Lecture outlines for the United States Food Administration Course on Food and the War

              UNITED STATES FOOD ADMINISTRATION. COURSE I. FOOD AND THE WAR. LECTURE I. THE UNITED STATES FOOD ADMINISTRATION. I THE WORLD'S FOOD SITUATION. Introduction. The important foods of the world are few- the cereals (wheat corn rye barley cts.) beans potatoes, sugar, meat, dairy products, A. Situation before the war. General survey. Details of this section and of section B. in later lectures under specific foods. 1. In Europe. a. Europe is a great agricultural region. Chief crops wheat oats, rye, barley. b. Yet is the chief importer of foods from the outside world. England, Ireland, France, Italy, and Belgium are largely dependent upon imports for their food supplies. Important foods imported-- Wheat, meat, fats, sugar, cts. Chief sources of these imports, United States, Canada, Argentine, India, Australasia, Cuba, Java. c. There was much Intra-European commerce in food between the countries now at war, especially from Russia in grain and sugar, and from Germany to England in sugar. 2. In the United States. a. Our fundamental available resources are larger than those of any other country. The greatest granary, food store, and butcher shop in the world. b. Yet the monetary value of our food imports are than of our food exports. B. The changes brought about during the war. l. Low average yield of crops in all parts of the world in 1815-1916, due to unfavorable climatic conditions and other factors. 2. Diminished production of food in Europe. a. Due to diversion of men from food production to war, deceased importation of fertilizers and of fodder, waste of land in battle area, decrease in available farm machinery, reduction in transportation facilities. b. Resulting in a cereal crop for the Allies, 525,000,000 bushels below normal, a lessening of their animals by over 30,000,000 a greatly decreased production of fats and sugars. This reduction of animals in going on with increasing velocity and cannot be made good for many years to come after the war. 3. Greatly increased difficulty of importation into European countries. a. The submarine campaign resulting in (1) Decreased tonnage and the consequent cutting off of the distant markets. It takes twice as much tonnage to bring supplies from the Argentine as from the United States, and three times as much to bring them from Australia. (2) The sinking of food. This has been perhaps 10% of the actual shipments sunk en route. b. Interruption of intra European commerce. (1) The western Allies are cut off from Russia, Bulgaria, and Roumania by belligerent lines. (2) Supplies from the surrounding Neutrals is reduced by the demands of Germany. 4. Therefore the main load is thrown upon North America, which must export much more than ever before. "Ours is the splendid burden of feeding the world." a. Our production for 1917 was above the average in the feed grains grains, especially corn and oats, but below the average for wheat. b. Our commerce and its relation to the needs of the Allies. (1) Wheat -  Our 1917 production of about 50,000,000 bushels of wheat is practically no more than our normal consumption, yet we must export about 20% of it, about 135,000,000 bushels, as our share of maintaining the Allies' bread loaf. (2) Meat and meat products- There has been an extraordinary demand abroad for our products and the supply has greatly increased. We therefore face a severe shortage. (3) Dairy products- Increase in the exports in the year ending June 1917 over the three years prewar average,- Butter exported 6 times as much, Cheese exported 17 times as much, Condensed milk- exported 17 times as much. (4) Sugar- We produced in the United States and our Possessions about one-half our supply, our deficiency being