Mr. Clynes, on behalf of the Food Controller, told the
House on Monday that the total consumption of food by the civil population had been greater in 1917 than in 1916, and that the consumption, especially of meat, must be diminished. This statement will, we think, surprise and disappoint the many people who have been honestly trying to eat less meat and bread ; vast numbers of persons must have ignored the incessant appeals for voluntary rationing. Mr. Clynes said that there was a very serious shortage of meats and fats. Butter was arriving from Australia, and new margarine factories were being erected. The Government had bought the tea crop of India and Ceylon, and the first shipments would arrive early in the New Year. Adults must drink less milk, so that there might be enough for the children ; very poor families would be supplied with milk at a reduced price. Mr. Clynes said that the Food Controller was doing his utmost to provide supplies and check abuses. For himself, he would hesitate to adopt rationing, but the Department was prepared to institute it, if necessary.
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