reserves must be built up to guard against any possible contingency-— 
a 90-day supply at home and a 9-month supply abroad. 
What Our Allies Need 
Our allies need American food to give them the fighting edge they 
need to smash the Axis. The English can raise only two-thirds of the 
food they need. The Russians lost close to half of their best crop¬ 
land when the Ukraine was overrun; that’s the same as if we lost our 
entire food-producing area in the Middle West. 
Our total yearly waste of food is, by the most conservative estimate, 
more than twice the amount of food our allies are receiving from us 
this year! 
What the Liberated People Need 
American food shipped into countries liberated from Axis oppression 
is as surely a weapon of war as guns and tanks and ammunition. With 
American food, we can secure the cooperation of these people in 
working toward a lasting peace ... we can prevent starvation, 
pestilence, and famine. 
How the Army Saves Food 
Civilians could take valuable lessons from the Army in the careful 
prevention of food waste. Following an extensive survey conducted 
at training camps in 1942, a number of conservation measures were 
adopted and are now saving an estimated three-quarters of a pound 
of food per man each day. The Army has adopted these rules: 
1. Meals are prepared for only the number of men actually expected 
at each mess. 
2. Strict mess supervision is required to make sure food waste is 
kept at a minimum. 
3. Soldiers are asked to take only what they can eat and to eat all 
they take. 
4. Less popular foods that might be left on the plate are seldom 
served. 
Let’s not bring up the rear in this parade. The armed forces lead 
in fighting—we should lead in conserving. 
How England Saves Food 
England has a “Waste of Food Order.” It provides: 
(a) That no person shall waste food or permit it to be wasted. 
(fe) That any food fit for human consumption shall not willfully be damaged or 
thrown away or fed to animals. 
(c) That a person having control or custody of food must take reasonable 
precautions for its preservation. 
(d) That a person shall not buy food in excessive quantities, and so cause such 
food to become unfit for human consumption. 
(e) That a person engaged in the disposal of food shall dispose of it before it 
becomes unfit for human consumption. 
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