The Northern Advocate “NORTHLAND FIRST." Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1943. The Cost Of High Living

Northern Advocate, 30 June 1943, Page 2

The Northern Advocate “NORTHLAND FIRST." Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1943. The Cost Of High Living

f T has been said very truly that it is not the high cost of living 1 but the cost of high living which constitutes the main burden carried by a large section of any people. This thought is worthy more nourishing tuan it receives, especially at the present time, when restrictions and rationing have placed many luxuries beyond the reach of individuals. Is the deprivation a blessing in disguise? Many will answer

the question in the affirmative. Not only has the scarcity of luxuries, in the shape of garnishings and the rich foods previously regarded as most desirable, saved many a family man money, but it is safe to say that the health of himself and the members of his household has benefited, for the plain and supposedly common foods have come into, their own in the daily dietary. , , ~ There has been compulsion to eat those green vegetables which were often scorned when other foods more attractive to

the sense, but deficient in the values possessed by products freshly gathered from the garden, were available. Unfortunately, these vitamin endowed vegetables have been dear, a fact, by the way, which should impel householders to make better use of their gardens in the future, but the cost has been small compared with the health producing foods provided. The mention of greenstuffs, served in the shape of salads and similar dishes, is but indicative of the benefit which would be derived by greater consumption of the plain, wholesome foods provided’by the earth and the sea. The experience of Britain during the war has proved the benefit derived from a simple

but properly adjusted diet, for though the people have been subjected to a degree of rationing compared with which New Zealanders have lived extravagantly, their health is reported to be betier today than it ever was. This evidence of the unwisdom of maintaining a supposedly high standard of living, so far as food is concerned, must be

taken into consideration when post-war conditions are under review. It is well known that nations whose lands are washed by the waters of the Pacific have what New Zealanders would regard as a very low standard of living. Japanese, Chinese and others are content with a dietary which would arouse resentment if enforced in this country. Yet it is undeniable that these people, especially the Japanese, are strong and virile to an astonishing extent. They apparently have gone through the hard school of experience, which has proved that it is not the quantity, but the quality, of food that counts.

In other words, they exemplify the now increasingly recognised fact that it is the vitamin content of food.which is all important. These vitamins are to be found in the simple things, such as rice, fish, and other foods obtained from the sea. Clearly, people who insist upon a high standard of feeding which is costly but not as beneficial to health as a simple diet, must be handicapped in industrial competition with people who

subsist on cheap and plain foods. This is a matter which must be given consideration. But not from the point of view of industrial competition alone. There is undoubtedly the strongest reason why the people of New Zealand, in common with those of other lands, should ‘take heed of the lessons taught by the war, which has impressed the advantages of simple foods, whose nutritive qualities have been definitely proved.

There is an old saying that many people dig their graves with their teeth. This, suitably paraphrased, may be said of the unwise selection of foods which, though appealing to the taste, are health handicapping. In every land where only the simplest foods, derived from the ground and the sea, are available the people as a whole are strong physically and mentally. These fire facts which condition all discussions of the cost of living.