The Food Supply of the United States

Abstract

OTHER articles have described, in as definite terms as is possible, the military and civilian food needs of the United States. Any total survey of needs would also include lend-lease shipments, some small remaining exports to friendly noncombatant nations, shipments to territories of the United States, and increases in desired carry-overs for any of these purposes. Space and other considerations do not permit elaborating upon these in detail. Combined, they may represent anywhere from zero to half or more of the total probable requirements for different foods in 1943 and a somewhat larger percentage in 1944. The percentages will probably be largest for dried fruits, cheese, dried milk, pork and pork products, eggs, and wheat-for most of these running between 20 and 40 per cent. The 1944 percentages will probably be greater than the 1943 for pork and pork products, dried milk, cheese, eggs, and dehydrated vegetables; and smaller for canned vegetables and evaporated and condensed milk. Clearly these quantities of food plus the supplies needed by the armed forces represent a considerable addition to the demands upon the agriculture of the United States. Not all of this, of course, is a net addition. We were exporting large quantities of some foods before the war-for example, in 1938, a fairly typical recent year, around an eighth of our total production of wheat, lard, and apples. Exports of pork, however, were only 2 per cent of domestic production. Chart 1 accompanying indicates the general trend of agricultural production and exports of the United States, but cotton represented 45 per cent of the exports of 1929, and 28 per cent of those of 1938.