Prohibition and ice cream in the US Navy

Alcohol, Prohibition, and the Turn to Sweets

• Several comments argue that when alcohol was restricted in the US, many people shifted their “hedonic drive” to sweets, helping fuel the explosion of processed candy and “junk” confections.
• Others tie this to the idea that humans (and even pets) are wired to consume scarce high-calorie rewards immediately, leading to modern overconsumption in an environment of abundance.
• Declines in smoking are linked in the discussion to rising caloric intake and obesity, with nicotine’s appetite-suppressant role repeatedly noted.
• A referenced framework describes pleasures as substitutable, refinable, and blendable over time (e.g., from fermented fruits to cocktails and sugary mixed drinks).
• One commenter wonders if modern weed use in college towns is now displacing bar culture.

Ice Cream as Naval Morale and Alcohol Substitute

• Ice cream is widely praised as an ideal shipboard treat, especially in hot, non–air-conditioned environments.
• The Lexington “eat all the ice cream before abandoning ship” story is highlighted as an emblem of its morale value.
• Some note the contemporary US Navy no longer maintains the WWII-style ice cream culture; availability is spotty and often limited to ship stores.
• Others argue ice cream would have spread in the Navy regardless of alcohol bans simply because it is popular and cooling.

Health Debates Around Ice Cream and Sugar

• One thread claims ice cream’s health profile may be closer to yogurt than commonly assumed; others push back, stressing its high sugar and calorie content.
• A cited meta-analysis suggests sugar in beverages is particularly associated with type 2 diabetes risk, while sugar in solid foods appears less harmful, though not necessarily “healthy.”
• The role of sugar form (eaten vs drunk), digestion speed, fat “matrix,” and fiber (in fruit) is debated.
• Some commenters with diabetes or lactose intolerance describe avoiding or heavily modifying ice cream consumption; others openly eat it for pleasure, not health.

Prohibition, Breweries, and Logistics

• Prohibition is blamed for wiping out many immigrant-founded breweries and smaller wine producers, paving the way for postwar consolidation into a few industrial giants and a polarized market (mass-market vs microbrew).
• Others argue consolidation would have occurred under capitalism anyway, citing distribution laws, later M&A waves, and similar structures in countries without Prohibition.
• Historical logistics: farmers distilled surplus grain into spirits for easier, more stable transport; naval “torpedo juice” and medicinal-alcohol exceptions are noted as ways alcohol persisted.

Modern Military Drinking Cultures and Policy

• Official US Navy policy allows limited “beer days” (two beers under strict conditions after extended time at sea), but reports vary on how often this happens.
• Comparisons: the Royal Navy historically had rum rations and, more recently, daily beer allocations; some accounts describe widespread past use of both alcohol and tranquilizers.
• An Australian Navy perspective notes alcohol availability aboard and a pay structure that varies more strongly by job role than in the US, prompting a long subthread on US rank-based pay plus selective bonuses.

Alcoholism, Discipline, and Culture Change

• One detailed account from early-2000s US Navy service describes pervasive extreme drinking, including drunk nuclear operators, tolerated DUIs, and senior leaders enabling heavy consumption to keep it “contained.”
• Another sailor describes a far stricter environment: no one arriving at work drunk, heavy punishment for alcohol incidents, and long liberty restrictions after serious mishaps.
• A submarine veteran says the earlier alcohol-heavy culture was real but claims later force-reduction boards and harsher career consequences for alcohol issues largely stamped it out, at the cost of severe manning shortfalls, especially in forward-deployed fleets.

Ice Cream, Logistics, and Perceived Power

• A possibly apocryphal story recounts Axis officers recognizing inevitable defeat upon seeing US Navy ice cream barges while their own troops starved.
• Similar anecdotes mention POWs recognizing Allied strength through plentiful food and small luxuries.
• Commenters connect these stories to the idea that battles are fundamentally logistics operations: when one side can deliver not just bullets but also treats, its underlying capacity is overwhelming.