§ Q1. Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the Prime Minister if he will appoint a Minister with overall responsibility for the sponsor- 1164 ship of both the development and production of synthetic and substitute foodstuffs processed from natural, organic, and other sources; and what is now the Government's programme for bringing about import saving by this means.
§ The Prime MinisterThese are matters which come within the field of responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The Government recognise the potential importance of these forms of production, but they are still in the research and development stage, and it is too early to assess the possibilities of import saving.
§ Mr. OsbornIs there not a need for mission-orientated research and development, and for interest such as has been shown by the United States?
Bearing in mind protein is extracted from wood, and the wood pulp industry in the Soviet Union, and will be manufactured by the petro chemical industry in the West, is not this better regarded as an industrial and technological activity, rather than that it should rest solely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Gentleman, of whose interest in the matter I am well aware, understates what is going on in this country. Many commercial enterprises, such as the oil companies, are very active in working on the production of protein from natural oil and natural gas. Work has been going on for many years under the Agricultural Research Council at Rothamsted Experimental Station on the extraction of protein from plant materials. Related work is in progress at other A.R.C. Institutes, such as the Rowett Research Institute and the Hannah Dairy Research Institute. In addition, the Ministry's marine laboratories are studying the potentialities of the sea, and the Tropical Products Institute is also researching in this field. All this work is co-ordinated, but it is too early to say whether it will be of commercial value, and what help it can give not only to our import-saving problems but the relief of poverty and hunger throughout the world.