The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1946 BRITISH, WOMEN’S DEMAND FOR FOOD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 37, 14 October 1946, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1946 BRITISH, WOMEN’S DEMAND FOR FOOD

THOUSANDS of housewives in Britain are clamouring for a thorough inquiry into the country’s food situation. Such a demand suggests dissatisfaction with the management of the production and distribution of food, and if there is lack of confidence in the Government the deprivation will be more difficult to bear and the likelihood of lawlessness will be increased. The one certain fact is that Britain is short of food. Whether more food has been sent abroad than the situation warranted is less easy to ascertain, and whether the worldwide system of distribution is efficient and economical is a question of first importance to almost every nation. Since confidence in the administration of the whole food distribution problem is essential to good order among those who are depriving themselves and to the encouragement of the producers of food, any investigation that may be possible should be made. The mere existence of such discontent as is being manifested in Britain is a sufficient warning of the danger of permitting any slackness in the administration. Millions of tons of foodstuffs are being shipped to Europe, and it is necessary to know that these priceless commodities are reaching those in greatest need, that there is no waste and that the sacrifice by the British and other people is fully warranted. Only assurance on these points will satisfy British women who are declaring that they will not “sit down and see their children crying for food this winter.” For six or seven years they have accepted the severest form of rationing. They expected when the war was won that at long last they and their families would be able to enjoy reasonable plenty again. But instead they have had to submit to still more severe deprivation until bread itself is to be rationed, which they describe as the last straw. There need be no fear that if the need for these restrictions to be continued is demonstrated unmistakably they will again take their courage in both hands and see the ordeal through. All they ask is that assurance. The,, international organisations handling the distribution of the world’s food supplies are confronted with the greatest and most complex task of its kind in human history. It is undertaken as a grand-scale humanitarian effort designed not only to save millions from starvation but to preserve a human foundation upon which the peace of the world might be founded. How has this huge organisation grown? How is it answering the purpose and meeting the responsibility with which it is charged ? How can its administration be checked and overhauled to ensure continuing efficiency in dealing with the daily bread of hundreds of millions of people? It is the duty of the governments participating in the work to maintain the confidence of all concerned by constant watchfulness and revision. The discontinuance of certain supplies to China because ft is alleged they are not being distributed where needed is a case in point.