Women and the Rise of Nutrition Science in Interwar Britain and British Africa

Description

In the wake of the Great Depression, economic recovery and nutritional improvement in Britain simultaneously occurred with their decline in British Africa. While histories of science, medicine and British Empire have provided fertile analytical ground for decades, the field of nutrition science has received comparatively little attention. Widespread malnutrition between the World Wars called into question the role of the British state in preserving the welfare of both its citizens and its subjects, especially women, given their role in feeding their families. International organizations such as the League of Nations, empire- wide projects such as nutrition surveys conducted by the Committee for Nutrition in the Colonial Empire (CNCE), sub-imperial networks of medical and teaching professionals, and individuals on-the-spot wove a dense web of ideas on nutrition. Women, especially of the working class, bore the brunt of the struggle to access nutritious food as a wave of interest in the new science of nutrition swept the globe between the wars, with imperial Britain in the lead. The British state buoyed the economic slump of the Great Depression in the metropole by importing more colonial goods more cheaply, feeding metropolitan Brits on the back of the colonial empire, particularly in Africa. This book stands apart for the way it places nutrition science in both Britain and Africa under a single analytic lens of economics, gender and empire, contributing to research on British and African history, British Empire, women’s history and the history of science, medicine and health. Contents 1 Setting the Table: Debates on the New Science of Nutrition 2 Gathering Ingredients: Collecting Data on Nutrition in Britain and British Africa The Interwar Context of Nutrition Science The Domestic Problem of Nutrition in Britain The Transnational Problem of Nutrition The British Secretary of State for the Colonies Responds Conclusion 3 Picky Eaters: Policymakers Turn to Education to Solve Malnutrition The Committee on Nutrition in the Colonial Empire The Blacklock Report The Esdaile Memo The Domestic Science Survey Conclusion 4 Not Your Grandmother’s Cooking: Domestic Science in Britain and British Africa Victorian Roots Victorian Domestic Science Background in Britain and Africa The Schools: Berridge House and Queen’s College Conclusion 5 Fusion Cooking: Nutrition Education in Britain and British Africa Material Realities of Domestic Science Facilities in London and Lagos Degrees and Courses in Britain and Nigeria Exams in Britain and Nigeria Conclusion 6 Experimenting with the Recipe: Nutrition Education Pedagogies The White Woman’s Burden Civilizing Revolution Without Colonial Revolt Morality and African Education Conclusion 7 A Seat at the Table: Nigerian Women Shape the Curriculum Practical versus Traditional Education Nigerians Create the Kind of Classroom They Want Conclusion 8 The Proof is in the Pudding: Indigenous Farming Points the Way Forward Immediate Aftermath Long-Term Aftermath The Bigger Picture Bibliography Index