIS PICTURE AGAIN AND YOU WILL AGREE [artist's signature at right of image: Frederic H. Sp[illegible]] Copyright, [illegible] & [illegible], Inc., Richmond, Va., 1917. [imprint, very small, partly legible] This space is cheerfully contributed in the cause of humanity by (This page was sold to a Music House)
All body paragraphs are legible in the larger scan. The signature at right and the copyright line at the foot of the box are very small and only partly legible; the donor's name after 'contributed in the cause of humanity by' is left blank on this copy.
