Healthy Changes

By the 1920s the urban dwellers were half the population in America.  They worked shorter hours than ever before and became less active.  Offices and home were better heated.  All this lead to a decrease in starchy, energy-producing foods.  Americans wanted lighter fruit and vegetables.  There  were more people eating at lunch counters and diners as more people worked in the city.  The demands for salads with fresh fruits and vegetables became a staple menu item.

By the 1930s railroads were transporting fruits and vegetables an average of 1500 miles. Fruit and vegetable stands became common on the corners of city streets.  Fruits and vegetables were now the common dish on American's dinner table year-round.  The diet of the country had been transformed and not just for the well-to-do.

In 1911 vitamins were discovered.  Within just a few years green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits became popular for their nutritious value.  Almost every restaurant added salads to their menu, both with leafy vegetables and citrus fruits.

It was in these decades that a slim figure became fashionable.  People were warned about being overweight as a health risk for the first time.  Sweets, starchy foods, breads, potatoes and fatty meats all decreased in consumption in an effort for America to become healthier.

By the late 1920s when refrigerator trucks and ships began carrying fresh produce, perishable foods were available far beyond the railroad's reach.  Forty-two states  were delivering produce, along with 19 foreign countries, across America.  Londoners could purchase Washington apples, Florida grapefruit and California oranges and pears.  That was just the beginning of the change coming to every household.

Next time...the Household "Icebox"
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Today in Pioneer History: "On November 7,  1916, Montana suffragist, Jeanette Rankin is elected to the US House of Representatives.  She is the first woman in the history of the naiton to win a seat in the federal Congress.  For her entire years in Congress, Rankin was known as a pacifist.