Vegetables: Postwar Period

In the years immediately after World War II, Americans grew in numbers and affluence, while the proportion of farmers in the labor force declined to about 15 percent. Farming became big business; as farming grew, the bulk of vegetable production shifted to just a few states, and regional vegetable selection and variety fell dramatically. Agriculturally, this period was characterized by a rise in the use of pesticides and the development of hearty vegetable hybrids that could travel long distances.