World Food Problem

Series

Series Name

The March of Time 12th Year

Issue

Issue No.

2

Date Released

30 Dec 1946

Length of issue (in feet)

1436

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1World Food Problem

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

The March of Time synopsis: This month’s March of Time "World Food Problem" discusses the critical food shortages which exist throughout the world, and shows something of the tremendous job done by UNRRA to alleviate the distress of stricken nations, not only by sending food but by providing the means whereby devastated countries can repair the ravages of war and restore their land to fertility.

Much of UNRRA’s resources, necessarily, had to be concentrated on immediate relief, and massive contributions were sent from the USA and the British Commonwealth, while Great Britain, seriously concerned with the problem of feeding her own people, tightened rationing to leave more for others. The film shows much of the world-wide distress, and points out that critical food shortages still exist in twenty countries of Europe and Asia, where millions have died for lack of food and millions more are on the verge of starvation. Another of UNRRA’s major projects has been to put the stricken nations on a basis of self-support in farm production. To this end large shipments of agricultiral equipment have been sent from the United States, Great Britain and Canada; to replace the dairy cattle lost in Europe during the war, breeding stocks have been supplied to help rebuild the flocks and herds, while large quantities of nitrates were shipped to Chile to restore to productivity farmlands which had been without fertilizer almost since the war’s beginning.

Of the nations receiving UNRRA aid, says the film, Czechoslovakia was the first to revive sufficiently to become a contributing country, and already the Czechs have turned over to UNRRA two thousand tons of beet sugar and sixty-six thousand tons of seed potatoes. But with Europe barely beginning to feed itself, UNRRA had virtually exhausted its funds, and though its appointed mission had not been wholly completed, it had, perforce, to meet last August to prepare for its own disbandment. At Copenhagen a few weeks later, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations met to consider two important proposals. First to devise some means of continuing UNRRA’s food programme, and second to establish a World Food Board which would encourage maximum production by buying up surplus crops to be made available to any nation threatened with hunger. For though 1946 brought an improved harvest in every major food-producing country, except China and India, there are few who see an end to the world’s food crisis until the harvest of 1947.

Researcher Comments

This story was included in Vol.13 No.2 of the US edition.

Keywords

Organisations; Food and cooking; Foreign aid; War damage; Newsreels

Written sources

Monthly Film Bulletin   Vol.14 No.157 January 1947, p15.
The March of Time Promotional Material   Lobby Card, Used for synopsis

Credits:

Production Co.

Time Inc.