Meat & Inflation

The President of the U.S. had a bright idea. He told his press conference that he thought it might be a good idea for the U.S. to have one meatless day a week. He and New Zealand's visiting Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, had figured out that 30 or 40 ships would be set free for other uses if the U.S., instead of far-off New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, sent meat to Britain.

The President's blithe idea struck consternation into WPB's Food Requirements Committee. Just three hours before the committee had met and decided that meatless days were maybe unnecessary and certainly useless ("If there isn't enough meat for everyone to eat all he wants, it doesn't make much difference on what days he eats it").

Plans had already been made to increase the amount of meat allotted for Army and Lend-Lease requirements from 2.2 billion pounds (1941-42) to 6 billion pounds (1942-43). This would still leave 11 billion pounds of federally inspected meat for U.S. civilians against 12.3 billion pounds last year. The committee hastily revised its calculations, figured on the possibility of sending another billion pounds to Britain, cutting the home supply to 10 billions. This week the committee recommended countrywide rationing of meat; packers announced they were ready to cooperate. Until rationing machinery can be set up, WPB will assign quotas to packers for civilian sales.

The Real Problem of meat supply was, as the committee well knew, not so much one of shortage as of inflation--of so much money in the pockets of wage earners that they want to buy more meat than ever before. Actually 11 billion pounds is about the normal meat consumption in the U.S. It is more than normal if allowance is made for some five million hearty young male meat eaters who are to be fed by the armed forces. But with the new rich buying as never before, the public will probably try to buy 14 billion pounds this year.

Rationing is one of three ways of keeping demand down to supply. The others: 1) meatless days (if people don't eat more on other days), 2) letting meat prices go up until people don't want to buy so much. Fact is, those who have eaten much meat are going to eat less, and those who have eaten little are going to eat more--for meatless days, rationing and wartime redistribution of income each in its way has a substantially similar levelling effect. And there will be only a small war sacrifice involved. The nation as a whole will continue to eat about as much meat as ever--2 1/2 lb. weekly per capita.

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