The Giving Bush 

Christopher Kurts | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 

During World War II, the United States War Food Administration was responsible for the production and distribution of food. They established farm labor and school lunch pro - grams and worked with the Office of Price Administration to implement a rationing system. When he announced the rationing program in his April 28, 1942 Fireside Chat, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called upon Americans to put the needs of the national community above their own. He said, “This great war effort must be carried through to its victorious conclusion by the indomitable will and determination of the people as one great whole. It must not be impeded by the faint of heart. It must not be impeded by those who put their own selfish interests above the interests of the nation. It must not be impeded by those who pervert honest criticism into falsification of fact. 

It must not be impeded by self-styled experts either in economics or military problems who know neither true figures nor geography itself. It must not be impeded by a few bogus patriots who use the sacred freedom of the press to echo the sentiments of the propagandists in Tokyo and Berlin. And, above all, it shall not be imperiled by the handful of noisy traitors—betrayers of America, (and) betrayers of Christianity itself—would-be dictators who in their hearts and souls have yielded to Hitlerism and would have this Republic do likewise.”17 The War Food Administration implemented a poster campaign to promote values that would serve its agenda. These included posters that reminded people of the sacrifice they were being asked to make to support the war effort. Posters encouraged citizens to grow their own food in “Victory Gardens” and to can and preserve as much food as they could. Other poster encouraged people to work on farms during the summer. A poster from 1943 showed a woman carrying a wicker basket as she shopped for canned goods. The message read, “Rationing safeguards your share.” As a result of these campaigns, people came to see their shopping and eating habits as a form of community service. Christopher Kurts invokes this history with the use of Dick Williams’ War Food Administration poster, “Of course I can!; I’m patriotic as can be--And ration points won’t worry me!”18 Industrial food production practices contribute to climate change, which in turn leads to food insecurity. Kurts’ collage is a call to think of food as an extension of community: “gatherings around farmer’s markets, mutual aid, borrowing a cup of sugar from your neighbor, bake sales, community fridges, etc.” He writes, “The title is a play on the Giving Tree story, not taking our abundance for granted. Nature is a gift we need to nurture. The cyclical nature of our relationship with Earth’s resources require us to take care of the things that take care of us.