MEAT SHORTAGE

Grey River Argus, 21 March 1945, Page 5

MEAT SHORTAGE

BRITISH PRESS COMMENT. (Rec. 10.10.) LONDON, March 19. “The Times” stated: A reduction in American Lend-Lease meat supplies to Britain is ’causing the Ministry of Food considerable anxiety. The consumption of meat, including bacon and ham, in the United States in 1944 totalled 155.4 lb. per head of the civilian population, compared with’ a consumption of 107.9 lb. of meat, in Britain. The 1944 consumption was 116 per cent, of the pre-war consumption per head in the United States, compared with 81 per cent, of the pre-war consumption in Britain. There is no doubt the position is serious for Britain. The Minister of Food is doing all possible to improve matters.”

The “Daily Express” said: “If Britain’s meat ration is cut, as seems probable, the Government will aim at reducing the hotels’ and restaurants' supplies before those of homes, works and canteens. Mr. Llewellyn is expected to make a statement regarding the position on Tuesday.”. The “Daily Mail”' said: “It is possible Mr. Llewellyn and Mr. Oliver Lyttelton will go to America to thrash out a confused food situation. Mr. Llewellyn already has made hurried inquiries as to whether South America, Australia and New Zealand can supply Britain with more meat. The present British fourteen pence per head weekly ration is represented by eight and a-half pence worth of meat imported, and five and a-half pence worth of home grown meat. "The Daily Mail,” editorially said: A startling new food situation developed without one word of warning, guidance or reassurance from any other Ministers. What does it all mean? Why has it occurred so suddenly? The public are bewildered and apprehensive but there is silence at Whitehall. Our advice to Colonel Liewellin is that he should issue a statement without delay to answer many questions coming from people who kept this forward base of democracy going for six years. According to authentic repot ts reaching Belgium from the starving cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, a diphtheria epidemic in Northern Holland is becoming more serious says Reuter’s Brussels correspondent. The typhoid epidemic which raged in Amsterdam in mid-winter, is now waning, but scabies is spreading throughout the country, the. result of overcrowding, poor diet and lack of medical supplies. Amsterdam s bread ration was again halved. The daily calorie ration in January was down to 620. PARIS DEMONSTRATION. LONDON, March 19.’ About 5,000 women demonstrated outside the Hotel de Ville in Paris against the shortage of food. Marcel Flouret, Prefect of the Seine Department, received a deputation from the demonstrators and promised measures to improve the situation. BRITISH FOOD MISSIONER’S COMMENT. (Rec. 11J.5). MELBOTJRNE, March 19 Mr Bankes Amery, leader of the British Food Mission, in an address to-day, said: “The approaching peace will require its victories on the food front. It is certain that Australia and New Zealand will do their utmost to ensure that those victories will be no less renowned than those of war.” As the result of this recent brief visit to Britain, he was glad to be able to report that the people of Britain were amazingly cheerful, considering the conditions they were still undergoing. After peace was declared in Europe, it would take a lot of explanation to make people understand why there should not .be much more food for those who had suffered most. Yet there had been suggestions that some of the major rations might even be reduced The solution of post-war food problems will require great understanding and goodwill between nations. It was inconceivable that statesmanship would be unequal to the task. To-day Britain’s 14d weekly meat ration was again endangered. Nearly all stocks of food were down almost to a minimum, some of the difficulty being due to supplies which Britain had already sent to feed civilians in the rear of the fighting line in Europe.