BRITONS EATING JUST AS MUCH

Chronicle (Levin), 29 October 1946, Page 5

BRITONS EATING JUST AS MUCH

Beceivcd Monclay, S.O p.nt. .LONDON, Oct. 28. Mr. Strachey, Minister of Food, who freqnently argued that Britain, with a wartime ration. system, as a whole was cating almost as much food as before the war, in a speeeh at Dundee produfeed figures to illustrate the argument that an imposed organised rationing system was pret'erable to "rationing by price aiid . poverty : Mr. Strachey said Britons were getting, in terms of calories, 93 per eent of their prewar food supply. The food must appear more monotonous to the people wKb were able, before the war, to afford variety.1 On the other hand there were tens of thousands of families eating niuch better and more expensive food than they were able to afford before the war. It would be qiiite easy, in a sbort time, to restore the prewar situation in the case of most foods. It wonkl simply mean rever.ting to a state of affairs in which there . was a chrome shortage for most of the people. A great proportion of the poxiulation was now eating more meat and f'ats than before the war. Each person, on the average, was now eating four oimces each of sugar and fats compared with the prewar average oi' five, using nine ounces of tea compared with ten, eating half as much shell eggs, bacon and ham, 98 per eent of the prewar qiumtities of fresh beef, mutton and tinned meat. The consumption of some foods had increased and Britons were eating' three pounds of fish compared with two, "just. a little more flour as bread and cakes, etcetra, six pots of jam compared with five, and nearly half as miieh more milk. Inereases in consumption at such places as Wallsend, Jarrow and Dundee accounted for the increased averages, *A family with an incoine of £1000 before the war spent.five shillings per liead weekly on meat while the many families with under £200 annually spent weekly ls 5d per head. Compat-ative figures for other foods were : — Eggs lld — 3|d, butter lld — 4d, milk ls 6d — 6d. Mr. Strachey said: "People before the war were too poor to get food from shops so conccaled the fact that it was not really enough." ' •