BLOCKADE MEMORIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 57, 7 March 1936, Page 9

BLOCKADE MEMORIES.

Britain's Food Supply in Days Of War. GOVERNMENT INQUIRIES. LOXDOjST, March G. The Sun-Herald news service says Britain's food is among tlie outstanding problems related to tlie defence programme. The unforgettable lesson of the last war, that Britain could only feed herself for six weeks in the event of a blockade, has resulted in comprehensive investigations by the Government as to how to prepare for a recurrence of such an eventuality. The Government Is understood to be discussing food proposals in .connection with Mr. Baldwin's statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday that the Committee of Imperial Defence was considering means of increasing the production of home-grown foodstuffs. It is believed that ttie proposals include the following:—Control of imports of overseas foodstuffs by either quotas or ear-marked tariffs; propaganda for the cultivation of more allotments and small holdings, and even of gardens; inducements to the unemployed to join workers on the land, the number of whom has dropped by 45,000 in five years; Government loans to enable farmers to increase their holdings and improve their livestock; the construction of huge granaries and cold storage depots for reserves of corn, flour and meat; and the erection of factories in conjunction with marketing boards for the manufacture of cheese, condensed .milk and butter.