Thanksgiving Feed - Meat and Plasma (1944)

Here they are again, those proud purveyors of all things meaty, the American Meat Institute and their wartime push for blood and meat. I guess it's meant to encourage those on the home front to give plasma for the troops, but there's something a little chilling when the guys who run slaughterhouses start calling for human blood. It just doesn't sit right, you know?

Of course we get the Norman Rockwell style illustration of all the good Americans waiting on line to give blood, but a couple of other things struck me as well. Firstly, who would have enough ration coupons to get all the meat shown in the illustration of "a war meat-meal"? My understanding was meat was among the most restricted foods. Second, I have to wonder how many of those cold cuts shown in that same illustration had traded in their ethnically German names for American patriot-ized names? We went through the whole "freedom fries" debacle, I wonder if they had "war weenies" or "victory-wurst"?

The Yardstick of Protein...

November 6, 1944 and a new way of measuring protein is developed...the meat stick. How many meats of protein have you eaten today? Ad from Life Magazine.

Ham Time!

I think their ham looks a little...dry. 1947 as from the American Meat Institute shilling ham for the Easter season.

A Salute to Stew

Ah, stew, that warmer of cold bones. Stew is a meal that makes me think of my childhood. Mom used to collect leftovers through the week and by Thursday we'd have the ingredients for stew. It was the hodgepodge meal that cleared the refrigerator, but generally went un-saluted.

Probably not surprising this ad comes from the American Meat Institute, a meat producer's lobbying organization. Also not surprising they chose blood red as a background color or that their ingredients are about sixty percent meat. Carrots look a bit tired and, are those mushrooms at the top? Can't tell, they're just kind of dried out looking round things.