41. Mr. De la Bèreasked the Minister of Food whether he will now consider increasing the extraction rate of feeding-stuff offals for animals from flour so as to provide additional feedingstuffs for farmers and make the bread more palatable and usable for the general public; and whether he can give an estimate of the tonnage of bread which is wasted every month owing to the rapid deterioration caused by mildew and lack of preserving qualities.
§ Mr. StracheyI should like to reduce the flour extraction rate but our wheat supply position makes this impossible at 505 present. We cannot estimate how much bread is being wasted for any particular reason but we are giving technical advice to bakers on handling flours containing a high proportion of home grown wheat, and the public can help by not buying more bread at any one time than they need.
Mr. De la BèreDoes the Minister realise the need for an increased livestock population throughout the country? Would it not be helpful if we were allowed to extract a little more feeding-stuffs for cattle and not use so much un-millable and unsuitable wheat for the millers and makers? Why not do something really commonsense?
§ Mr. StracheyIt would be useful if we had the foreign exchange to import greater quantities of wheat.
§ Major Legge-BourkeArising out of the original reply, are we to take it that in that case the Minister is not satisfied with this year's wheat crop as a whole and that it is not adequate?
§ Mr. StracheyThis year's wheat crop, I am glad to say, was very much larger than last year's.
Mr. De la BèreIn view of the fact that I cannot get common sense, I must raise this matter on the Adjournment.