§ 60. Mr. Liddallasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will, by various publicity means, advise the public to improve the nutrition value of potatoes by not peeling them before they are brought to table; and recommend that green vegetables should be steamed instead of being 211 boiled so as to retain their valuable natural vitamins?
§ Mr. BoothbyIn the Ministry's Food Campaign considerable publicity has already been given by leaflets and in other ways to the nutritional value and economy which are derived from the cooking of potatoes in their skins and from the steaming method of cooking green vegetables. The advantages to be obtained by the adoption of these methods cannot be too widely known, and it is the intention of the Ministry to continue to advocate them.
§ 61. Mr. Liddallasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what methods he is contemplating for gathering, perhaps by Army help and transport, the now ripening home-grown fruit harvest, paying for it with State funds, and distributing it as a diet among troops so as to increase food supplies and avoid wastage of fruit, but in such a way as not to come into competition with shopkeepers?
§ Mr. BoothbyMy Noble Friend is not contemplating making arrangements on the lines suggested. There is no reason to think that the demand for the remaining home-grown fruit harvest will be inadequate to ensure its being put into consumption through the usual channels of marketing and distribution, or that transport facilities will be inadequate for the purpose. In the case of the plum crop, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Evesham (Mr. De la Bère) last Thursday. If temporary local difficulties of labour or transport should arise, growers should consult the secretary of the area emergency committees set up by the National Farmers Union.
§ 63. Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will direct an inquiry into the causes of the high prices charged for vegetables and soft fruits in recent months with a view to preventing a recurrence of this exploitation of the public by persons dealing in these commodities?
§ Mr. BoothbyThe causes of the high prices to which my hon. Friend refers are already well known, and no inquiry, therefore, is necessary. Vegetable supplies 212 were short in the late spring and early summer owing partly to the absence of foreign imports and partly to the effect of the abnormally severe winter in retarding the growth of the home crop. Since the home crop has come on to the market supplies have been abundant, and prices have tended to be lower even than is usual for this season of the year. With regard to the soft fruit prices, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to similar Questions on this subject by my hon. Friend the Member for the Elland Division (Mr. Levy) and my hon. Friend the Member for Plaistow (Mr. Thorne) on 24th July.