FOOD PROBLEM FOR THE WORLD

Grey River Argus, 20 September 1948, Page 2

FOOD PROBLEM FOR THE WORLD

LONON, Sept. 12.

Sir Henry Tizard, chairman of the Government's Defence Research Policy Committee and 1948 president of the British Association, called for a spirit of adventure and of calculated risks in science in his anaugural address to the British Association meeting at Brighton. Sir Henry said that the world’s population was now increasing by 1 per cent, each year and it was doubtful whether the supply of food could keep pace with this increase even with the present low standard of nutrition. “I don't think the danger of the present position is yet fully realised,” he said. Scientific experiments in progress were unlikely to lead to a new substantial source of food within the next 30 years. Britain, he added, must plan on the assumption that food will be both scarce and dedr for many years to come. Sir Henry said that experts agreed that Britain’s production of food could be raised by 2’o per cent, within five years, but even then Britain would need to import food for 20,000,000 to 25,000,000 people unless there was a large outward movemem. of population. It should be remembered also that in another. 70 years or less the world’s population might be doubled. It was Britain’s bounden duty in order to safeguard her future food imports to develop scientifically her colonial territories. Sir Henry said that no new scientific discovery would benefit British industry so quickly as the application of what was already known; for example, the production of atomic power could not bring such economic benefits within 20 years as a practical application of the known methods of economising in coal. Aeronautics also needed bold and skilled engineering rather than fundamental knowledge.. This, if successful would enable air transport to compete on level terms with the train and ship for longdistance travel instead of on existing subsidies. Britain must raise her standard of technology. She must have more industrial executives with scientic education or lose her place, among the great manufacturing nations. The British Association elected sir John Russell as 1949 president to succeed Sir Henry Tizard. Sir John is a distinguished authority on soil cultivation and plant nutrition.