BRITAIN'S FOOD CUT

Chronicle (Levin), 15 November 1946, Page 4

BRITAIN'S FOOD CUT

Rations At New Low Level HELP DESPERATELY NEEDED Great Bntain's need of every ,unce of food which New Zealand ;an ntake avallable to her, and how lecessary it is for New Zealanders ,o save all they can in meat, butter ind cheese cowards- that end, has again been forcibly- brought to notice .during the last Week in the Levin district. The Mayor, Mr. H. B. Burdekin, ipeaking at a meeting this Week,' ; i .•gferred to the reports coming to; nand from the United Kingdom. .Ie said they disclosed that the position of the people in the Homefahd "was dasperate. Today they vere receiving only about' 75 per oent. of the rations granted to them iuring" the most difficult period of ;he war years. He said the necesiity of New Zealanders saving to „he very u most of their ability could not bo too strongly emphasised. Reference to the serious situation was made at aiiother gathering a few miles from Levin by a speaker who had only recently returned from a post-war visit to the Homeland. He told his hearers that he had been given a luxury suite, vvjth a butler, a valet and three maids, but the food had been in marked contraso and gave a striking indication of the pitiable plight of the people. A typical meal had been a single sausage, which he did not think contained' any meat whatsoever, and a 'small piece of bread three inches square. It was • not only the shortage but the mon1 otony of the rations that was so noticeable. Just a i'ew days ago the Famine Emergency Campaign committee circulated the following message received from London through the United Kingdom High Commissioner: "From today for some weeks the amount of butter in Britain's | weekly fat ration of seven ounces in ■ iall is reduced from three to two ounces. The remainder will be : made up of four ounces of margarjine and one ounce of cooking fat.. Last November the butter ration was increased to three ounces after having stood at two ounces for four years. The Ministry of Food has i found that despite the»efforts made by Australia and New Zealand to increase shipments, and' additional supplies from Denmark, it has been impcssible to provide the threeounce butter ration throughout the whole year." The Famine Emergency Campaign committee comments that this shcws how urgent and neeesi sary the saving of meat and butter ! is.