Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
The Vegetabull, 1939 UK poster: A bull assembled from vegetables stands in a field, with two cows behind it

The Vegetabull

A bull assembled from vegetables stands in a field, with two cows behind it. The caption says 'A vegetable dish made with dried eggs or household milk is as good as a joint'; the bull shape transfers the look of a meat joint onto the vegetable dish (transfer), and the pictured packets of dried eggs and milk tie the claim to the products.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office by Thos. Forman & Sons Ltd, Nottingham; artists Lewitt-Him
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, Health
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
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 Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
Artists Lewitt-Him; printed for HMSO by Thos. Forman & Sons Ltd. UK government poster, c. 1939-1945. US National Archives (NAID 44267229, 44-PF-456).

Text on the object

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

The Vegetabull
A VEGETABLE DISH MADE WITH [DRIED EGGS pack] DRIED EGGS OR [MILK tin] HOUSEHOLD MILK IS AS GOOD AS A JOINT
LEWITT-HIM
3457808
PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY THOS. FORMAN & SONS LTD., NOTTINGHAM. 51-4113

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