A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46
Introduction
The purpose of the inquiry was to find out:
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(i) the attitude of the adult population of G.B. towards National Wheatmeal Bread.
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(ii) to see whether this attitude has changed during the last year.
The inquiry is based on a general sample of 2,858 informants representing the [Text Missing] population. Interviews were taken at the homes of the people and in factories. (For details of sample see Appendix 1).
[Text Missing]
To assess the attitude to National Wheatmeal Bread, at least in some of its aspects, the following information was sought from each informant:-
The present taste for National Wheatmeal Bread as influenced by taste, colour, consistency of the bread, but without differentiating between these factors and only taking the final judgment into account;
the present opinion on the health value of National Wheatmeal Bread as compared with that of white bread;
how National Wheatmeal Bread compares with white bread as it is remembered;
(This question was asked in investigations in 1942 and 1943. Comparison, therefore, would show changes in attitude)
what kind of bread would be bought if white bread suddenly became available again;
whether people thought the production of National Wheatmeal Bread should be continued after the war or not.
Additional information obtained was on the kind of bread, brown, wholemeal, etc., regularly bought and on the amount consumed per head per week.
Summary
Three quarters of the informants accepted National Wheatmeal Bread without over criticism. One quarter actively dislikes it.
But this acceptance is only an acceptance under war conditions. If white bread were made available only 4% would buy all National Wheatmeal Bread and another 27% would buy it as part only of their bread supply. About the same percentage, 26% favours a continuation after the war; the others want it discontinued.
Informants were asked to make a comparison between white bread as they remember it and National Wheatmeal Bread. Two-thirds thought that white bread was better; only 8% preferred National Wheatmeal Bread to white, though not necessarily to other brown bread. The rest considered both kinds as more or less equally good.
Health considerations in connection with bread are not very important. Asked about the health value of white bread and National Wheatmeal Bread, one-third professed to have taken no interest in this aspect of their bread consumption and were, therefore, unable to give an answer to this question. If the answers of the others are analysed in greater detail it is seen that in the majority of cases, especially when they spoke of the health value of white bread, they really expressed their liking for it and had, in fact, no knowledge of its beneficial qualities. Only a quarter of the sample said that they thought National Wheatmeal Bread healthier than white bread. (Less people who eat brown or wholemeal bread like National Wheatmeal Bread at present; they prefer to eat their own particular kind, but they are less opposed to its continuation after the war.)
The popularity of National Wheatmeal Bread has decreased considerably since 1942, a date for which comparable figures exist. At this date [Text Missing] representative sample of the same population found that 23% preferred National Wheatmeal Bread to white bread when asked to make a comparison. In this investigation only 8% expressed this preference. [Text Missing] was not comparable [Text Missing] 9.
No great group differences in the attitude to National Wheatmeal Bread were to be found. Those which exist indicate that slightly more people of the following groups have a positive attitude to National Wheatmeal Bread; younger people as against older, those living in rural areas compared with those in urban areas, women and the poorer groups as against men and better off informants, sedentary and agricultural workers as compared with heavy workers, those living in Scotland, Midlands and the South of England compared with those living in London and the North.
Amount of Bread Consumed [Text Missing]
The average of consumption of bread is 64 ozs. per head per week as show by our sample In using this figure it must be kept in mind that it is based on many accounts of the housewife who was asked how many loaves she buys on an average a week. In working out the average consumption per head, every head was counted as one independent of age, sex or occupation.
The range of the amount consumed per head per week is fairly wide as the following table shows:-
Attitudes towards National Wheatmeal Bread
Table 2
| % | |
| Likes it, has got used to it | 45 |
| Accepts it with reservations | 22 |
| Dislikes it | 24 |
| Miscellaneous | 8 |
| Not answered | 1 |
| SAMPLE: Informants who are housewives | 2858 |
About half the sample had not fully accepted the National Wheatmeal Bread[Text Missing] They either actively dislike it or accept it as an inevitable consequence of the war.
The following quotations may clarify the meaning of these categories:-
Like it all right.
We both like it very much. We liked it in the last war too.
I think it’s got some strength in it, although I don’t know what it’s made of.
I like it, find it very satisfying especially on meatless days.
I like it all right, but I don’t like it as much as white. It gets stale very quickly.
I like it all right but it is very crumbly.
Very much on the whole but it varies, sometimes too under baked.
Not a lot.
I’d sooner have the white.
Not very much. Its very crumbly and tastes like straw. Does not even make good toast.
Not very much. Too heavy I think for me.
Don’t like it. No use for hard workers, not sustaining.
Deteriorated very much lately - perhaps to stop us using so much.
I think its all right, but there is a prevalence of skin rashes, which some attribute to the National Wheatmeal Bread.
You soon feel full, then you soon feel empty. I don’t think its nourishing.
The Kind of Bread eaten regularly
National Wheatmeal Bread is not the only bread obtainable; brown bread or wholemeal bread are other alternatives. The people in the sample were asked what kind of bread they ate “regularly”. An informant took one kind of bread regularly in our definition if the bulk or at least half of the bread consumed was of one special kind.
When the amount of bread bought regularly is related to the likes and dislikes of National Wheatmeal Bread the following results are obtained:-
Table 3
| Kind of bread bought “regularly” | |||
| The taste for National Wheatmeal Bread | Brown Bread | Wholemeal | National Wheatmeal Bread |
| % | % | % | |
| Likes it, have got used to it | 37 | 39 | 48 |
| Accepts it but with certain reservations | 19 | 12 | 26 |
| Dislike it | 39 | 40 | 21 |
| Miscellaneous | 5 | 9 | 5 |
| SAMPLE * : | 336 | 94 | 2666 |
People who eat brown bread or wholemeal bread regularly like National Wheatmeal Bread less them those who only eat National Wheatmeal Bread.
Health Value of National Wheatmeal Bread
Asked about the health value of National Wheatmeal Bread as compared with white bread one-third of the sample could not give any answer as they had never thought of bread in terms of health.
Table 4
| Which would you say is better for your health: National Wheatmeal Bread or White Bread? | % |
| White bread | 39 |
| National Wheatmeal Bread | 25 |
| Don’t know | 36 |
| SAMPLE: All who eat National Wheatmeal Bread | 2764 |
Only a quarter of the sample[Text Missing] think that National Wheatmeal Bread is healthier than white bread.
The informants were then asked what reasons they had for holding the particular view on the health value of the different breads.
Table 5
All who have an opinion about on the health value of National Wheatmeal Bread or white bread
The most striking figures in this table are of people who can’t give any reason why they think one or the other bread is good for their health. Especially high is this figure in the group which thinks white bread is better from a health point of view. In this group the two reasons most often mentioned are that white bread is better for health because it is liked better and because it is more digestible.
Those who consider National Wheatmeal Bread, healthier give, as most frequent reasons, that it is more nourishing and that it has more roughage.
This fact shows, even more clearly than table 4, that many people are not concerned with bread from the health point of view.
If the judgment on the health value of the different breads is related to the extent to which they are liked or disliked, the following results are obtained.
Table 6
More than two-thirds of the people who think that National Wheatmeal meal Bread is good for their health like it. Nearly half of those who think that white bread is better for their health dislike National Wheatmeal Bread.
National Wheatmeal Bread compared with White Bread as it is remembered.
This question was a repetition of a question asked in 1942 and 1943, and the informant was given four different answers to choose from.
Table 7
How does National Wheatmeal Bread compare with White Bread as it is remembered?
| % | |
| Better than white bread | 8 |
| Not as good as white bread | 67 |
| Better in some, worse in others | 6 |
| Like both equally | 16 |
| Don’t know | 3 |
| No answer | - |
| SAMPLE: All who eat National Wheatmeal Bread | 2764 |
The same question?- Why not same heading.
A relatively small percentage prefers National Wheatmeal Bread to white bread. These judgments were again related to the taste for or against National Wheatmeal Bread
Table 8
“How do you think the bread the shops are selling now compare with white bread?
Four-fifths of the people, who say that the National Wheatmeal Bread is better than white bread and those who say they like both equally, said also in the first question that they like National Wheatmeal Bread, but it is significant that one-third of those who consider white bread better than National Wheatmeal Bread said in the first place that they liked it. They could do both?
A comparison of the answers to this question at three different dates ahows the following result:-
Table 9
Comparison of National Wheatmeal Bread and White Bread
[Text Missing]
Considerably less people prefer white bread to National Wheatmeal Bread than did in May 1942. Those who prefer National Wheatmeal Bread are only a third of [Text Missing] number who did so two years ago. See comment on Table.
If White Bread were obtainable
The next question informants were asked was: If white bread were made obtainable would you want:-
Table 10
| % | ||
| All white bread | 65 | |
| Partly white bread, partly N.W.B | 27 | 31 |
| All N.W.B. | 4 | |
| Don’t know | 3 | |
| Sample who buy N.W.B. now | 2764 | |
31% nearly a third
It seems that just over a quarter of the sample is sufficiently converted [Text Missing] to [Text Missing] taste for National Wheatmeal Bread to want it to be still available even if they could also buy white bread.
It is interesting that only 4% say they would buy all National Wheatmeal Bread though 8% said that they prefer National Wheatmeal Bread to white bread. Seems quite [Text Missing] that people would want a change now [Text Missing]an.
Answers to this question were also related to the answers about likes and dislikes of National Wheatmeal Bread.
Table 11
If white bread were made available would you want:
The table shows a very similar result to table 5, [Text Missing] 33% of those who want all white bread said in answer to the first question that they liked National Wheatmeal Bread all right. ? No 33% in Table 5.
National Wheatmeal Bread after the war.
In order to check the results presented in Table 10 “What bread would you want if white bread were made obtainable?” at another stage in the interview the question
“Would you like National Wheatmeal Bread continued after the war?” was asked.
Table 12
Continuation of National Wheatmeal Bread
| % | |
| Would like continued | 26 |
| Would not like continued | 63 |
| Don’t know | 9 |
| SAMPLE: | 2858 |
They do not say they want it discontinued either - Table 10
Nearly two-thirds of the sample do not want National Wheatmeal Bread continued after the war, about the same percentage who did not want to buy any National Wheatmeal Bread if white bread were obtainable.
A similar question about continuation of National Wheatmeal Bread after the war was asked of housewives only in an inquiry in May 1942. The results compared with the results of the present inquiry are:-
Table 13
Continuation of National Wheatmeal Bread
| 1944 | May 1942 | |
| % adult[Text Missing] | % housewives | |
| Would like continued | 26 | 31 |
| Would not like continued | 63 | 55 |
| Don’t know | 9 | 15 |
| SAMPLE: | 2858 | 2944 |
This comparison shows again a decline in the approval of National Wheatmeal Bread. [Text Missing]
Group Differences
The material was analysed by sex, by whether the informant lived in town or country, by age, by occupation, by region, by economic status.
A difference is either significant or not. A difference that is significant may be [Text Missing] small.
Group differences were either of no or only very small statistical significance but certain trends appear which, though of no practical consequence, are not uninteresting from a general point of view. In order not to overburden the report with figures, in the following pages only the relevant figures and not the whole tables will be given. Not all informants were classified for each group, therefore the sample in most of the following tables will be smaller than the total.
Sex
More women have a favourable attitude to National Wheatmeal Bread than men!
Table 14
| Male | Female | |
| % | % | |
| National Wheatmeal Bread liked at present | 41 | 48 |
| National Wheatmeal Bread disliked at present | 28 | 22 |
| All other remarks | 31 | 30 |
| SAMPLE: | 1147 | 1617 |
It would be clearer to repeat the question.
Urban - Rural
The differences are very slight, never more than 3%, but consistently 2% or 3% more of the rural group have a favourable attitude to National Wheatmeal Bread than the town group. [Text Missing] Could be used to see whether [Text Missing] difference between urban and rural is significant.
Age
Two age groups were differentiated as under 30 [Text Missing] and over 30 why not show more age groups?
More people of the younger age group have a favourable attitude to National Wheatmeal Bread than of the older group:
Table 17
| [Text Missing] | Up to 30 | Over 30 |
| % | % | |
| National Wheatmeal Bread liked at present | 51 | 43 |
| National Wheatmeal Bread disliked at present | 21 | 26 |
| All other remarks | 28 | 31 |
| SAMPLE: | 660 | 2082 |
Occupation
12 occupation groups were differentiated: housewives, operatives in heavy manufacture, two light manufacture groups, agriculture, mining, building, transport and public utility; distributive, clerical, managerial, professional [Text Missing] retired and unoccupied, and miscellaneous. As our sample was only 2764 it means that the different occupational groups were relatively small.
Consistently through all questions heavy workers and the retired and unoccupied have the greatest proportion of people whose attitude to National Wheatmeal Bread is unfavourable.
The clerical workers and, interestingly enough, the agricultural workers have the smallest number of people who have not got accustomed to National Wheatmeal Bread. More of the managerial and professional group have an unfavourable attitude mainly because they prefer brown bread proper. Was [Text Missing] asked?
Region
12 regions were distinguished: Scotland, North, North East, North West, North Midlands, Midlands, Wales, East, London, South East, South West, and South. Here again the problem of small numbers in each group arose. It was found that North, North East, North West, North Midlands, and Wales showed the same trends so they were grouped together. Also Midlands, East, South West, South East, and South showed the same tendency, therefore they form another group. Scotland and London did not fit into their neighbouring regions. They are represented separately.
More people in Scotland and in the Midlands, East, and South regions have a favourable attitude towards the bread than people in London and in the North of England.
Table 20
The question on the health value of National Wheatmeal Bread was not analysed by region.
Economic Standard
Two groups were differentiated. One where the wage rate of the main wage earner was less than £5.0.0. a week, in the other more than £5.0.0. a week.
The two groups are first characterised by slightly different consumption figures. The poorer eat more bread.
Table 22
| Up to £5.0.0 | More than £5.0.0. | |
| Average consumption of bread in ounces per week per head | 66 ozs. | 60 ozs. |
| SAMPLE: (Housewives only) | 806 | 244 |
S.D & S E Should be given.
Also fewer a smaller [Text Missing] people in the poorer group eat brown and wholemeal bread than in the better off group.
Table 23
| Up to £5.0.0. | More than £5.0.0. | |
| % | % | |
| Has brown bread regularly | 9 | 19 |
| Has wholemeal bread regularly | 2 | 6 |
| Has National Wheatmeal Bread regularly | 94 | 89 |
| SAMPLE: | 2030 | 651 |
On the whole more people in the wealthier class have a positive[Text Missing] attitude to National Wheatmeal Bread though the percentage in both groups who dislike it at the moment are the same. This negative judgment is the same but it is derived by more people in the wealthier group from comparison with brown bread, whereas in the poorer group by more people from comparison with white bread.
In the question of the health value of National Wheatmeal Bread and in the attitude to buying it if white bread were made available, more people in the wealthier group have a favourable attitude towards it than in the poorer group.
SAMPLE: