Why America Banned Pre-Sliced Bread
By: Ben Kageyama
Tags: Food, History, World War II, Nonfiction, Society

Why America Banned Pre-Sliced Bread

Photo by Charles Chen on Unsplash

Convenient, cheap, easy to prepare, and tasty — all things that make sliced bread a nationwide household essential. Whether it’s for a comforting peanut butter jelly sandwich or just plain butter on toast, Americans have been incorporating sliced bread into their diets ever since its creation in the late 1920s.

A loaf of pre-sliced bread was introduced to the Americans by salesman Frank Bench and inventor Otto Rohwedder in 1928. Sales skyrocketed as Americans soon saw how readied portions of bread saved them time and effort. In the 1930s, Rohwedder’s machine was improved even further by Continental Baking and the product solidified its place in American kitchens.

However, just over a decade later, World War II caused problems for pre-sliced bread lovers across the United States. Since massive amounts of resources were going into the war effort, the government created an administration in charge of rationing food.

Through them, the government-controlled the price and supply of many commodities. People couldn’t buy meat, cheese, or sugar without the necessary state-issued coupons.

Claude R. Wickard, the Secretary of Agriculture in 1943, thought it was a good idea to ban pre-sliced bread as well. He officially made the order on January 18, 1943.

According to authorities, this was done to conserve three things: wax paper, wheat, and steel. Unfortunately, banning pre-sliced bread didn’t really do that.

Why it didn’t work

Claude Wickard (1940), by the US Department of Agriculture, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

According to the War Food Administration, pre-sliced bread used more wax paper than unsliced bread to prevent spoilage, as sliced bread goes stale faster. Yet, there was no actual concern for a shortage of wax paper in the first place.

Data from the War Production Board revealed that most companies had loads of wax paper supplies on hand. In fact, based on consumption patterns of Americans, bread companies had enough supplies to last them for several months, even without replenishing.

Another reason for the ban on pre-sliced bread was to lower bread and flour prices by conserving wheat. Price regulation policy allowed for an increase of flour prices by 10%, which would eventually trickle down into bread prices.

The government’s theory was that no pre-sliced bread would lead to an overall decrease in demand for wheat and flour, allowing for more stockpiles of supply. Just like with the wax paper, this measure was not actually necessary. When the ban was made, the US had been able to accumulate over one billion bushels of wheat. That much supply met two years' worth of domestic demand even if harvests yielded nothing during the period.

Lastly, authorities argued that pre-sliced bread making machines needed a lot of steel to be made. Thus, banning pre-sliced bread would conserve precious metal.

However, this too doesn’t make sense, given that bread manufacturers don’t always actively buy bread slicing machines. One machine would often be enough for several years of operation. So even if we account for some steel that is saved because of this, its benefits would be inconsequential at best.

Public outcry

“The best thing since sliced bread” is an iconic statement for a reason, Americans love everything about it. So unsurprisingly, the ban was met with a lot of pushback by the public.

One irked citizen even passionately wrote her disdain for the government’s policy in the New York Times, saying:

“I should like to let you know how important sliced bread is to the morale and saneness of a household. My husband and four children are all in a rush during and after breakfast. Without ready-sliced bread I must do the slicing for toast — two pieces for each one — that’s ten. For their lunches, I must cut by hand at least twenty slices, for two sandwiches apiece. Afterward, I make my own toast. Twenty-two slices of bread to be cut in a hurry!”

Within just three months after the ban, the War Food Administration lifted it. On March 8, 1943, Americans got back their beloved sliced bread.

I’m sure some families used its return to make roast beef, supposedly the first sandwich in history.