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plies are better protected, better packaged, and delivered 

 with greater promptness than in any other country in the 

 world. 



Consumers Demand Service 



It is sometimes assumed that these services have been 

 thrust upon the American consumer. On the contrary, he 

 asked for them, got them, and paid for them. This was be- 

 cause he could afford them. 



From time to time the consumer will agree with the re- 

 formers that the costs of distribution are too high and that 

 something should be done about it. But as long as his stand- 

 ard of living is high, he will continue to demand clean, whole- 

 some, attractive food products wrapped in cellophane and 

 delivered to his door promptly. His resistance to "economy" 

 was demonstrated by the furor that arose with the discontin- 

 uance of sliced bread. 



Waste Is More Apparent than Real 



Every so often there are renewed discussions of the tre- 

 mendous amounts of food lost through waste. Ideas of waste 

 originate with the poor boy looking in the rich man's window 

 Thanksgiving evening, with photos of the Jacksonian dinner 

 table at a hundred dollars a plate in Washington's Mayflower 

 Hotel, and with moving pictures of the medieval banquet 

 table showing the baron pulling a leg off a turkey, taking one 

 bite, and throwing the rest over his shoulder to the dogs and 

 common folks. It is human nature to observe and draw con- 

 clusions from the unusual. 



Whether waste be great or small, one thing is certain: 

 when prices of food are high, the avoidable waste will be 

 less than when prices are low. Any argument contending that 

 there is a great waste of food is really an argument for higher 

 food prices. 



