Abstract
THE invention of the submarine has profoundly affected the development of British agriculture, bringing it out of its accustomed obscurity into a very high position both in the War of 1914-18 and in this War. British peace-time dietary is more varied and effective than that of any other country in Europe, but it requires so much land for its production on the average some 1.6 acres per person-that the total area of agricultural land suffices only to provide 40 percent of the nation's food. The remaining 60 percent has to be imported, and it was brought in from almost all quarters of the world. This method of feeding the nation postulates peace and the smooth working of international trade, and it breaks down in war-time. Home production then becomes much more important, and the national dietary is changed so as to make less call on the land ; in place of the 1.6 acres of peace-time, the aim is to get nearer to the 1.1 acres that suffice for the German dietary. Further, there is widespread recognition that British agriculture is a major industry, and that unless it is sufficiently prosperous to attract and retain a vigorous and intelligent body of farmers and farm workers, there will always be trouble in the country-side. Under the chastening influence of war, politicians and writers become very penitent about their past attitude to agriculture and full of good resolves for the future.
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RUSSELL, J. AGRICULTURE AFTER THE WAR. Nature 149, 12–14 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/149012a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/149012a0