Evening star., 1943-01-17
Food Shortages
Developing
BY OWen L. Scott.

A really serious shortage of many kinds
of food lies ahead for civilians in this
country. This shortage has begun to
appear in few commodities and in
few localities. 1t promises to become
more general and more widespread in
the months to come.
The reasons why the American people,
| particularly those of the middle and
upper income classes, are not enjoy
| ing the superabundance of food to
which they have become accustomed
are several in number. They add up to
the prospect of a simpler diet for the
wars duration and to diet restricted in
volume of food as we'll
For one thing, the military and lend
| lease demand for food is skyrocketing
A short time ago officials estimated that
this demand would amount to one-fifth
| of all of the food produced in the United
| States during 1943. Then the estimate
was raised to one-fourth. Now it Is
being revised upward once again.
At the same time that food is being
siphoned off for military purposes, there
is an immense increase in demand from
civilians. Workers who never before
had the income with which to purchase
the steaks, hams, milk, butter and other
things that they wanted now possess that
income. They are in the market compet-
ing with the persons of higher income
at time when the supply of food is
declining.
All of this is occurring before any ap-
preciable amount of food is diverted to
people of conquered countries. little
food is going to North Africa. If Italy
should be defeated in 1943 much more
food would have to be directed there.
Promises have been made that large
quantities of American food will be pro-
vided for peoples who are freed by
American, British and Russian Armies
The result is colossal demand for
food. That demand already is so great
that it Is to force widespread rationing.
Rationing, in turn, involves a sharp re-
duction in the amount of rationed food
available to the middle and upper income
groups in order that all people may share
equally in available supplies Under a
system of rationing a Southern share
cropper If he has the money with which
to pay for it, is entitled to as much beef,
butter, milk or other rationed products,
as is New York millionaire. Inasmuch
as the lower income groups now have
money to spend, there is going to have
to be sharp reduction in the amount
of many products that has been going
into the diets of millions of families.
For example, the average family may
have to get along with little more than
one pound of beef per person and a pound
and one-tenth of pork per person in an
average week. Fish will be scarce and
poultry not too abundant. 1t is going
to be necessary to cut butter consump-
ton to around one-quarter of a pound
per week for each person. This means
that more cooking will have to be done
with lard and with vegetable oils but
there will not be any abundance of these
products
Milk probably will have to be rationed
In some areas, and ice cream already is
a scrace commodity. Canned goods
available for each individual will be cut
about in half. The volume of canned
goods may be little more than half
pound per week for each person. Sugar
is going to be rather scarce unless more
shipping Is allotted to bring in larger
volume of Cuban sugar. However, there
will be plenty of bread and fairly large
volume Of potatoes. Vegetables, unless
home grown, may be less abundant due
to transport difficulties.
An equal division of food would as
sure American families a diet much
more varied and abundant than that of
the British or Germans. However, the
machinery for rationing food is far from
being in working order. 1t may be sew
eral months before it is geared to an
efficient operation and during that time
there probably will be critical shortages
in some areas.
The experience that lies ahead should
educate the American people to one
fact. That is that there really is no
American farm problem if the American
people have the income with which to
buy the foods that they want and which
they can consume. The shortages in
meat. milk and butter that now are oc-
curing are shortages that have de-
veloped before military demand has
reached the very large proportions that
1t is going to reach. Those shortages,
too, are not traceable to boarding be-
cause you cannot hoard perishable
products.
What has happened to date Is that
the wage earners of the United States,
with incomes expanded. are in the mar
ket for the foods that they always have
wanted but which they have not been
able to afford in the past. When they
buy, the American farmers must work
overtime to try to provide their wants.
The farm surplus problem tends then
to disappear.
The demand for food that is to de-
velop during 1943 will be so great that
it can only be restrained by widespread
rationing. Even then there will be tight
situations. officials now are agreed that
1t is going to require an organized effort
in the United States, comparable to that
in England. to get the food production
that war demand requires.