MEAT RATION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 18 April 1944, Page 4

MEAT RATION

BRITAIN FEELS WORLD SHORTAGE APPEAL TO DOMINIONS WeHrnfiton, This Day. “Eating is no longer an art in Britain. it has become an act to keep alive." said Mr W Banker Amcry, addressing members of the'British-Aineri-ran Co-operation Movement in Wellington last night. He was describing the system by which rationing had come to be applied and how it had depended lor its success on the concerted effort of both officials and people. Doctors m Britain, he said, feared the effect if the present meagre rations, specially the meat ration, had to bc restricted further. Explaining that in order to maintain The milk supply for mothers and children, decided upon so as to avoid rickets and rnaluutritional diseases which arose from the last war, it had been necessary to cut down the domestic meat production in Britain to maintain the dairy herds. Mr Amcry said that it was therefore necessary to import three-fifths of the meat needs instead of about one-half. All the countries which were normally Britain’s suppliers outside the Continental countries, with the exception of South America—which had its own problems—were suffering from a drop of meat production. They Jaeked manpower, because of the demands of the armed services, and they lacked sufficient fertilisers. Their drop in production meant less exports, and that meant, that Britain, a s the importer, felt the combined shortages of all the exporting countries. At the same time the number in the armed services was rising, so that the people in civil life were in real danger of shortening of rations. That was why Britain was asking that the production of the Dominion should be increased and the exports to her raised near to or to the pre-war levels. Mr Amery closed his address with an appeal in a paraphrase of a famous peroration of the Prime Minister, Mr Churchill. “Give us the food.” said Mr Amery, "and wc will finish the job.”