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Transcript: Point Rationing of Foods

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00:00:26 #1 War time America faces the greatest demand for food in our history.

00:00:31 #2 Food for our army and Navy.

00:00:33 #3 Food for the invasion front.

00:00:35 #4 Food for ourselves and the home front.

00:00:38 #5 Food to help our fighting allies and the people of the allied country.

00:00:42 #6 It takes pounds of food a day to keep a soldier on the fighting front.

00:00:46 #7 Millions of pounds of food each day.

00:00:49 #8 The best way to supply our men overseas and our fighting allies

00:00:52 #9 with most of the food they need

00:00:54 #10 is in dried form and in cans.

00:00:56 #11 In addition to the military, other factors affect our canned food supply.

00:01:01 #12 Take kin, for example. Our major peacetime sources have been cut off by the enemy.

00:01:07 #13 Our railroads and other transportation facilities are being taxed to their utmost, carrying munitions, armaments, war supplies and troops.

00:01:14 #14 That leaves less shipping space for civilian food stuff. And then there's the farm labor shortage.

00:01:20 #15 All this means that we at home will have less canned fruits, vegetables, soups and other processed foods for our use.

00:01:29 #16 Without rationing of these foods, some people would get more than their fair share. Others would not even get what they need.

00:01:39 #17 But rationing assures every one of his fair share. That is why your government is rationing canned fruits and vegetables and other processed foods.

00:01:48 #18 Until now, we have been rationing one item at a time like sugar and coffee.

00:01:54 #19 But processed fruits and vegetables are not one product.

00:01:58 #20 They are hundreds of products in hundreds of different brands, grades, sizes, varieties,

00:02:03 #21 in cans, bottles, packages, in dried and frozen form.

00:02:08 #22 One cannot say, as in the case of sugar, each citizen will be allowed two cans of peaches a week,

00:02:13 #23 or four cans of spinach.

00:02:16 #24 It may be true that some people don't like spinach.

00:02:19 #25 Some of you may want to buy canned corn.

00:02:22 #26 Others of you may want to buy canned peas or spinach.

00:02:27 #27 So the question arises, what method of rationing can be used

00:02:31 #28 so that each citizen may get his fair share of canned fruits and vegetables

00:02:35 #29 and other commercially packed foods

00:02:37 #30 and that will still allow freedom of choice?

00:02:40 #31 The system which has been adopted and has worked successfully in England

00:02:43 #32 England for over a year is called Point Rationing.

00:02:47 #33 In the Point Rationing system, all these foods are grouped together, and your ration book

00:02:51 #34 is used to buy those you like.

00:02:54 #35 Those items which are not so scarce will take fewer points.

00:02:58 #36 Items which are more scarce will take more points.

00:03:02 #37 Point stamps to buy these ration goods are in war ration book tubes.

00:03:06 #38 This book contains blue and red stamps.

00:03:09 #39 Blue stamps are to be used for canned fruits, vegetables, soups, juices, and other processed

00:03:14 #40 foods.

00:03:15 #41 Red stamps will be used for meat.

00:03:17 #42 This is a typical page of blue stamps in War Ration Book II.

00:03:22 #43 Notice that the stamps are given point numbers, 8, 5, 2, 1.

00:03:28 #44 Everyone will get 48 points each period.

00:03:31 #45 That means you will use blue stamps ABC for the first period, DEF for the second, and

00:03:37 #46 so forth.

00:03:39 #47 Point values will be the same in all stores.

00:03:42 #48 Every store in which you shop must post the official table of point values of all point

00:03:46 #49 ration items in all sizes.

00:03:49 #50 From time to time point values may change and stores will post the new point values.

00:03:54 #51 Here's an example of how point rationing works.

00:04:01 #52 This lady all decked out with her family's brand new ration books, starts out to do some

00:04:05 #53 shopping.

00:04:06 #54 First of all, she wants to buy a can of peas.

00:04:18 #55 She wants to buy a can of chicken soup.

00:04:27 #56 And she wants some dried prunes.

00:04:36 #57 Well, there's our list complete, and all that remains to be done is to tear out 14 points

00:04:41 #58 in stamps and pay the grosser.

00:04:44 #59 But wait just a minute.

00:04:45 #60 Just for fun, let's take another look at that point ration table.

00:04:50 #61 Hey, slow down there.

00:04:53 #62 What about those string beans?

00:04:55 #63 Why, there are only three points in the size we want.

00:04:57 #64 If we buy those instead of peas, we can save five points.

00:05:02 #65 And what's this? Fresh apples don't require any points.

00:05:10 #66 Well, why not buy those instead of dried prunes?

00:05:13 #67 And save another point.

00:05:16 #68 So there we are, our shopping list complete.

00:05:19 #69 With the same amount of goods,

00:05:21 #70 and with six points saved for future use.

00:05:25 #71 Smart girl. She's smarter more ways than one too.

00:05:28 #72 Because she used her large stamps first,

00:05:31 #73 wisely saving her small ones for low-point purchases later on.

00:05:35 #74 because she shops early in the day and so helps her grow.

00:05:39 #75 Because wherever possible, she substitutes un-rations fresh fruits and vegetables for canned or processed ones.

00:05:46 #76 It's point rationing.

00:05:49 #77 This is the way to assure everyone here at home an equal opportunity to get the same fair share.

00:05:56 #78 This is the way to assure food for our fighting men and for our fighting allies.

00:06:02 #79 Share and share alike is the American way to victory.