NO EXCUSE FOR WASTE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 133, 2 December 1943, Page 4

NO EXCUSE FOR WASTE

When so many demands are being made on the foodstuffs which New Zealand: is normally able to produce, it is essential that everything possible should be done to supplement supplies, especially •of those foods which can readily be grown by home gardeners. The appeal made by the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Nash) to every citizen who has access to la"n3 to supply his family with vegetables should meet with an enthusiastic response. As Mr. Nash has emphasised, the world food position is fraught with serious possibilities, and householders who respond to the appeal will not only be doing themselves and their families a real service, but they will be making a valuable contribution to the solution of a world problem, a problem that

will become even more acute in the post-war period. Mr. Nas,h; has aptly summed up the position in his statement that "the United States of America and all the Dominions are being rationed to help Britain, and we should be proud to,join in a resolute effort to play our part on this vital food front." Rationing is one way of assisting the people of Great Britain, but an even better way is to increase our production of foodstuffs. The farmers may be relied upon to accept their share of the burden, provided they receive the necessary encouragement and assistance from the State, but that alone will not be sufficient. There must be co-operation from everybody who has ground available. The satisfaction derived from the knowledge that we are helping ourselves will be doubled by-the knowledge that by our efforts we are helping others. .... It .is rather unfortunate that Mr. hash's statement should coincide with a statement by the Dominion Supervisor of Vegetable" Production, Mr. J. M. Smith,, that the policy of the Government, as carried out by the Department of Agriculture, in connection with vegetable growing is to plough in and so destroy all vegetables' not taken by the Armed Forces. The disturbing effect that such a statement will have on the public mind, especially at a time when the possibility of serious shortages of foodstuffs is being emphasised, will not be completely removed by the denial which has' been issued by the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Roberts). The public.will wonder how it is that aresponsible officer has come to make such a statement. Mr. Roberts says that Mr. Smith was entirely incorrect, and that vegetables not required for the Armed-Forces are either to be sold on the local market, processed in the dehydration plants, or placed in the extra cool storage now in course of construction. This certainly places a different construction on the matter, but Mr. Roberts, has said that the statement may have referred to December, 1942, and January, 1943, "when there were ample supplies available for the domestic markets," and surplus vegetables from Government projects were.not harvested. In other words, valuable food was allowed to go to ■ waste. • Not .many housewives will agree with the Minister's assertion that in the period mentioned there were ample supplies available for the domestic markets. There may be difficulties in the way s of marketing Government-grown vegetables in competition with commercial-grown vegetables, but those difficulties should not be insurmountable, especially by a Government the members of which in the past have complained that under a capitalistic system good "food has been wasted while people have had to go without. At a time when serious shortages are said to' be likely and when appeals are being made to the public to do everything possible to supplement' supplies, there can .certainly be no excuse for waste. The moral effect of food destruction is even worse than the material loss.