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is charged with having created the shortage, either by feast- 

 ing or by hoarding. Some accuse the government of hoard- 

 ing, and some say food is being wasted. Others say it is the 

 black market. These are all partial answers, and are all par- 

 tially correct. 



Soldiers Did Not Cause the Shortage 



The most common explanation has been that the shortage 

 was due to our soldiers, sailors, and marines. 1 From the view- 

 point of an official who must make an accounting that will 

 quiet the questioning consumer, this is an expedient if not 

 an accurate answer. 



The army consumes a tremendous amount of food. But 

 the men consumed tremendous amounts of food as civilians, 

 and increase the country's food requirements only in so far 

 as they eat more than they did as civilians. A soldier eats 

 much more meat and about 20 to 30 per cent more total food 

 than he did as a civilian. The additional food requirements 

 of the 1942 army, which averaged about four million men, 

 were equivalent to about a 3-per-cent increase in the meat 

 requirements of the nation, and about a 1-per-cent increase 

 in total food requirements. This was not a very substantial 

 amount; in fact, it was considerably less than the increase in 

 food production. By themselves, the soldiers did not create 

 the shortage, though they did contribute to it. 



As the army increases from four, to eight, to twelve million 

 men, the food requirements mount. A fighting force of eight 

 million men would increase our meat requirements by 6 per 

 cent; and of twelve million, by 9 per cent. The increase in 

 total food requirements for eight and twelve million men 

 would be about 2 and 2.5 per cent respectively. Such fight- 

 ing forces will make inroads into our food supplies. 



1 Apparently the army plans to feed some civilians of invaded nations. 

 In that event such food should not be charged to the soldiers. 



