METHODS PORTFOLIO

The first artifact (titled “Eat These Every Day”) demonstrates how milk, along with other foods, was promoted as a “healthy” food by the American federal government. The second artifact (titled “Milk - for health, good teeth, vitality, endurance, strong bones”) sheds light on the fact that the American federal government promoted the consumption of milk to white middle and upper class families. For example, the second artifact depicts a white male and female playing golf and tennis, which are historically known as wealthy, white-dominated sports. The second artifact also claims that those who consume milk will have “good teeth, vitality, endurance and strong bones.” These attributes are the ideal characteristics of white middle class families who are physically capable of working in the capitalistic society. The federal government may have promoted these physical attributes during WWII because America needed strong and physically healthy employees to work in the factories and farms that provided goods and services necessary for war. In order for America to function at its highest capacity to support the war effort, most of the American citizens at home had to be physically healthy to work. These government-sponsored posters demonstrate what values and attributes were desirable during the beginning of 1940s and claimed that drinking milk could enhance some of these traits. The two government-sponsored posters provoke me to ask was milk promoted as “healthy” food during other time periods in the U.S.? If so, what were the reasons for why the federal government chose to promote the consumption of milk?