FOOD SHORTAGES IN BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24907, 21 June 1946, Page 7

FOOD SHORTAGES IN BRITAIN

NEWSPAPERS SHOW ANXIETY

PROSPECTS FOR WINTER „ „ LONDON, June 19. Practically every morning newspaper in London and the provinces to-day devotes a leading article to the food situation. The only notable abstentions are the “Daily Herald,” which ran instead a cartoon of a childish soap bubble blower entitled ‘Tory Propaganda,” and floating bubbles labelled “{Stunt,” “Abuse, 3 “Scare” and the “News Chronicle,” which merely reported the debate in the House of Commons. . “The “Daily Telegraph” said: “What is wanted now is more food, not more policy.” It appealed to the Government to organise all possible sources of supply before the position deteriorated further.

There Is a marked inclination in many quarters to ask why definite measures were not taken to increase the British wheat acreage last autumn and avoid the necessity of reducing livestock foodstuffs to a point which will make next Winter’s milk, egg, and bacon supplies smaller even than in the worst years of the war. “What is needed now is that all practical ideas should be pooled.” says “The Times,” which advocates that agricultural committees, the worth of which was proved throughout the war, should be immediately asxed co organise measures to increase home production. “The Times” describes the pro* posed reduction in the milk ration to one and a half pints a week as “a catastrophic set-back which cannot be redressed too soon.”

'Food for Stock The “Glasgow Herald” agrees with the chairman of the Scottish Milk Marketing Board (Sir George Wilson) who has just described the winter prospects for milk production in Scotland as “very grim indeed,” and it questions the practicability of 'the scheme for rationing animal foodstuffs.

The National Farmers’ Union, with representatives of the Milk Marketing Boards, is discussing these cuts and preparing counter-proposals which will be taken to the Government this week by the chairman (Mr James Turner). The National Farmers’ Union will urge an immediate campaign for the conservation of all available herbage, including grass on airfields and road verges, and its use for silage. It will also draw attention to the large supplies of fish which are being wasted when they could be used for the manufacture of protein Products for feeding animals.

Farmers’ organisations also support criticisms of the shortage of farm machinery for the harvest, and they will urge the Government to give priority to the manufacture of spare parts so that large numbers of mowers and tractors which at present are useless may be put*lnto commission. Mersey Housewives Appeal This week a mass meeting of housewives at Merseyside sent a letter to the Prime Minister (Mr Attlee) appealing for a halt in food cuts “before it is too late.” The letter said: “Thousands of women find their vitality sapped. They are undernourished and permanently tired. “These people never see a doctor because they are not suffering from one of the priority complaints. Sheer ex-, haustion is not recorded by the health offices.” '

Another symptom of dissatisfaction is the comment on the growth of black market activities, particularly by restaurants. Attention was drawn to this by the conviction of a well-known Piccadilly catering firm for extensive operations on the black market, and the comments of the Magistrate, who described the state of affairs as “really disgraceful.” The firm was fined £9OO, and a butcher who assisted it by supplying poultry was sent to prison for six months. Food control would still be needed after rationing ended, said the Lord President of the Council (Mr Herbert Morrison) in a speech to farmers at Nottingham. The agricultural industry would not flourish without a sound system guaranteeing prices, stabilising markets, and ensuring that the foods the people needed were available in the quantities required at prices they could afford. This would involve control from production to sale.