The midland journal., 1945-10-12

Tuys
lRenoaA"
IN WASHINGTON
By Wolter Sheod
wNU Correspondent
A World Department
OF Agriculture
WNU Washington Bureau,
1916 Eye ST., NJ. w.

elAAd dS1 tCultui al lliuuOtly Ill tiiCoC
United States from producer to
professor, and citizens generally,
should watch with deep interest the
meeting of the food and agriculture
organization of the United Nations
in Quebec, starting October 16.
This is the first of the permanent
new United Nations agencies to be
launched after the end of hostilities,
which marks the Importance at
tached to it's deliberations by our
government and the governments of
all the A United Nations. AS this
is written, the list of American dele
gates to the conference has not been
announced. It is likely, however,
that the delegates from the United
States will be headed by Howard
Talley of the department of agricul-
ture, who has acted as the United
States representative on the Interim
commission of the organization.
The food and agricultural Or
ganization ratified by the A ma
tions at San Francisco is part
and parcel, and a most impor-
tant function of the United
Nations organization. II is not
relief agency. Its aim is to inn
prove world agriculture and to
= increase food production; to
provide a higher standard Of diet
and raise the levels of nutri-
tiOn and the standards of living
throughout the world all of
which is intended to contribute
to an expanding world economy.
The organization will likely set up
machinery which will function for
world agriculture and production
much like our own department of
agriculture functions in the United
States in an advisory capacity,
passing along scientific development
-. . the dissemination of agricul-
tural knowledge technical in
formation and the results of sci
entific agricultural research . to
aid in setting up agencies in all the
"A countries for combating soil ero-
sion, to improve soil and crops, to
develop better livestock to
take into consideration reforestation
rural electrification farm
to market roads exploration of
new sources of food to provide
better tools for primitive farmers
to increase production /. attention
to surplus crops and better dis
tribution of these crops and many
other subjects necessarily attendant
to the huge and complicated task of
providing more and better food for
a world and it's population ravished
by years of total war.
Not Enough Land
There are now about 2,20O,000, 900
human beings populating this old
world on which we live, and the ex-
perts predict that at present rate
of increase there will be billion
more by the end of the century.
These experts further point out that
there are at present only about A.
OO,00O,O 900 acres of arabic land in
use, which is less than 21s acres
per capita. Even in our own coun-
try there is only a fraction more
than seven acres per capita in farm
lands, including woodlands and pas
ture lands. If we would take into
account only the crop lands har-
vested, approximately 321 ,250, 900
acres, our per capita acreage would
just about equal the world aver
age.
So without an expanding acreage
of arabic lands, without basic re-
sources in India, in China, in Rus
sia and many other countries, such
as we have in this country, the ex-
perts say that the world will con-
tinue to produce insufficient food to
feed its billions of humans.
What the representatives Of =
these "A nations what our
own delegation does at Quebec
to commit this country to a pro-
gram Of world agricultural re-
habiIitation will determine in
large measure whether we as a
people were honest when we SUBJ
scribed to the Atlantic charter
and the charter of the United
Nations at San Francisco.
For with this charter in exist
ence and binding upon US with
our nation emerging from the war
as the most fortunate, the most pow
erful with new conception
and in a new position as the lead
er Of the world the time has
passed when we can watch the peo-
pie of India, China or any other
nation starving, and salve our con-
science with check to some relief
society.
Two-thirds Of the people of the
world are farmers. These hundreds
Of millions are striving to raise food
on worn out land.
And from the selfish few comes
the comment: "Why should we help
the rest of the world raise food
when there continues to be surplus in
our own crops?" And the answer,
of course, Is that with proper dis
tribution; that with the rest of the