Pacific Atrocities Education
  • Home
    • About >
      • FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions
    • Support Us >
      • Projects you can support! >
        • Distributing Books
        • Presenting at 112th Annual Meeting of Pacific Coast Branch
        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
    • Contact
  • Stories
    • Videos >
      • Black Hearts (2021)
    • Blog
    • Podcast: Forgotten History
  • Internship
    • Summer 2023 Internship
    • Fall 2022 Internship
    • Summer 2022 Internship
    • Summer 2021 Internship
    • Fall 2020- Spring 2021 Internship
    • Summer 2020 Internship
    • Fall 2019 Internship
    • Summer 2019 Internship >
      • Public History Night
    • School Year 2018-2019 Internship
    • Summer 2018 Internship >
      • 2018 Summer Showcase + Fundraiser
    • Fall 2017 Internship
    • Summer 2017 Internship >
      • 2017 Summer Showcase & Fundraiser
  • Books
  • Archives
  • Resource Page
    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute

Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 2- World War 2 and the Invention of Energy Bar

3/6/2019

0 Comments

 
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 2- World War 2 and the Invention of Energy Bar
Ever had a time where you feel as if you had no time for a meal but still needed something to keep you going and went for an energy bar? This sweet tasting energy bar likely filled with cereal and chocolate energy bar date itself back to World War 2. ​
The United States military feeds its members through rations, which are often made for quick distribution, preparation, and eating in the fields. Ration had evolved through the ages. During the Revolutionary War to the Spanish-American War, the “garrison ration” consisted of meat or salt fish, bread, and vegetable. Then during World World 1, it evolved into three types of rations: Trench ration, the Iron ration, and Reserve ration. The Trench ration is exactly what it sounds like. As the soldiers were fighting the war in trenches and some food was getting spoiled by poisoned gas in the front line, canned food had to be used to prevent food being poisoned. The Iron Ration consisted of a 3 ounces cake, chocolate, and an lb of salt and pepper packets. The Reserve ration consisted of an lb of canned meat or 12 oz of fresh bacon, biscuits, pre-ground coffee, sugar, salt, and cigarettes. 

With the change and adaptation of how nations fought wars, rations had to adapt as well. In 1937, Captain Paul Logan demanded a meal to be indestructible, pocket-sized, heat-resistant, and nutritious for the paratroopers during their long field deployment. The bar also had to not be too tasty as he did not want his soldiers snacking on them. He met with Hershey’s in the spring of 1937. William Murrie, the president of Hershey’s chocolate and Sam Hinkle, the Chief Chemist of Hershey’s, went into an experiment to make an energy bar that would meet the nutrition needs of the US soldier. 

After Milton Hershey’s approval of the military project, the technologists of Hershey’s came up with “Field Ration D” bars made out of oat flour, cacao fat, skim milk powder, sugar, and artificial flavoring. By 1939, Hershey was able to produce 100,000 units of “Field Ration D” bars per day, but the military had complained about the taste of the bar. Due to what it does to some soldiers’ bowel movements, it even had a nickname of “Hitler’s secret weapon”. Since it was resistant to heat and cannot melt in soldiers' mouths, it was also known to do some real damage to the soldiers’ teeth. 

Of course, Ration D bars were only reserved for emergencies as the military had other options. 
These are some of the ration options by the time it got to World War 2: 
A-ration, Garrison Ration, which is fresh, refrigerated, or frozen food prepared in dining halls or field kitchens. 
B-ratio, Field Ration, which is canned, packaged, or preserved foods normally prepared in field kitchens without refrigeration. 
C-ration, Individual Ration, which is a complete pre-cooked, ready to eat, canned individual meal. 
D-Ration, Emergency Ration, revolutionized by the Iron Ration in World War 1, but with the addition of Captain Paul Logan’s request of making its heat resistance and bad tasting energy bars. 
K-Ration, Individual Ration, which is designed as a short duration individual ration for paratroopers and other specialized light infantry ration, and it was declared obsolete by 1948 due to its lack of nutrition. ​
Compared to the other rations of A-C, D-ration bars were the nastiest of the options. The military’s complaints about the taste eventually led Hershey’s to develop a better tasting bar named Hershey’s Tropical Chocolate Bar in 1943, which was a bit tastier. It was only a slight improvement to the original “Field Ration D” bar. Once the United States became involved in World War 2, the demand for the energy bar had gone up. The estimated bars produced between 1940-1945 was over 3 billion. Eventually, due to the demand of the bars, other companies started producing them as well.

Today, the heat resistance technology used to produce these bars are in demand to produce chocolates in India and other tropical climate areas to produce melt resistant candies. Energy bars are also now more popular than before. Of course, energy bars produced for the mass population taste a lot better than the bars produced for the war. There are also different bars targetted for different markets and for different types of needs ranging from meal replacement to organic bars marketed for different activities and needs.
Ever had a time where you feel as if you had no time for a meal but still needed something to keep you going and went for an energy bar? This sweet tasting energy bar likely filled with cereal and chocolate energy bar date itself back to World War 2.
Image from Wikimedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Three_protein_bars.jpg
References: 
  1. https://delicioushistoryblog.wordpress.com/tag/d-ration-bar/
  2. https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/wwii-custom-hershey-chocolate-bar?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4
  3. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/28/hersheys-field-ration-d-bars-did-not-melt-in-heat-and-tasted-just-a-little-better-than-a-boiled-potato/
  4. https://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=42
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_ration

Related Articles

World War 2 and food invention: nutella: how rationing created an italian sweet empire
World War 2 and food invention: the us military and the invention of cheetos

Read and Learn More!

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Pacific Atrocities Education
730 Commercial Street
San Francisco, CA 94108 
​415-988-9889
About
Contact
​Internship
Write for us
​​​
Donate


Topics & Issues
Listen
Read  
Teach
​Archive
Copyright © 2021 Pacific Atrocities Education.
​We are a registered 501 (c)(3) charity. ​
  • Home
    • About >
      • FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions
    • Support Us >
      • Projects you can support! >
        • Distributing Books
        • Presenting at 112th Annual Meeting of Pacific Coast Branch
        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
    • Contact
  • Stories
    • Videos >
      • Black Hearts (2021)
    • Blog
    • Podcast: Forgotten History
  • Internship
    • Summer 2023 Internship
    • Fall 2022 Internship
    • Summer 2022 Internship
    • Summer 2021 Internship
    • Fall 2020- Spring 2021 Internship
    • Summer 2020 Internship
    • Fall 2019 Internship
    • Summer 2019 Internship >
      • Public History Night
    • School Year 2018-2019 Internship
    • Summer 2018 Internship >
      • 2018 Summer Showcase + Fundraiser
    • Fall 2017 Internship
    • Summer 2017 Internship >
      • 2017 Summer Showcase & Fundraiser
  • Books
  • Archives
  • Resource Page
    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute