Evening star., 1941-05-02
Significant Nutrition
Program Hangs on
Recent Price Peas
Conversion of Surplus
Groins Into Meat for
World Undertaken
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
Wheels of titanic machine which
will make the United States the
larder of democracy are turning.
1t will turn the Nations 100000
900 bushels of surplus corn, the con-
tent Of the ever normal granary,"
into pork, dried and frozen eggs,
cheese and dried milk both to feed
Great Britain, the conquered nations
Of Western Europe in case of peace,
and to raise the nutritional stand
ards of the American people in the
face of the emergency.
This was revealed today by DR.. M.
L. Wilson, former Assistant Secre-
tary of Agriculture and now admin
istrative head of the country's food
activities.
Early in April, DR.. Wilson said,
there was an announcement from
the Agriculture Department. almost
unnoticed by the press, which he
characterized as the most important
statement from the department since
the original announcement of the
Agricultural Adjustment Admins
tration."
Stabilized Prices.
1t was the statement that the price
Of hogs on the Chicago market would
be stabilized at 50 per 100 pounds, of
butter fat at 81 cents a pound. eggs
at % cents dozen and dressed poul-
try at Is cents a pound. The Sur
plus Commodities Division of the
Agricultural Adjustment Admins
tration was given authority to pur-
chase these products at such prices
in order to maintain the price level.
The purpose was not announced.
1t was, said DR.. Wilson, to pull the
corn and other grains out of storage
and then turn them into animal
protelns, of which the people of
Great Britain already are badly in
need. Corn, per Sc, is of little value
as a food for shipment. For one
thing, it takes too much cargo space.
There is no notable grain shortage
overseas.
The corn must be turned, as far as
possible, into animal products that
can be produced in abundance,
stored for several years IN large
quantities, and requires little ship
space. Formulae have been worked
out, DR.. Wilson said, to dry eggs so
that enormous nutritive values can
be packed into small space and kept
without refrigeration. The same is
true OF milk. The pork, so far as
possible, will be canned.
Hog Price Is Key.
The hog Stabilization price, he
pointed out, was the key move. 1t
was based on original calculations
by Vice President Wallace that only
when the price Of pork is about Is
times the price of corn can pork
production on large scale be made
attractive to the farmer.
Under the provisions of the Lease
lend Act, food is considered a war
munition.
The animal proteinS, of which
there now is a great need in Great
Britain, will be shipped as they are
needed and as ship space becomes
available. But the plan is to store
great quantities, DR.. Wilson ex-
planned, to meet the anticipated flu
ture needs of the democracieS. Re-
ports which have come to the Food
Administration are that mich COWS
and laying hens have been Slaugh-
tered through much of the occupied
territories and that horses have been
confiscated for the German Army.
This means that peace will find an
enormous shortage of animal prod
ucts, which are almost essential to
human welfare.
The world, Dr. Wilson stressed,
now is grain poor" Corn in stor-
age does not feed many people.
With the approach of the winter
wheat harvesting season there prom
ises to be the greatest carryover of
all time essentially 1,4OO 600, 900
bushels in the United States, Can
ada, Australia and the Argentine.
There will be close to a 100000, ,000-
bushel carryover in the United
States alone. But this enormous
food supply is only potential because
man cannot live on bread alone.
Much of the United States surplus,
he believes. should be turned into
eggs and dressed poultry. This Is
the purpose of stabilizing prices of
these products to make them at
tractive to the farmers.
To Raise Nutrition Standards.
Relatively recent scientific deVel-
opments, he explained, have made
it practical to empty the ever-normal
granary, built up during the past
few years, and transform it into
proteins which can be preserved
At the same time, DR.. Wilson said,
the primary objective will be to raise
the nutritional standards of the
American people. These are lowest
in the South. A major move has
been plan formulated by the Agri-
cultural Adjustment Administration
by which Southern farmer, in most
cases share cropper, will be paid
SO to raise an ample kitchen garden,
provided he complies with other re-
Quirements.
This may be done, DR.. Wilson ex-
planned, either by an actual tract of
land set aside for raising vegetables,
or by planting rows of vegetables
between rows of cotton. A major
L. :,