Transactions of RHASS Volume 1940 - Page 009
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| Year | 1940 |
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6 THE EFFECTS OF THE "WAR ON AGRICULTURE. ~ v THE EFFECTS OF TEE WAR ON AGRICULTURE. 7 consumption in winter. Sueh’information as can be obtained .1”, slightly greater than in peace-time. The food shortage was _ _ , I l on the war food policy of Germany seems to indicate that due, therefore, not so much to a decrease in the supply as to an increase in the amount needed due to increased consumption. There is another aspect of food requirements which may become of importance to agriculture as the war continues. In addition to supplying the amount of food needed, the diet must supply proteins, vitamins, and minerals, which are needed to maintain health and physical fitness. Foodstuffs— 6.9., milk, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, and eggs, which supply these in abundance, are called ‘protective’ foods, because they protect the body against disease and ill-health. Dietary surveys, such as those recorded in ‘Food, Health, and Income’ (1935), and the more recent one by Sir William Crawford (1938), show that the consumption of protective foods among the poorest third of the population is too low for health. In recent years, by the issue of milk and other protective foods, free or at reduced prices, at public health centres and by free meals and cheap milk at schools, there has been an improvement in the diet of the poorer part of the population, with a corresponding improvement in health. It looks as if victory in the present war will depend to a very large extent upon the morale and staying power of the civilian p0pulation. These depend upon health and physical fitness. The Advisory Committee on Nutrition, which the Government set up five years ago, strongly recommended increased consumption of milk as a first step towards the improvement of national health. They recommended that the first objective of any Government measure affecting milk should be to make 1% pints of milk per head per day available for every child. Amongst the poorest section of the population 7 consumption is not more than i-pint per head. The Govern- ment have already subsidised Milk Marketing Boards to prevent the necessity for a rise in prices which would decrease consumption amongst the poor. Further measures are at present being considered to reduce the retail price for those who would benefit by increased conSumption. It is probable that by the time this article appears a scheme to effect this may be in operation. The food of next importance for health is vegetables, including potatoes. The campaign for the increase of allot- ments and for vegetable growing in gardens will increase the output of vegetables and potatoes. It is estimated that nearly half of the vegetables consumed in this country are produced in gardens and allotments. The increase, however, from these will not be sufficient to meet the needs of the city pepulation. There may be a call for increased production on the farms, especially for canning and drying, to maintain the Nazi régime has appreciated the importance of these agricultural products. Their policy seems to be to provide these in abundance and to keep the price as low as possible. Before the war the average consumption of potatoes in Ger- many was 16 oz. per head per day, compared with 9 oz. in this country, and special arrangements were made for ensuring a high milk consumption amongst mothers and children. Our Government is becoming aware of the importance of food for health. A campaign for increased consumption of home- produced foods of special value for health is to be launched by the Ministry of Food in the spring. If the campaign is as successful as it should be, there will be an increased con- sumption of milk, vegetables, potatoes, and probably also of oatmeal, which is of greater value for health than wheat flour. Apart from the health aspect, a policy of increased consump- tion of these foods, which we can produce in sufficient amounts to meet the needs of the whole population, is a sound war policy, because an acre of land yields more food in the form of potatoes and some of the common vegetables than it does in grain, and the dairy cow is the most efficient transformer of feeding-stuffs. A policy for increased production of these would be one which could be carried on after the war and so help to prevent a post-war slump. The increased con- Sumption of these foods should be maintained for national health reasons, and British agriculture can produce these more cheaply than they can be imported. Even though we increase home production to the utmost, and arrange to produce foods which would give us the maximum output per acre, we must continue to be dependent upon imports. The following table shows all home-produced and imported food and animal feeding—stuffs :— [TABLE. |
| Title | Transactions of RHASS Volume 1940 - Page 009 |
