Murray, Mary B. “Let’s Enjoy Eating.” The Wesson Oil and Snowdrift People, 1932. Carolyn Sheppard Price Home Economics Teaching Materials, 1632.0002, 53-115, 03.
The “Let’s Enjoy Eating” recipe pamphlet by Mary B. Murray, published in 1932 by the Wesson Oil and Snowdrift people, gives the reader an insight into the lifestyle of a woman in the 1930s. The introduction by “Dr. Walter H. Eddy, Ph. D, Director of Bureau of Foods, Sanitation and Health, Good Housekeeping
magazine” talks about the recipes to good eating. He focuses on proper food selections, which ones are best for certain recipes, and why. The section headers read as follows: “Introduction,” “Make the Dressing to Suit the Salad,” “The Secret of Wholesome Frying,” “How the Modern Woman Bakes,” and the “Index.” Each content header prepares the reader for the discussion that will be at hand for each page.
Throughout the booklet, food serves as a means of happiness and joy for the preparer and the people who eat the food. When focusing on the health aspects of food and how to maintain a healthy diet, Dr. Eddy tells how the happiness part of the process is often forgotten. When comparing this logic of the 1930s to people of today, it is interesting what he thinks of as important regarding health and food. This is because of the awareness that people of today have on the effects of certain foods and the precautions that could be taken to prevent obesity, diseases, and other health concerns. Through this advertising tactic, the booklet is presented as a guide for healthy food without the health benefits as the main priority, but happiness instead. This feeds into the current issues of preventing obesity at young ages and has even gone as far as to limit the food intake by children in schools in America. During the 1930s, food was seen as a joy and not as a health hazard, which is interesting to note due to the widespread messages against eating fried foods and other foods that contain oils, such as the Wesson Oil that the booklet is advertising, that are presented in the booklet as good for consumers during the 1930s.