Show women purchasers can aid U so farmers fitting Fam ilys diet with farm farin production helps haps U S war effort americas farmers today arent areni feeding a mere citizens of the united states they are also responsible for filling huge gaps in the food supplies of most of the free world the uniformed and civilian this is a large order they will need all the help they can got get from the consumer at home if they are t to continue to fill all steadily 0 growing browin g lend land lease orders from the united nations the consumer ts Is a woman it if youre a man probably say heyl hey what about me well mister youre practically nobody when it comes to deciding what oat cat and what wear women buy 80 per cent of the food sold and 75 per cent of the clothing further than that they influence almost all customer purchasing this Is where the housewife can offer one of the greatest contributions to winning 1 the war she can see to tt it that the diet of her family fits in with farm production and the shortages created by the war she should be informed on aim the problems involved in producing the goods she wants and getting them into her hands bands As the buyers for some 34 million households from coast to const coast women have a tremendous responsibility lity to the families they feed and clothe during 1942 the farmer has marked the highest production level CONSUMERS CREED I 1 will buy wh abat at Is plentiful I 1 will buy what Is fresh I 1 will buy what Is produced produce d locally I 1 will buy bay what the government asks me to buy through the victory food program I 1 will not hoard board or waste food in history at the same time in annual income payments nations nationally uy have increased some 20 billions of dollars dollar but crop goals met and passed and an income increase of over 17 per cent dont mean that the housewife can go out and buy whatever she wants and as much as she wants since pearl harbor the consumer picture has undergone radical changes scarcity ceiling price and rationing have become cornmon common words food Is no longer re readily adaily available it if the housewife has the price to pay some of her old time staples are on the scarce list items such as tea lea bananas coffee and sugar off the farm consumers the urban group comprise over 75 perk per cent of the population of the united states foodstuffs and clothing combined account for about 40 per cent of every dollar spent by the average urban family it is therefore obvious that at no previous time has good management in buying been more important give consumer protection urging consumers and remember that means women to take heed of the farmers problems brings out the little known fact that the U S department of agriculture in return does not forget consumer protection in its farming tor for freedom program when the housewife buys fresh vegetables from day to day she likely to think much about the tact fact that the vegetables arrived on season schedule that they were in sufficient quantity and that the price was right its only when those conditions exist that she might begin to wonder how her table Is served then she would learn that by taking th the e long view tor for both farmer and consumer safety the overall over all agricultural program results in uniform distribution of farm commodities an even flow of goods into fresh vegetables head the market list of this housewife her family I 1 Is s well nourished because amerl americas e or q farmers are doing their part f for wartime health and efficiency homes prevention ot of market ties and glutted markets and provision of benefits in price and quality the victory specials announced n ou n c ed f from ro m we week e k to week e e a are e ek ure i a p part a rt 0 of f th this is p plan la n they b use up products which are plentiful often preventing waste and loss to the farmer and allowing the buyer to take advantage of adle diet t variations at a better price whether or not the consumers needs are met really de depends upon the accuracy with which production has been scheduled to obtain an adequate and steady supply of food at prices fair alike to producers and c consumers sumer s this Is the consumers best insurance against the problems of scarcity something known as ad acreage allotment Is 16 now being used to increase production of certain crops needed for the war a part of the changeover change over from normal peacetime peace time farming to all out war production the farmer is converting his fields to war production just as surely as the manufacturer turns his machines from automobiles to airplanes production without adjustment adjustment aou would id be inexcusable waste at any time in wartime it is criminal what crop reserves reserve 5 do probably mrs average housewife beable be able to tell you what an ever normal granary is but ashes enjoying the advantages of living under a farming system that provides for crop reserves in recent years lots of wheat corn and other products have been stored against a time when crops might be smaller or demands greater when drouth once pushed corn production as much as 40 per cent helow below normal meat prices skyrocketed sky rocketed and consumers suffered hardships but now with the ever normal gran arys stored reserves of more 25 per cent of a normal years crop there Is plenty of feed to convert into meat eggs and dairy products crop insurance has a formidable sound but it Is a simple procedure that pays big dividends to the consumer as well as to the producer who meets the premiums such insurance keeps farmers in business producing needed goods by guarani guaranteeing them for example some wheat or cotton income try every year even if a crop falls this protection gives farmers the assurance they need to go in iii for production of critical war crops consumer protection tor for everybody ery body even it if it occur to the woman who buys a loaf of bread housewives are currently faced with the necessity of cutting down on sugar once so much a part of their regular purchases that they S K aft W 7 i marketing his produce Is the final step in the farmers program of 0 supplying the american table just took it lor for granted curtailment of shipping due to the war cut cui oft off important sour sources es ot of raw materials te of which sugar Is one at the th e same same time industrial uses of su sugar gar have increased price ceiling ori on sugar however than might have been expected for this the buyer can thank a sugar program which provides payments to growers that are helping them step up production conservation on the farm may seem a lar far cry from top quality lettuce et or potatoes or green beans it may seem even farther from tender meats or milk rich in butter tat fat and farther still from lower prices but farmers know and con consumers surn should be aware that soil build ing and soil conserving practices mean larger yields and better quail ty well nourished land produces better crops than depleted soil wholesomeness guaranteed regulatory tory laws administered by the united states department of agriculture ri directly affect homes and consumer income and buying power consumers are protected against misbranding mis branding substitutions and swindling dlin g by the pure food and drug act it provides a safe safeguard guar d for wholesome foodstuffs thereby protecting both health and pocketbook research activities of the tha department are equally related to consumer interests sixty five research laboratories have hav a exper experiments experiment imen is constantly in progress pro cress they dont just develop cloth from milk and plastics from soybeans they also determine methods s of increasing production and strengthening the quality of farm products foods are carefully analyzed by experts so that their vitamin and mineral content can be accor accurately ely given e n N nutrition u tr it i 0 n s studies tu d les se set t u up p m minimum i n u m fo food 0 d r requirements e q u ir e m e ts s show h 0 w h how 0 w m they may be met at the least cost and what available foods may be substituted for those on the scarce list or headed that way steering food purchases these nutrition studies sare sue of particular interest to the housewife she is faced with the problem of providing her family with enough to eat to maintain health and efficiency DRU ETS sprout 0 IL A this young homemaker Is choosing her dinner vegetables from the wide variety sent to market every day by the nations fa farmers hir her family will get plenty of vitamins she must steer her food buy buying ing so that supplies may be used to the best advantage and at the same time provide the highest consumer satisfaction the individual buyer these days must think always of her purchases as they relate to those of the 34 million other american housewives what the result would be if that buying were multiplied by 34 million would it create new scarcity or make a scarce food nonexistent or would it have the effect of utilizing the foods that are available in abundance alarm over possible increased food costs has been evidenced by some homemakers the retail cost of a basket of foods representing annual family purchases amounted to in september 1942 an increase of 73 over the price of the same foods in the period from 1935 39 but the cost was still 10 lower than in 1929 Working mens families today can buy a basket of specified food products for the smallest share of family income on record since 1913 in september 1942 it required only 22 per cent of the family income during the preceding five years the same food basket accounted tor for 27 per cent of the income average family income has been rising more rapidly than food prices during the last three years and through the first 10 months of 1942 reasons include higher wage rates more hours of work per week with overtime payments and more persons employed the family averaging five persons this fall fail reached a wage level 67 57 per cent higher than the prewar average for 1935 39 this seems to indicate that the housewives food problems will not be those of capacity to buy but rather of the markets ability to supply her needs reaching her goal just as the farmer meets his production goal will mean that scarcity of some rome particular type of food will be a matter of unconcern to any american so long as he be Is able to eat what he be needs |