§ 2.37 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT BLEDISLOEMy Lords, I beg to ask the first. Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in their judgment, as regards essential foods, it is either possible or desirable for Britain to be fed wholly from the products of her own soil and, if not, to what extent (approximately) they deem this both possible and desirable.]
538§ THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES (LORD CARRINGTON)My Lords, my noble friend raises a very large matter. He will not be surprised if I say that various interpretations can be put upon the words "essential" and "possible." Calculations have been made purporting to show that it would be physically possible to produce, in this country, food providing sufficient calories for the bare subsistence of the present population. This diet would consist very largely of bread, oatmeal and barley meal or their products, potatoes, sugar and such vegetables as carrots and cabbages, together with very small quantities of milk and meat, largely cow beef. There would be little or no bacon, eggs or beer.
To do this it would be necessary to import very large quantities of fertilisers and feeding stuffs, so that we should still require substantial exports to pay for these. Moreover, of course, such exports would not be available, because so great a proportion of our population would be working on actual food production, for it would be necessary to divert great quantities of labour and capital from town to country users. It would also be necessary to grow arable crops in areas suited only to grassland farming, and greatly to intensify the cultivation of inherently poor land. The attempt would be most unpleasant, not only for our own population but for the rest of the world, to whose development we should no longer be able to make any contribution. I think it is very doubtful whether, if this country turned over to a method of that sort for feeding itself, it would still command the resources required to maintain so fantastic a system.
In answer to the second part of the Question, I would say that His Majesty's Government do not think it either possible or desirable to adopt policies leading to that end. They would prefer to make an entirely different approach, which is no doubt that which the noble Viscount has in mind—namely, to consider how far the contribution of home agriculture to feeding the nation can and should be increased. In the long run the answer will depend on the possibilities of technical progress and the trend of world economic conditions. On this point I think I should say no more than draw 539 the attention of the noble Viscount to the answer I am giving to one of his other Questions.
LORD STRABOLGIMy Lords, before the noble Viscount asks his second Question may I ask a supplementary question? Did I understand from the noble Lord's answer that the present Government are not intending to continue the process of bringing into cultivation the so-called poor land, such as hill land, moorland and so on, which was started so successfully by the late Government?
§ LORD CARRINGTONNo. If the noble Lord will read my answer in the OFFICIAL REPORT to-morrow, he will see that I said nothing of that sort.