13. Dr. Seuss used Private Snafu to address food shortages
By 1944, the new recruits and draftees had experienced two years of rationing in civilian life, as food to meet the needs of the military was limited to civilians at home. Among the most expensive of food items in terms of ration points needed for civilian purchase was beef, and the army attempted to limit the waste of beef among its troops. Military personnel were not limited to the amount of food they could request at mess, but they were urged to take no more than they could eat, in an effort to reduce waste. This was practiced in all branches of the service, and was reinforced by a Snafu film written by Geisel in 1944 entitled The Chow Hound. The film was narrated by the ghost of a prize bull who volunteered to be sacrificed as food for the American war effort, rather than complete his honeymoon.
The bull follows the process of his volunteering and being delivered for processing, his butchering, and his production as canned meat products for use of the military. He further describes the effort and time consumed processing and shipping the meat he provided as it goes on its long journey to reach Snafu somewhere in the Pacific. Snafu rushes to the head of the chow line, demands more food than he can ever eat, nonetheless gorges himself, and then throws away the rest. After remonstrating Snafu, the bull’s ghost again stresses that he had voluntarily given himself up as food for the war effort, only to see part of his efforts go to waste. In The Chow Hound, Dr. Seuss stressed the sacrifices of the home front creating a responsibility for the troops. According to Army records, it was one of the least popular of the Snafu films.