In today’s world more and more people are beginning to think that doing a deep dive into history is useless, a waste of time. And forget politics — there’s way too much vitriol and hot air floating around that topic to discover anything of value. Still, despite the naysayers, I thought it could be interesting to look at Cold War history and politics from a more personal perspective.

In other words, is there anything at all that we can glean from the Cold War that will help us navigate our everyday lives as they play out in today’s world?

I came up with several areas right off the bat. Things like leadership skills, management lessons, and decision making expertise. I decided, though, to concentrate on career advancement. It’s almost June, and there are lots of new grads out there. Don’t worry, though, if you’ve already been around the block. You don’t have to be a new grad to pick up some valuable hints. Newby or experienced professional, most of us are concerned with doing whatever we can do to succeed and make a contribution in the workplace. Here are some ways your knowledge of the Cold War can help.

Here are 7  ways that knowing the ins and outs of the Cold War can help jumpstart or reboot your career!

1. Strategic Thinking:

The Cold War was dominated by strategic thinkers on both sides of the ideological divide as each superpower attempted to anticipate their adversary’s next move.

For a good example of how this played out, take a look at the Space Race, the Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in the field of space exploration.

Strategic planning in both camps focused on concrete technological advancement as well as symbolic achievements that would  showcase political superiority and military capability.

Both nations aimed to demonstrate their scientific and engineering prowess through milestones like the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets and the Apollo moon landings by the United States.

Associated activities also required strategic thinking, long-term planning, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. In today’s world, you (too) can use strategic thinking and planning skills to anticipate potential threats, plan for contingencies, and position yourself or your organization for success.

2. Adaptability:

Constant change and shifting power dynamics required Cold War leaders to be adaptable and flexible. Learning about this period can help you develop these skills, which are important for success in any career.

You might want to take a close look at the Arms Race to gain more insight.  This was an area where both the US and the Soviet Union were required to continuously adapt so that they could develop and counter new weapons systems introduced by the other. Both sides invested heavily in research and development to stay ahead, leading to the introduction of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and advanced nuclear weapons.

3. Collaboration:

Many of the successes during the Cold War were the result of international collaboration and partnerships. Studying this period can help you understand how to build and maintain strong partnerships, which are important for success in many industries.

Overall, studying the Cold War can enhance your ability and willingness to collaborate by fostering an understanding of diverse perspectives, providing strategies for conflict resolution and negotiation, developing adaptive problem-solving abilities, and offering insights into building trust and alliances. These skills are invaluable in today’s interconnected and globalized world, where collaboration and cooperation are essential for addressing complex challenges.

We can look to Space once more for an example of the potential of collaboration to bridge longstanding political and ideological differences.

One case study of collaboration during the Cold War is the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), which was a joint space mission between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1975.  The mission was designed to test a series of docking and rendezvous procedures between US and Soviet spacecraft, and involved the docking of a US Apollo spacecraft with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in orbit around the Earth.

The mission was seen as a symbol of détente between the two superpowers, and marked the first time that US and Soviet astronauts had worked together in space.

The collaboration required extensive technical and diplomatic cooperation between the US and Soviet space agencies, as well as between NASA and the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

The two sides worked closely together to develop a common language for communication, to coordinate launch schedules and trajectories, and to ensure that the spacecraft and equipment were compatible.

The mission was seen as a significant success, both in terms of its technical achievements and its broader diplomatic impact.

4. Innovation:

The Cold War led to a period of intense technological innovation and competition. Studying this period can help you understand how to foster a culture of innovation within your own organization, which is essential for staying ahead of the curve in today’s rapidly changing business landscape.

One good case study involving innovation during the Cold War period surrounds the Development of the Internet.

The internet emerged as a research project funded by the US Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in the 1960s.

The goal of the project was to create a communication system that could withstand a nuclear attack and maintain connectivity between various military and government installations.

In subsequent years, researchers at universities and private companies built upon this foundation, developing new technologies such as email, hypertext, and the World Wide Web, leading to the explosion of the internet in the 1990s as the technology became widely accessible to the public.

As just mentioned, the project was initially driven by the need for a reliable and resilient communication system in the face of potential nuclear conflict. However, the spin off technologies subsequently developed  have had far-reaching implications for communication, commerce, and culture.

Furthermore, the internet’s decentralized nature and open architecture have enabled unprecedented levels of collaboration and innovation, with individuals and organizations around the world contributing to its development and evolution. It serves as a powerful case study for the potential of innovation to transform society and address complex challenges, highlighting the importance of investing in research and development, as well as the benefits of collaboration and openness in driving innovation.

5. Ethical leadership:

The Cold War was a time of difficult ethical challenges, and studying this period can help you develop your own ethical leadership skills. You can learn how to navigate complex ethical dilemmas and make tough decisions with integrity and compassion.

During the Cold War, there were several instances of ethical leadership as demonstrated by individuals in positions of power. Here are five notable examples:

6. Resilience:

The Cold War lasted for decades and involved numerous setbacks and challenges. Leaders who were able to persevere and remain focused on their objectives were ultimately successful.

As we all are painfully aware, our work lives are marred by setbacks and challenges, and the ability to remain resilient in the face of adversity is key to long-term success.

7. Effective Communication:

Conclusion

Overall, extensive knowledge of the Cold War and its leaders can boost your career success  regardless of industry or field. By understanding the strategic, ethical, and collaborative challenges of the period, you can develop skills that will help you thrive in today’s complex and rapidly changing world.

Disclaimer: I’ve been playing around with Open AI and ChatGPT. Some information in this post has been drawn from those efforts. There will be more on using AI for history research in weeks to come. In the interim, use with care.

Photo by Flazingo (Flickr)

When history buffs think of 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis is often the first thing that comes to mind. Alternatively, some look back on Vietnam and the expansion of the Vietcong (VC) insurgency into South Vietnam. Fifty-three American soldiers were killed in South Vietnam during the year while the South Vietnamese armed forces suffered 4,457 killed in action, 10 percent more than the total killed in 1961.

If you’re talking to a pop culture aficionado about the year, you may learn more than you ever wanted to know about the death of Marilyn Monroe on August 4, 1962.

But finally, if you come across a movie critic, you’ll probably hear all about what a stellar year it was for film. In fact, many argue that 1962 was the best year ever for Hollywood movie makers and their viewing audiences. So in these last lazy days of summer, why not kick back with a big bowl of popcorn and your favorite streaming device?

Want to watch outdoors? Here are 15  Backyard Movie Night Ideas from The Spruce.

The 35th Academy Awards were held on April 8, 1963.  Below are the five nominees for 1962’s best films. You can judge whether they live up to the hype:

Academy Award Nominees for Best Film of 1962

Lawrence of Arabia, one of the most celebrated epics in the history of cinema, is based on the life of T. E. Lawrence and his 1926 book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. The story centers on Lawrence’s experiences in the Ottoman Empire’s provinces of Hejaz and Greater Syria during World War I, including his involvement in the Arab National Council. Nominated for 10 awards and winner of 7, the film is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. In 1991, it was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, who defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his children against prejudice. The screenplay is based on Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name. A box-office success, it earned more than six times its budget. Also a critical success, the film won 3 Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Gregory Peck, and was nominated for eight, including Best Picture.

Mutiny on the Bounty tells a fictionalized story of the real-life mutiny led by Fletcher Christian against William Bligh, captain of HMAV Bounty, in 1789. Partly shot on location in the South Pacific, the film was panned by critics, and was a box office flop.

The Music Man is a musical film based on Meredith Wilson’s 1957 Broadway musical of the same name. It tells the story of traveling con artist Harold Hill who targets the naïve residents of a small town in 1910s Iowa by posing as a boys’ band leader to raise money before he can skip town. The film was one of the biggest hits of 1962. Widely acclaimed by critics, it was nominated for six Academy Awards. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

The Longest Day is an epic American  war movie, filmed in black and white. Shot in docudrama style, it portrays the events of D-Day from both the Allied and German points of view. Civil-rights groups objected to the film because, as Time Magazine reported in 1963, “not one Negro was seen in the movie.” The film does accurately show how the Allied invasion caught the Germans off-guard. Nominated for five Academy Awards and winning two, it’s best seen on the big screen.

Other noteworthy films from 1962

The Manchurian Candidate, starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury, is a political suspense classic. Per Wikipedia, the plot centers on Korean War veteran Raymond Shaw, a member of a prominent political family. Shaw is brainwashed by communists after his Army platoon is captured and returns to civilian life in the United States, where he becomes an unwitting assassin in an international communist conspiracy. Like many other 1962 movies, it was It was selected  for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Bird Man of Alcatraz is a largely fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, who was sentenced to solitary confinement after having killed a prison guard. A federal prison inmate, he became known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz” because of his growing interest and love for birds after he finds an orphaned sparrow in the prison yard.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence tells the story of a  senator who rose to fame for killing a notorious outlaw. He returns for the funeral of his old friend and reveals the truth about his deed. The film stars John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. In 2007, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Days of Wine and Roses is ( according to Amazon Prime) a searing, bittersweet study of an alcoholic couple on the rocks. Their marriage deteriorates, and their lives spiral into disaster, as a result. The film stars Jack Lemon and Lee Remick.

Lolita, based on the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov, follows Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged literature lecturer who becomes sexually infatuated with Dolores Haze (nicknamed “Lolita”), a young adolescent girl. Owing to restrictions imposed by the Motion Picture Production Code, the film toned down the most provocative aspects of the novel, sometimes leaving much to the audience’s imagination

Jules and Jim: Rotten Tomatoes says that, along with Godard’s Breathless, François Truffaut’s Jules et Jim is probably the essential French New Wave film. Set before and after World War I, it describes a tragic love triangle involving French Bohemian Jim, his shy Austrian friend Jules, and Jules’s girlfriend and later wife Catherine.

The Miracle Worker tells the story of Anne Sullivan’s struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate. Academy Awards went to Best Actress Anne Bancroft as Anne Sullivan and Best Supporting Actress Patty Duke as Helen Keller.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane follows an aging former child star tormenting her paraplegic sister, a former movie star, in an old Hollywood mansion. The film met with critical acclaim and was a box office success. The intensely bitter Hollywood rivalry between the film’s two stars, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, was pivotal to the film’s initial success.

The Beginning of a Genre

Finally, it would be negligent of me to ignore the appearance of Ian Fleming’s magnetic charmer, James Bond, in his first film, Dr. No.  Although it was the first of the Bond books to be made into a film, Dr. No was the sixth novel in Fleming’s series. In the film, James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of a fellow British agent. The trail leads him to the underground base of Dr. Julius No, who is plotting to disrupt an early American space launch from Cape Canaveral with a radio beam weapon.

While the film received a mixed critical reaction upon its release, it has gained a reputation over time as one of the series’ best installments.

Dr. No also launched a variety of secret agent films that flourished in the 1960s – The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, The Ipcress File, and The Venetian Affair are just a few. The film also initiated a comic book adaptation and soundtrack album as part of its promotion and marketing.

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Featured photo by Loren Javier (Flickr): Peter O’Toole/Lawrence of Arabia – Madame Tussaud’s Hollywood.

Thanks to Wikipedia, Amazon Prime, and Rotten Tomatoes for their critiques of the films.

Staying home this summer? Not ready for a Cold War Road Trip and not interested in the Berlin Wall Trail Virtual Challenge? Well, no worries, you can still have a lot of fun. Think about a Retro/Throwback Summer, specifically a look back at roller disco from the 1970s.

Why the 70s?

It’s been argued that the 1970s marked a period of trauma and healing. Well, we could certainly use a bit of fun and healing now!!

In the 70s,  Watergate and the Vietnam War undermined the nation’s sense of purpose in the world and inspired a search for moral renewal. In this summer of 2022, we’re undermined by a lingering pandemic and deep partisan division.

Why Roller Disco?

Here’s what flashbak.com has to say about the 1970s:

there is nothing more quintessentially Seventies than the roller skating/roller disco phenomenon that swept the US in the latter half of the decade.  It had it all: gaudy styles, godawful music, and an air of uninhibited sexuality that made the whole mad affair seem a bit seedy.

Roller skating was a major phenomenon in the 1970s, with disco nights at roller rinks, movies about the sport, and even a song by Cher becoming part of popular culture.

But while gliding around on classic skates might bring to mind images of vintage fashion — think bellbottoms, paisley prints, and high-waisted jeans — this retro sport is now making a very modern comeback.

The roller disco craze of the 1970s is sweeping the world now. From Berlin to  Los Angeles, the UK to New York City, the trend is more than a passing phase. It started in the summer of 2020 as a trendy lockdown hobby and it’s still gathering steam. If you look at it in the context of the pandemic, it’s not hard to understand why. Here are a few reasons:

• it’s a pleasant distraction
• it’s a way to work off quarantine weight gain
• it’s safe – you’re social distancing
• it’s mood elevating
• you can do it anywhere
• it’s nostalgic – an escape to simpler times
• you can take roller skating lessons or join a roller skating club  online.

The Return of Disco Roller Skating

I live in NYC and disco skating is taking the town by storm. Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace, a famous family owned and operated roller skating rink, is now at  Rockefeller Center, bringing the magic of the 1970s with it. And just a short distance away, DiscoOasis rules the night at the Wollman Ice Skating Rink in Central Park. It’s promoted as an

immersive, funky, roller-disco experience . . .  [where you can] “roller skate to the sounds of 70s era disco curated by Groovemaster Nile Rodgers, tear up the rink-side dance floor under dazzling lights, explore interactive art installations and more!

Roller Skating and Social Justice

Clearly, roller skating wasn’t new in the 1970s and it’s certainly nothing new now.

Flashbak’s great article about roller skating notes:

Grown-ups had their discos, bars and pool halls, but the children of the 70s had the roller skating rink. They were around long before the 70s — in the 50s and 60s they were often enormous and featured live organ music. In the 70s, they metamorphosed into a disco themed haven with everything a teen could want — loud music, pinball, poor lighting, and an equal measure of girls and boys.

Moreover, roller skating’s roots in the African American community have always been strong. During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, black skaters protested the racial segregation of roller rinks in the states, while years later roller rinks became community spaces that helped give rise to hip-hop artists. The 2018 HBO documentary United Skates is said to be “a cinematic love letter to Black roller rink culture.” (You can watch United Skates on HBO Max.)

More recently, roller skating has been linked to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement as skaters in the US organized solidarity meet-ups in skating venues. The 2020 YouTube video below documents a peaceful protest against police brutality in Santa Barbara.

Roller Disco and Communist Control in the Soviet Union and China

It’s important to note that roller skating hasn’t just been popular in North America. It’s enjoyed worldwide popularity. In fact, during the Cold War, Soviet officials saw disco as a way to deal with dissatisfied youth.

Formal disco clubs opened throughout the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. Soviet officials thought disco was ‘safe’, not something expressively political like Bob Dylan‘s work or something to be feared like rock ‘n roll.

While Soviet officials approved of disco’s rise in popularity, though, they supported the playing of Soviet artists rather than the hits of Donna Summer and the Bee Gees. Still, Western disco wasn’t banned.

The Soviet Union’s Komsomols (Soviet youth political bodies for propaganda education) were determined to make disco music a tool of ideological propaganda.

Disco allowed western pop culture and, indirectly, western ideology, to seep into the once tightly controlled communist China.

Similar to the Komsomol’s control of discos in the Soviet Union, the Communist Party in the People’s Republic of China also embraced disco after the genre’s fall from popularity in the mid 1980s. Although banned during Chairman Mao’s culture revolution in the late 1960s, dance was being embraced by the 1980s, mainly due to the fact that the music was a way to gain favor with Chinese youth and that the Chinese government saw disco dancing as an African folk dance. . . . Disco in communist China transcended generational barriers . . .

Nostalgic?

Don’t want to skate, just want to watch?

The Roller Movie Trinity may be right for you. The three movies are Skatetown U.S.A., Roller Boogie, and Olivia Newton -John’s Xanadu. Which one is the best is still hotly debated.

Finally, you might want to tune in to Cold War Study’s Roller Disco playlist or take a listen below!

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Featured photo by Gordon Joly (Flickr).

The Cold War spurred two parallel contests: the arms race and the space race. These stand-offs raised tensions worldwide and gave rise to a sense of anxiety that permeated all aspects of daily life. In the West, even fashion reflected an on-going fear of communist infiltration, alien invasion, spies, and the Space Age. From the bikini to the spacesuit, designers integrated the themes of the day into their couture attire.

The Bikini

On July 5, 1946, the atomic bomb was introduced to the Paris fashion world in the form of the bikini. The new fashion was almost as shocking as the public’s persistent fear of global annihilation. You can read all about the introduction of the Bikini in our post titled It’s July: Bikini Days Are Here.

Space Suits 

The protective clothing of cosmonauts and astronauts inspired fashion designers of the 1960s who were fascinated by the idea of the spacesuit as life-sustaining and protective. They thought that the dangers of modern life could be countered by high-performance clothing that was self-supporting. Also known as astronaut fashion, the success of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 encouraged couture designers like Paco Rabanne, Pierre Cardin and Thierry Mugler to center entire collections around an intergalactic vision of the future.

If you want to dig deeper into Space Suit Fashion, do a search online for Fashioning Apollo. You’ll find multiple PDFs. Click here for a sample. 

You can also find the book, Fashioning Apollo, published in 2011, on Amazon. Adam Gopnik says it’s “The most delightful and memorable new book I read last year…”

(Photo:Jean Shrimpton Space Suit Chic – Harpers Bazaar 1956. Photo by Richard Avedon. Thanks much to Glamour Daze.)

 Future Fashion

Driving the idea of ‘future fashion’ were concerns like conflict, nuclear fall-out, pollution, the need for communication, and the threat of surveillance. The idea was to insulate the wearer from the threat of the new. Such clothing included sci-fi mini dresses and knee boots, tunics and jumpsuits, accessorized with helmets and visors, balaclavas and armor-plating. The look was led by the London designer Mary Quant and was topped off by the helmet like hairstyles of Vidal Sassoon. Want to see more? Click here.

Wearable Technology

To some designers, Cold War science, especially the discipline of cybernetics, provided a way to meld the body with technology. Some thought that the human body would be invaded by mechanical and media technologies grounded in dystopian fantasy. Take a look at Rudi Gernreich’s plastic armor or Diana Dew’s electroluminescent dresses. (Photo courtesy of Pinterest.)

•  Paper Dresses: Fashion in the later 1960s focused on the idea of disposability, leading trend setting throwaway dresses. The military had been toying with the concept of paper clothes for quite awhile as evidenced by this quote in the Chicago Tribune from 1959:

“Much of tomorrow’s wearing apparel may be made out of treated paper, intended for  use a few times, then for discard. The Quartermaster Corps is already investigating the use of such processed paper for parachutes, disposable uniforms, pup tents, and other shelters. It wears well, and its insulating qualities make it usable in all kinds of weather.”

For more on paper fashions, click here.

Synthetic Clothing 

Synthetics became synonymous with affordable clothing, and were associated with modernity and youth. The new materials were crease-resistant, machine-washable, and quick drying. Referred to as “wonder fabrics,” they were most often by-products of chemical research undertaken for military, aeronautical, and space purposes. The new synthetics were also thought to be disposable. Rapid obsolescence was a fundamental characteristic of product design in the US in the 1950s, and clothing was no exception. This phenomenon attracted critics like the author Vance Packer, whose book The Waste Makers was published in 1961. These fabrics were also quite popular in socialist countries.

Jumpsuits: Stretch nylon jumpsuits, PVC boots, and uniform insignia were made popular by television shows like Star Trek (from 1966) and The Avengers (1961-1969). The jumpsuit was unisex, usually made from synthetic materials, and thought to be highly utilitarian. It permitted the body to move freely, so it was perfect for the high kicks and karate moves characteristic of the Emma  Peel character in The Avengers. The body stocking and cat suit were closely related. (The Avengers is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Here’s a clip from Emma Peel’s first appearance on the show.)

Future Shocked 

By the end of the 1960s concerns about over-consumption, militarism, and the environment were front and center. Gone was the space age optimism of the mid-1960s. This was now replaced in fashion by references to hippie and protest culture, flower power, and the dress codes of marches and ‘sit-ins.’ Reflecting the new reality, in 1970, Alvin Toffler’s book Future Shock hit the bookstores, with its fear of rapid technological change, the breakdown of the family, and the loss of social cohesion. He used some of the fashions of the decade – miniskirts, PVC boots, paper dresses – as signifiers of social decline. Along with other contributors, futuristic fashion lost its sheen.  (Photo by Duchess Flux on Flickr.)

What about fashion in the Soviet Union? Did it reflect the same trends?

In the end, fashion was a trait that was shared by the two superpowers. Russian ethnic prints, pushed in propaganda by the Soviet Union, managed to become popular in the West, and a strong black market was successful in the East. Levi jeans were especially in demand.

After 1956, Soviet magazines could report on Western fashions, new fashion stores opened, and regular fashion and trade shows were held, all in an attempt to create a Socialist counterpart to Western consumer capitalism. Although this is interesting, it’s a story for another day.

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Featured photograph by Nick Maroulis on Flickr.

 

The Farms Race

The decades-long Cold War between the United States and the USSR featured a space race, an arms race, and . . . a farms race. This farms race – which involved substantial government policies to deliver high-volume and standardized agriculture – was about more than just food; it was a battle over which was the superior system, communism or capitalism. 

The farms race had an obvious winner: American supermarkets were filled with affordable food, while the USSR was ultimately forced to import grain from the United States.

The Supermarket Reigns Supreme

Post World War II, the most important change in food marketing for home consumption was the gradual shift to the modern supermarket. The share of total food sales by supermarkets increased rapidly from 28% in 1946 to 69% by 1963. 

Around the same time, perhaps the biggest changes to American agriculture were mechanization and automation. Here’s an example: Peter Timmer, a former Harvard economist, grew up on a farm in Ohio where he worked for his grandfather’s company, Tip Top Canning. When he was young, all the tomatoes on the family’s farm were hand-picked and hand-peeled. In a successful year, 40- or 50,000 cases of canned tomato and product were produced. By the time he completed graduate school, the company had mechanized and was putting out 1,000,000 cases a year. But it had taken years, primarily because they had to breed a new variety of tomato that could withstand the rough treatment of the mechanical harvester.

A Display of Abundance

As far as “the farms race” was concerned, a display of abundance was crucial. The supermarket took care of that.

In 1950, the average supermarket stocked 2,200 items. This number soared to 17,500 by 1985. By 1954, the average supermarket size had grown from 10,000 square feet in the 1930s to 18,000 square feet.

In 1957, the United States brought the supermarket to the communists. They created a Supermarket U.S.A. exhibit in communist Yugoslavia. “The exhibit featured a fully functional supermarket full of affordable frozen and packaged foods, and fresh produce airlifted in from the United States.”

If you like our breakfast cereal, just think how much you’ll like the rest of our capitalism.

Marshal Tito, Yugoslavia’s leader, liked the supermarket so much that he purchased the entire exhibit and used it as a model for a chain of socialist supermarkets.  Even so, the Soviet Union couldn’t figure out how to replicate the American model. The Soviets were ultimately forced to buy grain from the US.

Supermarkets Meet Some Challengers

Challengers to the dominance of supermarkets began to emerge in the 1970s with the rise of chain convenience stores like 7-Eleven. 

Soon large drugstore chains, headed by Walgreens and CVS, started building larger stores and selling milk as well as a wide variety of soft drinks. Later they would also sell groceries and ‘ready to eat’ food.

The final evolution in the postwar retailing of food involved the emergence of supercenters like Target, Costco, and Walmart, combining one roof shopping for food, clothing, appliances, and drugs. Now shoppers could avoid the supermarket altogether using a combination of convenience stores, large chain drugstores, and big-box stores.

Supermarkets were further battered after the end of the Cold War by the growing popularity of upscale food chains like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

Unintended Consequences

Aisle upon aisle of fresh produce, cheap meat, and sugary cereal — a delicious embodiment of free-market capitalism, right? Not quite. The supermarket was in fact the end point of the U.S. government’s battle for agricultural abundance against the USSR. Our farm policies were built to dominate, not necessarily to nourish — and we are still living with the consequences.” (Medium: August 2, 2019) 

The United States won the “farms race” with an industrial approach that was heavily influenced by government policy and funding. But, are we now suffering the consequences?

Government support for farmers began during World War I when incentives like price supports were employed to meet wartime goals. With the onset of the Great Depression, demand for food collapsed, but agricultural productivity stayed the same. There were large surpluses, so the federal government starting buying and storing the excess. 

The rise in agricultural productivity tended to favor larger, more industrial farms. Between 1940 and 1969, 3.4 million American farmers and their families stopped farming.

Since 1975, there has been a growing divide in the quality and quantity of food consumed at the top and bottom of America’s income distribution. Income inequality, nutrition, and obesity go hand in hand.

After 1970, daily calories from food consumption increased by more than 20%, enough to add fifty pounds to the average adult each year. More than half of this has come from fats and oils, and most of the rest from flour and cereal.

Obesity is a particular problem for the poverty population. There is a lot of talk about food deserts, but studies have shown that sugary, fat, and processed foods from nearby supermarkets are just as much to blame.

The all out push for productivity has negatively impacted the environment as well. But that’s a story for another day.

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Photo Credits (all from Flickr)

Featured Photo: Don Graham
Supermarket and 7-Eleven: Allen
Walgreen’s: JJBers
Walmart: Mike Mozart
Trader Joe’s: Aranami
Soybean Harvesting: United Soybean Board

Sources:

If you’d like more on statistics and policy, you can consult the works below. I’ve relied heavily on them for the information in this article. 

The Rise And Fall of American Growth
Robert J. Gordon

How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War

Further Reading:

Supermarket USA: Food and Power in the Cold War Farms Race
Shane Hamilton

The Jungle
The Jungle is a 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. The novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. (Goodreads)
Upton Sinclair

Media:

You can find the full Freakonomics Radio episode “How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War” at Freakonomics.com.

Fast Food Nation ( a movie about meat packing that is not for the faint of heart; you can rent it on Amazon). You might want to pair this with Sinclair’s The Jungle.

The Food That Built America – a free series on the History Channel app