A WELL-FILLED LARDER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 214, 11 September 1939, Page 6

A WELL-FILLED LARDER.

JSvidejiee of Britain's preparedness for war is the statement of the Minister of Food, Mr. W. S. Morrison, that rationing of foodstuffs will be unnecessary for a month at the earliest, and in any event the people are assured of a "very good ration." War-time food supplies in Britain depend upon the extent t<> which the peace-time level can be maintained, that is, generally speaking, on the volume of imports. In only three important foods —fish, milk and potatoes—"is Britain self-supporting. In three essential groups —cereals, fats and sugar—home production provides only a small fraction of the amount required. Imports of fats, including butter, represent nearly 90 per cent of peacetime requirements, and war needs would be no less, but possibly greater. In meat Britain produces half the total consumed, New Zealand being one of the chief overseas suppliers. A comparison of the agricultural and pastoral position with that of 1914-18 reveals that there has been surprisingly little change. The cultivated area is now under 30,000,000 acres, or 2,000,000 lower than in 1914, but live stock shows an increase, which is most marked in the farmer's "rent-payer," the pig. Cattle total nearly 1,000,000 more than in 1914, when the iH'inber was 7,090,000, and sheep 1,120,000 more, with a total of 25,410,000. It is possible that under the stimulus of war needs a women's land army could be quVkly organised to expand production as was done between 1914 and 1918. '