INTRODUCTION

Since October, 1942 the Ministry of Food has tried to persuade people to eat more potatoes by means of intensive propaganda.

This investigation was asked for by the Ministry of Food in order to get some measure of the success of their publicity.

Testing such a publicity campaign is difficult, because much of its influence is unconscious; its success can best be measured by consumption figures, although an increase in consumption may be due, partly or as a whole, to factors other than publicity. In the case of potatoes we are told that consumption has increased, but whether this increase was caused entirely by increased human consumption or whether it was partly due to an increased use of potatoes in poultry feeding, for example, is difficult to ascertain. It is also hard to decide whether the increase in human consumption has its root in the fact that the consumer is forced to eat greater helpings of potatoes to offset the lack of other foods, or whether it is due to the acceptance of the Ministry of Food’s advice to use more potatoes. Five different ways of using more potatoes have been advocated by the Ministry:-

This inquiry was designed to discover how far this five point advice is followed (see Questionnaire, Appendix II). Informants were asked what they actually did in the way of serving potatoes, and why they used that method. It was thought that the knowledge of actual habits, together with the reason for it, would allow certain deductions about the success of the potato publicity campaign.

The investigation was carried out in 57 towns and villages, between 20th May and 7th June, 1943, by 23 interviewers. (for detailed sample see Appendix I).

Interviewers did not find any difficulties, though they reported that a number of the informants were on the defensive, fearing that if they admitted that their potato consumption had not increased now, they would be considered unpatriotic.

The material was analysed under four headings: rural; age; income; and whether the housewife did other work outside the home. No significant group differences (with the exception of a small age difference on one point) were found in any of the results. This absence of group differences is an important feature of the investigation; it is easy to understand if it is realised that potatoes are a staple food eaten by the whole population, and that an intensive publicity campaign attempting to increase the consumption of this staple food, was addressed to the whole population, lasting for a year.