THE PROBLEM OF FOOD PRODUCTIOX SINCE 

 THE ARMISTICE 



Eugene Davenport. University of Illinois 



The farmer is grieatly perplexed as to what his policy 

 should be in regard to food x^rodnetion for the coming sea- 

 son. One year ago notices were posted everywhere that 

 food would win the war. Whether or not it was true that 

 food would actually win the war, we know now that the 

 lack of food would have lost the war ; that is to say, we 

 nearly lost it in the early summer because of the shortage 

 of food. The world was scoured for wheat and for every 

 substitute that could save wheat. A stimulating price was 

 fixed to increase its production, and people began to talk 

 about famine, not without reason, for unquestionably 

 thousands have died during the war for lack of food. 



Xow, however, we are literally smothered in wheat. We 

 have more meat and dairy products in storage and in 

 prospect than ever before in our history. It looks as if the 

 war is over, and the question with the farmer now is, "Has 

 our stress for food production passed?" The only adequate 

 means for answering this question is to learn what we can 

 of the actual conditions across the water. 



In the early autumn the Secretaiy of Agriculture dis- 

 patched a commission to Europe to study the agTicultural 

 situation in England. France, and Italy: and since that 

 time Mr. Hoover himself has been abroad endeavoring to 

 learn still more accurately what the food conditions are, 

 not only with the Allies but more especially in the central 

 and eastern districts. 



The Secretary's commission reported substantially that 

 despite the distressed conditions, the cattle population of 

 England had actually increased since the war began; both 

 sheep and pigs had declined in numbers but not alarm- 

 ingly. In France all live stock had unquestionably been 

 reduced, and the same was true in Italy; but even so, the 

 reduction had been made with care and a veiy large 

 amount of breeding stock was preserved and widely scat- 

 tered. Belgium, of course, and northern France were 

 entirely stripped of live stock and of all forms of food. 



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