The Pittsburgh Press (June 1, 1941)
BRITAIN WILL BAN ENTRY OF FOOD PARCELS FROM U.S.
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America women will be asked to reduce consumption of milk, cheese, meat and canned fish
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By Helen Kirkpatrick
London, May 31 –
The British government today announced the banning of entry of food parcels into Britain from the United States after the end of June. This policy was put into effect in an attempt to spread the distribution of food more evenly among the British people.
The announcement was coincident with the welcoming by Lord Woolton, British Minister of Food, of the first shipment of food under the Lend-Lease Act. The cargo arrived at an unarmed British port.
It was learned that Lord Woolton plans to make a radio appeal to the women of the United States within the next 10 days to make sacrifices in the consumption of milk, cheese, meat and canned fish.
Too many luxuries
Lord Woolton hopes the American people will devote thought and energy to the problem of feeding a greater number of Britishers, especially children. He said many of the parcels now reaching Britain now contain unessential luxuries.
Lord Woolton’s radio appeal to the women of America will be a renewal of his plea to the press in London yesterday. He said there are no shortages of food in England essential and vital for the preservation of life, but he pointed out the present stocks are unbalanced. Additional products are needed, he said, if morale is to be maintained.
Today’s diet of the Briton is very dull, he said.
Britain wants to buy
Lord Woolton is to appeal to American housewives to cut down their consumption of cream, meat, cheese and canned salmon to make it possible for Britain to purchase these foods.
One creamless day, a meatless day weekly, one day fortnightly without canned fish, and one cheeseless week a month will make a tremendous difference to the health and spirits of the British, he said yesterday.
Before the war, Britain imported 50% of its food and much of its volume, particularly dairy products, came from Europe.
There is enough meat for maintenance of British health, but not enough for maintenance of gustatory happiness. A family of four is allowed a weekly ration of meat equal to a small roast of beef, which means little is left after one meal.
Owing to lack of fodder, there will be 20% less milk produced in Britain this year than in the past, when Britain’s milk supply was supplemented by Danish and Dutch shipments. Thus, two million British children will be forced to go with very little or no milk unless dried milk can be obtained from the United States. One creamless day a week in the United States, it is estimated, would release sufficient quantities to insure that the British young do not suffer, Lord Woolton told his conference.
Eggs and fruit needed
Eggs and fruit are other foods Lord Woolton is most anxious to get from the United States. America has no surplus meat, particularly the canned variety, and Lord Woolton, in asking Americans to cut down their consumption, referred to canned meats. Heavy losses in refrigerator ships and the necessity for using such ships as Britain possesses for the route to the Mediterranean means that only canned meats, dried milk and dried fruits are feasible for shipment from across the Atlantic.
Although the British ordered the entire sugar crops of the dominions, the sugar position here is not the most satisfactory. There is plenty of sugar awaiting shipment in Queensland, but not a sufficient number of ships to carry it here. Discussions are now going on to see if the United States could ship sugar to Britain and collect Britain’s sugar from Queensland, thus cutting 3,000 miles from the British shipping routes.