Canadian's View On World's Food Needs

Chronicle (Levin), 3 February 1949, Page 3

Canadian's View On World's Food Needs

''As I look on tlie abundance in New Zealand, I find it difficult to realise that . the greater part of the world is hua- , gry" said Mr A. Rive, High Coiumissioner for Can,ada in New Zealand, in the eourse of his remarks when o.pening the Feilding A and P Show yesterday. A constant fl-ow of food is moving from New Zealand to the United Iving'doni. That, I believe, is a great contribution to peaee; for a strong United Kingdom is essential to the maintenanee of western civilization in Furope. ' ' But ail the world is crying for food. The great food-prodfieing countries of the world of whieh New Zealand is one, cannot hope to feed the world, nor lookifig forward through the years ean we see lnueh hope for improvement in the balance between eonstantly-growing ' world population and a nearly statie food supplv. All through large parts of the world, the postulate of Maithus, that population presses on subsistence and that starvation alone sets the linnts of population, is true. It is true whereever the food sujiply is inadequate for mere than their subsistence. Expenence, .however, suggests that in any coui- j inunity or country where an adequate [ food supplv is imsured over a period of . tiuie aiul the eoneept of- the minimuru necessary for lit'e is raised, the pressure of population 011 subsistence is eased. The birthrate declines but a man's span of lit'e is lengthened. Ile has timo to think of more than the problem of food for the day. Is there anything that we the peoples of the more prosperous countries can do? Is there anything that New Zealand can do to raise the st'andard in other countries ? The answer, I think, is yes. It is evident throughout New Zealand, in your Massey and Lincoln Oalleges, in your experimental stations, and right here in Feilding at this show. You cannot hope to export enough food to feed even an appreciable nnmber of ■the hungry of Asia or Afriea, but you can help them to feed themselves. You. can export — you are exporting — your ; teehinques of production, your knowledge of farming and stock-raising, your knowledge, of pasture, your knowledge of the organisation of farm production, your scientilie work, your research which has made New Zealand pre-eminent' among the countries of the world in her export industries, all of which can help backward countries to improve their own production. I do not inean that the exact niethods which have been nsed to improve pastures in New Zealand can necessarily be applied in all other dairying countries but 1 do niean that the approach to the problems of pasture, the scientilie approach made with foresight, pla.tning," and determination, can solve problems elsewhere, just as it has solved them here. It seems probable that we are at tl^ moment entering upon new developments in the technique of food production. New Zealand has the men and the exports to share in these developments, which will, while continuing to improve production in New Zealand, even more greatly inerease food production elsewhere by helping people to help themselves. You do not need to j i'ear that by ihereasing and improving , food production in the Orient, and in { Afriea that you will be damagiug your own position by creating competition in the world market. The world's need ; for increased food production cannot be met in the foreseeable future. Fvery , improvement in local well-being ' throughout the world means the possi- 1 bility of a greater, not a lesser, market for the rest of us. "