Food waste in the United Kingdom Meanwhile, in the United States (where shortages were hardly comparable), legislators considered laws restricting the distribution of food in order to cut waste, breaches of which might be punishable by fines or imprisonment. During World War II, rationing was imposed almost immediately. Restrictions were immediately more stringent than in the Great War as with effect from 8 January 1940, ration books were issued and most foods were subject to ration. By August 1940, legislation was passed that made the wasting of food a prisonable offence. Posters encouraged kitchen waste to be used for feeding animals, primarily swine but also poultry.
Food in the Occupation of Japan a food rationing system for items such as vegetables, sugar, seafood, dairy goods, and rice. Rations for adults included only 1.3 to 1.8 ounces of meat and 1.8 ounces of fish a day. By 1945, this amount was reduced to 1,793 calories daily due to further restrictions. These limited rations were especially problematic in cities that relied entirely on government rations, such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka, and Yokohama. People in provincial towns and cities who were not as dependent on the rationing system were relatively less affected, until the Allies bombed Japanese home islands in 1944. Farming families were