BRITISH POLICY IN MEAT CONTROL.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 February 1920, Page 3

BRITISH POLICY IN MEAT CONTROL.

ALL WILL BE REQUIRED j

An interview published in the London “Observer” with Mr M'Curdy, Parliamentary Secretary to the British Ministry of Food is interesting as showing tbe point of view of the Ministry in approaching such questions as that with which the meat producers are at the present moment concerned —tho glut of meat iii the cold stores of the United Kingdom and the action of the Food Ministry which keeps that meat there instead of selling it at such a, price that tlie market will quickly absorb if. Mr M'Curdy makes it quite clear that the Food Ministry wants to havo a lot of meat, and expects to jigve use for all of it.

Afj«,ev discussing in somewhat racy ifashipu the demands- of the, people to have plenty of everything no"; that the war i,‘; pvor, and the very widespread belief that there is now no short, age of anything at all except houses, he goes on to talk as follows about mOnt: “ Take the question of pmat, for example. Meat is now' reaching this country from New Zealand which was held up during the war by transport difficulties. The average newspaper reader discovers tin- existence and the coming of this meat, and immediately begins to talk about a glut. That is the popular word of the momen . There is a ‘glut’ of everything ot meat sugar, bacon-of anything the public most wants. But what you cannot do is to persuade those soma mists that' 120,000'' tons of meat irom New Zealand do not really balance a shortage of 300,000 tons in Die Home supplies, to say nothing of a shortage in Central Europe, which amounts to three million tons. If in the course of the next year we arc going t<j• eat as much meat as we did before ilm « there will really he no meat m the world to relieve the needs of Europe, and I am afraid our own people do not vet realise how hitter those needs v 11 be. If the glut of meat that vo V so miieli about is to become a red D tins country, it can only he » >}' . understanding that otlnv' People «>’e to have no meat at. all,” _