Organics
Nazis fail at natural eating and Italian fascist food policies stink
Happy Friday!
This week we heard the unsettling origins of what many consider a progressive, wholesome alternative to conventional agriculture: organic farming. While it was certainly jarring to learn that the organic movement has roots in fascist ideologies, the episode wasn’t without its lighter moments - like John’s enthusiastic (if not entirely accurate) attempt at a German accent, which landed somewhere between a fiery fascist and a very committed Arnold Schwarzenegger. The boys also put their German vocabulary to the test, with mixed but entertaining results.
With organic produce still at the center of heated debates today, this episode offered a surprising and eye-opening perspective.
Now, on to this week's bonus stories: from Nazis failing at their “natural” diet to an Italian fascist food policy that really stinks.
Natural Eating Fails the Nazis
As we heard in this week’s episode, Germany’s obsession with food security stemmed largely from the devastating shortages it faced during the First World War. Hitler and the Nazi leadership believed that one of the key reasons Germany lost that war was a lack of food — a mistake they were determined not to repeat.
As a result, the Nazis prohibited most food imports. That meant no more oranges, or really any citrus for that matter. Instead, all food consumed by Germans would have to be sourced and grown in German soil. This wasn’t just about food security; it was ideological. The regime believed that a strong, “racially pure” German body could only be sustained by food grown on German land.
But as the Second World War dragged on, the very thing Germany feared most returned: food shortages. While Nazi elites indulged in luxuries like ham, butter, chocolate, and tea, the rest of the population had to make do with seasonal produce and endless variations of potato-based meals. By 1941, the situation was dire enough that women were urged to grow their own vegetables, preserve fruits, and forage for herbs. Children were recruited too, sent to gather wild plants like rosehips and dandelions to brew patriotic “German teas.”
By late 1941 and into 1942, German farmers faced mounting pressure. They were expected to feed both the civilian population and the military, but only through “natural” means - no fertilizers or chemicals - to maintain ideological purity. That year, major cities like Frankfurt, Cologne, and Berlin began reporting severe potato shortages. Grains held up a bit longer, but by 1943, even they began to dwindle.
With food supplies shrinking and rations cut over and over again, the Nazis implemented the so-called Hunger Plan. The idea was brutal and calculated: extract massive quantities of food from occupied Soviet territories to feed the German army and homeland - and let the local populations starve. Between 1941 and 1943, Nazi Germany seized an estimated 2.7 million tonnes of potatoes and 7 million tonnes of grain from the Soviet Union. The result: the starvation of over a million Soviet POWs, millions of civilians, and tens of thousands of Jews during the winter of 1941–42 alone.
Yet even this couldn’t stave off hunger at home. For those living In cities, Germans resorted to cooking with nettles and sugar beet leaves. When meat disappeared, ersatz meatballs were cobbled together from whatever was available - potatoes, lentils, cabbage, and turnips. Still, the contrast was stark: while urban Germans went hungry, those in the countryside often lived comfortably, enjoying “peaches and cream” and hearty lunches.
In the end, the Nazi dream of a self-sufficient, racially “pure” food system failed. For all their ideology and planning, the regime could not feed its people or its army - and once again, food shortages helped bring Germany to defeat in a world war.
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Fascism Stinks (Literally...)
Germany wasn’t the only country pursuing food self-sufficiency under fascism - Italy was right there with them. Determined to cut off reliance on foreign imports, the Italian regime banned the import of staple grains and promoted homegrown alternatives, most notably rice.
But rice was just the beginning. The regime pushed for an entirely domestic diet, championing citrus fruits, tomatoes, olive oil, and wine. Still, rice emerged as the centerpiece of fascist food propaganda. Italian women, in particular, were singled out as the primary targets of this campaign - seen as the wives and mothers tasked with nourishing future fascist soldiers.
To spread the gospel of rice, the state dispatched trucks into the countryside to distribute it to women at fascist rallies. Each ration of rice came with a pamphlet of rice-based recipes, nutritional information, and, of course, heavy-handed propaganda. The message was clear: eating rice meant supporting the strength of Italy’s troops and the well-being of its families. This messaging extended to women’s magazines, where one memorable ad showed a beaming baby perched atop sacks of rice. The slogan? "Il Riso È Salute, Mangiare Riso"—"Rice is Health, Eat Rice."
But despite the relentless campaigning, Italians simply didn’t develop a taste for rice. Just as in Nazi Germany, fascist food policy in Italy floundered. Nutritional standards declined throughout the 1930s, as people struggled to get enough of what they actually needed. By the time World War II began, many Italians were already undernourished and the situation deteriorated further under Nazi occupation and resource exploitation.
And what about Mussolini himself? Did he follow his own dietary directives? To some extent, yes. In the 1930s, he allied with Italian Futurist founder Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in a symbolic anti-pasta campaign to boost the image of Italian-grown rice. But Il Duce’s favorite dish wasn’t rice - it was a pungent salad of raw chopped garlic drenched in lemon juice and olive oil. His wife, Rachele, once confessed, “He used to eat a whole bowl of it. I couldn’t go anywhere near him after that. At night, I’d leave him to sleep alone in our room and take refuge in one of the children’s rooms.”
So, in the end, fascist food policy really did stink - both metaphorically and literally.
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Our next LIVESTREAM will be on Wednesday, July 23rd at 12PM EST.
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DATES FOR YOUR CALENDARS
Here's what's coming your way in the next few weeks:
Tuesday, July 8th: The Sullivan Expedition: Genocide and War on Native Crops
Tuesday, July 15th: The Lewellings: Nurserymen Abolitionists (Part 1)
Tuesday, July 22nd: The Lewellings: On The Oregon Trail (Part 2)
Wednesday, July 23rd: LIVESTREAM @ 12:00PM EST
Tuesday, July 29th: The Lewellings (Part 3)
Tuesday, August 5th: The Lewellings (Part 4)
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The History of Fresh Produce team