Margarine Should be an Alternative

to Costly Butter

THE old controversy as to whether or not the manufacture of margarine should be restricted in Australia, in order to protect the dairy industry, is again being argued back and forth.

At prseent margarine manufacture is restricted in all Australian States, al though the many reasons for this, which were believed to be well-founded before 1939, no longer hold good.

To keep the retail price of butter at 2 2 per pound, the Australian Government last year paid £8,900,000 in subsidies.

This year, with butter rationing removed, it is expected that it will cost the Com monwealth (indirectly the taxpayer) £11,000,000.

If the subsidy on butter were removed, the price per pound would be well over 3/-.

Meanwhile margarine retails at 1/9 \ a lb. In a free economy this product would offer a very serious threat to butter. However, the law as it stands ordains that only a limited amount of margarine may be sold in Australia, whether people can or cannot afford butter.

Although Australia’s population is rising rapidly—by the arrival of scores of thous ands of migrants who have no anti margarine prejudices—Australian produc tion of butter has not increased —nor will it while Australians desert their farms for the doubtful pleasures of a 40-hour week in a city factory. Nonetheless, the same old reasons why margarine should be restricted in favour of dairy products are brought out for an airing everytime the subject comes up.

There is still a great shortage of edible fats. World population is increasing at an alarming rate and more and more communities are demanding these protec tive foods in their diet.

There is ample room in this fat-starved world for both the margarine and butter industries.

The Commonwealth Director-General of Agriculture recently gave this review of Australian vegetable oil crops to a Melbourne Herald reporter (he said that only two vegetable oil crops would be increased —linseed because it did not com pete with the dairying industry, and cotton-seed because of its defence im portance).

LINSEED. —Only a few years ago it was held that Australia could not pro duce this crop economically because of rust and caterpillars, but today there are from 30,000 to 35,000 acres of linseed, and the figure is still rising steadily.

About 200,000 acres are needed to make Australia self-sufficient.

Australia suffers from a grave shortage of linseed meal because producing coun tries export a minimum of seed and a maximum of oil. They retain the seed for stock cake. This lack of meal is reflected most sharply in Australia’s winter milk shortages.

MAIZE.—The oil is used in the kitchen and in margarine. Production has not varied much in 20 years, despite price increases.

A substantial increase in the amount of maize processed would not result in a significant increase in the volume of oil available for human consumption because maize oil is only a by-product.

COTTON-SEED.—The oil is a by product and like maize the seed cannot be grown economically for oil alone. Pro

duction seems to be fairly well established in Queensland, but with the war other crops become more profitable, efficient harvest labour became scarce, and the crop dwindled to its lowest level last harvest.

To encourage renewed production the Commonwealth is guaranteeing farmers 9£-d. a lb. and buying mechanical harv esters with the new dollar loan.

PEANUTS. —The Commonwealth is in

vestigating the possibility of mechanical harvesting.

SUNFLOWER SEED. —For an unknown reason the crop is smaller this year. (Continued next page)

However, it has possibilities second only

to linseed. It has a wide soil and climate tolerance and can be grown over a wide area.

SOYA BEAN—Production has been encouraged enthusiastically in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, but the oil con sumption is limited.

NAVY BEANS. —Many farmers have switched from soya beans to navy beans because they are more profitable. In wartime the beans are canned.

COCONUT.—OiI production is mainly in New Guinea although the coconut has been grown successfully in Northern Queensland.

COCOA. —New Guinea may supply both cocoa and tea to Australia in years to come.