World War Two rationing imposed severe restrictions on food, so why would anyone voluntarily go back to it?

Ruth Alexander meets three women who chose to adopt the diet endured in 1940s and 1950s Britain, one of them for an entire year.

We hear how such scarcity inspired creativity, a reverence for the ingenuity of wartime cooks, and an enduring change of perspective on the responsibility of the 21st century food consumer.

If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk.

Producer: Simon Tulett

Contributors:

Karen Burns-Booth, food writer - www.lavenderandlovage.com/category/recipes/general-recipes/wartime-recipes Claud Fullwood, author of The Rations Challenge: Forty Days of Feasting in a Wartime Kitchen Carolyn Ekins, blogger - https://the1940sexperiment.com

(Picture: Basket of food rations on display at the Imperial War Museum, London, in 2011. Credit: Paul Kerley/BBC)

Why I chose to live on rations 27:25 Share

The Food Chain

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Why I chose to live on rations