C. (52) 233
CABINET OFFICL RECORD COPY
COPY NO.
9th JULY, 1952.
كما
CABINET
THE NATIONAL DIET
Note by the Lord President of the Council
I was concerned to read the paper circulated by the Minister of
Food (C. (52) 200) about the adequacy of the national diet and calling attention to the increasing risk of impairing the health and working efficiency of the people which would result from a further reduction in food supplies.
I feel it my duty to record the following points made to me by Sir Harold Himsworth, the Secretary of the Medical Research Council, with whom I discussed this question:-
(a) To preserve health and working efficiency of the population requires an average food intake of 2,900 calories per head per day.
(b) Even with this intake, some 80 to 85% of the food eaten is required to keep the body alive and to cover the process of living outside normal productive work. This leaves only 20% to 15% of the energy intake available for use at the job; and if food intake is reduced it is on the energy available for such work that any reduction first falls.
(c)
Consequently a reduction in food intake which appears small in relation to total food calories consumed may constitute a considerable proportion of the calories available for productive work.
(d) At first sight, one might expect that if meat, cheese, fat and other "palatable" foods were reduced people would make up the right total of calories by eating more bread, potatoes, etc. But Sir Harold Himsworth states that there is considerable experience to the contrary. In other words the more we reduce the "palatable" foods, the more the general intake of calories is likely to go down.
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(e) The Minister of Food's paper shows that even now, the daily calorie intake for 1952 is only estimated at 2,830. Any further food cuts will reduce the average still further and although it is not possible to state definitely that productive work would be adversely affected, there is no doubt that such a reduction would involve a risk of lowering the nation's productive effort.
W.
Privy Council Office, S.W.1.
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C. (52) 234
CABINET OFFICE RECORD COPY
COPY NO.
74
10th JULY, 1952.
CABINET
DE FENCE PROGRAMME: ANNOUNCEMENT OF CHANGES
Memorandum by the Minister of Supply
In his minute, circulated to the Cabinet as C. (52) 225, the Minister of Defence recommended that an announcement of the changes in our defence production programme should be made without delay.
2.
3.
The proposed announcement, should, I suggest, include the following points:-
(a) The Government have, together with the Chiefs of Staff, been reviewing
our defence policy in the light of the present international situation and of the technical changes of recent years.
(b)
(c)
(a)
(e)
As a result, it has been decided to make certain revisions in our overall strategic conception. These will entail certain alterations in the disposition of our military manpower and some change of emphasis as between the various sectors of the production programme, some parts of which will have to be accelerated, whilst other parts can without detriment be spread over a longer period.
The changes contemplated will not result in any decrease in the present rate of expenditure. They will, however, make it possible not to increase expenditure over the next few years to the full extent previously planned, and will somewhat lighten the burden on the metal-using industries.
Production capacity which, as a result of these chanɛes may become surplus to the needs of our forces, will as far as possible be retained and employed for the manufacture of equipment required by the Commonwealth and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (N.A.T.O.). These exports will help us maintain a high war potential and will at the same time contribute to the solution of our balance of payments problem.
We are, of course, consulting with the Commonwealth and N.A.T.O. on matters affecting our joint responsibilities.
I attach a draft statement indicating the form which, I suggest, the announcement might take.
Ministry of Supply, S.W.1.
10th July, 1952.