ABSTRACT
Several of the chapters in this volume have shown that throughout the twentieth century individuals and groups such as Horace Fletcher, the National Birthday Trust and the London Food Commission have sought the application of nutritional knowledge by government. Such individuals and groups have attempted to enrol the scientific community, but scientists themselves have also frequently harboured ambitions to influence government food policies, and the two World Wars presented special opportunities to pursue such ambitions. By comparing the involvement of nutrition scientists in government during the two wars, this chapter will illustrate some features of the institutional, professional and scientific development of nutrition in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century.
