CONCENTRATION OF FOOD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17041, 24 December 1918, Page 8

CONCENTRATION OF FOOD.

AMERICA'S ACHIEVEMENT. j War-iimo conservation in the "United States, as elsewhere, meant first of all; the saving of food, in order that the i health and strength of the fighting Allies should be maintained at its apex of usefulness. What this meant is illustrated by some of the results obtained in tho great "corn belt" State of lowa. In 40 "counties, for instance, there were saved in. two months 3,646,6251b of sugars in 41 counties there were saved 13,721,654.1b r of flour, ranging from 7 per cent, of the normal consumption in some counties to ■ 60 per cent, in others; in 52 counties there were more than 35,000 peoplo engaged iii drying surplus food products, and in 26 counties 183 canning clubs wero > dedicated to the conservation programme. Another phase of the conservation movement was one of replacement. The State of ; Louisiana found on its hands 10,000,0001b of second and third-grado '. sugars, against _ which many manufac- , turers and individual consumers were pre- • judiced—more through uiifamiliarity than otherwise. So it devised a plan whereby it could both educate its public and . induce it to use this available supply in place of the higher grade product wanted for export. This consisted mainly of an arrangement by which anyone holding a permit for sugar buying could take 1251b of the second-grade produce in placo of every 1001b called for on the license. But there were many other far-reaching effects of the conservation movement thai; were less obvious but no less important in their fields. The utilisation of by-pro- . ducts were one of these. In California a new factory handled, in 1917, 6000 tons of lemons and turned out 180,0001b of citric, acid. Two other plants have since been completed and are now producing lemon oil and citrate of lime as well.