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.
Rationing in Cuba palm fronds. It was estimated in the early 2000s that the rationing covered between one third and one half of a family's needs. President Raul Castro moved to eliminate many products from the rationing system, including potatoes and peas. The "libreta" is not the only means of acquiring goods available to a Cuban citizen, as many of these and other products are freely available on the "mercado libre" (free market) and "mercado paralelo" (parallel market), and in the numerous supermarkets and stores that sell goods in convertible pesos. (Such stores were originally set up taking United States Dollars and were