FREE RATIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24856, 4 March 1942, Page 4

FREE RATIONS

MEAT AND BUTTER PERSONS ON PENSIONS SUGGESTION TO FARMERS’ UNION The suggestion that persons on pensions and other benefits should be given free rations of meat and butter in order to increase consumption and so reduce the amount of these commodities held in cool store was made by Mr R. S. Thompson at yesterday s meeting of the Otago Provincial Council of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union. Mr Thompson considered that such a scheme would benefit the health of the community generally and would assist in easing the position in cool stores, where the surplus of meat and butter was growing. A sub-committee of three was set up to go into the proposal. “ It is estimated,” Mr Thompson said, “that on October 1 next there will be 135,000 tons of meat in cool store, an increase of 54 per cent, over the total at the same time last year. The estimate of stored butter is 43,000 tons, an increase of 140 per cent. _ Since that estimate was made the shipping position has deteriorated very much indeed, and those surpluses will probably be increased. There seems no chance of getting all that meat and butter out of the country, and the position will be worse next year. According to information from Great Britain, we have to expect a long war, and if these surpluses are going to accumulate each year where are we going to end? The position cannot be met by increased storage capacity, because the meat and butter will deteriorate in quality and will eventually be unfit for human consumption. Payment in Kind “In order to Increase consumption,” Mr Thompson continued, “ I would like to suggest that, as the standard of living must be reduced, as the war goes on. all those persons in receipt of children’s allowances, invalidity and oldage pensions, and war benefits should be given free rations of meat and butter. Increases in these pensions are bound to be asked for, and I suggest that they should be met by payments in kind. Safeguards will, of course, have to be made because some people would try to sell their ration instead of eating it. but I believe such a scheme would benefit the health of the community by giving needy people more butter and meat. This is a better idea than going on storing the surplus; the building of more cool stores to hold surplus primary products is simply constructing another Maginot Line.” „ Mr C. J. Inder said that New Zealand was the largest meat-eating country in the world, and an increase in consumption brought about by the operation of such a scheme would not seriously affect the position. Meat Board’s Activities

The president (Mr D. H. Cockburn) said that the Meat Board had for two years been looking ahead to this difficulty and had been making plans for meeting such a situation. Last November the board had decided that in order to meet a possible loss such as they were bound to face, the farming community would be the first to make an offer to bear some of that loss. A fund was being built up from the proceeds of meat receipts, and it would reach £1.000,000 by the end of the season. The board had even looked at the position in\the light of having to reduce the meat to fertiliser. A member; That is what we want to avoid. Mr William Lee said that if some free meat were given to certain people it would mean that they would buy less from the butcher, and that might readily have an adverse effect on the stock market. 8 Mr Thompson admitted that the scheme would be no good unless there was an increase in the consumption of meat. It was decided to set up a sub-com-mittee. consisting of Messrs Thompson, J. S. Elliot, and James Begg, to consider the proposal fully and report back to the council.