New Books Network Rosella Cappella Zielinski and Paul Poast, "Wheat at War: Allied Economic Cooperation in the Great War" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Mar 3, 2026
Paul Poast, a University of Chicago political scientist studying alliances, and Rosella Cappella-Zielinski, a scholar of political economy and conflict finance, discuss the Wheat Executive. They recount wartime wheat shortages, stem rust and U-boat threats, and how allies pooled buying and shipping authority. The conversation traces maritime coordination, US integration, and the institution’s postwar legacies.
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Submarine Warfare Met Crop Disease To Create Crisis
- The wheat crisis resulted from the conjunction of German unrestricted submarine warfare and a 1916 stem rust epidemic that reduced North American exports.
- Officials recognized shipping losses plus lower harvests (also in Argentina) made shortages acute and incentivized institutional solutions.
Coordination Cut Empty Voyages And Stabilized Prices
- The Wheat Executive's shipping coordination eliminated inefficiencies like empty ships passing each other and lowered wheat price volatility on markets like the Chicago Board of Trade.
- Its success inspired other commodity executives and later the Allied Maritime Transport Council.
September 1917 Invoice Shows Global Sourcing Mix
- An invoice from September 1917 shows the Wheat Executive purchasing North American wheat, Indian wheat, Japanese and Chinese flour, South African maize, rye, rice, oats, and beans.
- This invoice illustrates the Executive's global sourcing and substitution strategy across many countries including Belgium and Sweden.
