Did they like the taste of American food? U.S. food support was a godsend to the hungry Japanese and continues to leave its mark on Japanese cuisine and food trends.
On Sept. 21, 1945, just after the war had ended, people in Tokyo were lining up for rations of beans, as rice was not yet available to them at this time. The bottles they carried were used to carry purified water
Of course, it wasn't a free lunch - the U.S. fed Japan to stabilize the U.S. occupation. As an island nation dependent on imports, as the Japanese Empire disintegrated, large numbers of people would starve to death because access to more farmland would be cut off, and the defeated nation would need to integrate the large numbers of Japanese colonists from overseas
Possibly one of the greatest movies ever made, and how war and starvation can extend and destroy the bond between humans. I recommend that everyone watch Grave of the Fireflies at least once in their lives.
This required clear orders to Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) Douglas MacArthur to ensure at least a basic level of assistance to prevent Japan from starving
On February 19, 1951, 160 orphans ate food purchased daily by the U.S. Army Jackals of the 27th Infantry Regiment at the cafeteria of an orphanage in Osaka, Japan
With almost any other victorious nation ravaged by Imperial Japan, U.S. food support was critical to quickly providing much-needed calories to the Japanese, who had been living on meager rations for years. For example, Japanese civilian rice rations during World War II were jokingly referred to as "five colors of rice": white rice, stale yellow rice, dried green beans, coarse red rice, and brown insects
Japanese women waiting to receive their rice ration on the outskirts of Tokyo
The best-known examples of direct U.S. food support for Japan were the donation and sale of U.S. wheat, and the successful launch of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1947, as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) program. , and the successful school lunch program launched in 1947. [8][9] Exported as meriken-ko (U.S. wheat flour) and used as a bread ingredient in the aforementioned lunch program, the grain was well received by the population and continues to influence Japanese cuisine.
In 1956, a U.S.-sponsored kitchen bus introduced wheat foods to Japanese women. Source. [10]
Innovations in cooking techniques and the flexibility of how to serve this abundant wheat flour in a country where rice is the staple food led to the development and enduring popularity of Japanese fried dumplings and ramen. At the same time, some U.S. officials, skeptical of determining dietary needs solely through calorie counts, began advocating a more balanced nutrition policy for the Japanese population, especially young people
U.S. and Japanese officials oversaw children's attempts to try out the new school lunches. Source. [13]
As a result, the school lunch program implemented in the United States ensured that every child had at least a regular intake of carbohydrates, animal protein, and milk. Even after the occupation ended, the program remained popular. Many parent-teacher associations, local governments, and others advocated for and accepted a school lunch law in 1954, which ensured that these school lunches became national policy.
While Japanese lunches aren't necessarily American-style bread or outdated lunches from the 1940s, as a nation Japan continues to import large quantities of wheat and maintains a very successful school lunch program
Ramen house in Osaka's Namba district. Ramen and instant noodles are probably the most popular Japanese noodle products, still popular around the world for their flavor, convenience and low cost.
Students at an elementary school in Tokyo serve lunch to each other. Such preparation and service is meant to foster community spirit, gratitude for food, and a basic understanding of nutritional balance.
Most U.S. aid, however, is not in the form of finished, ready-to-eat food. Japan simply lacked the physical and financial resources to produce food; there were still a large number of farmers and other able-bodied workers in Japan, and denying the use of this labor force would only hinder Japan's recovery. As a result, U.S. assistance usually focused on opening up food supplies and purchases to Japanese officials. When necessary, grants and loans, usually from U.S. government aid and relief in the occupied territories (GARIOA, also active in Germany and Austria), could be used to subsidize the purchase and delivery of foodstuffs to local Japanese authorities.
The U.S. General*** invested $15.2 billion (in 2005 dollars) in Japan's reconstruction, of which about $7.9 billion was spent on agricultural equipment, food, and food supplies to jump-start Japan's ability to ...