War Rationing.

[MWB]

If there was a 3rd world war, would there be rationing again?

I'm trying not to think of it as a nuclear war, but one as it would be today - but without the nukes. (Wishful thinking maybe.)

[Lonnie]

I'd think that in the event of another global war, rationing would be inevitable.
Whether there are any plans for this eventuality are laying dormant in Westminster, we'll have to wait and see.

[Octavius]

Food rationing would be introduced eventually as we import a lot of produce, and this inevitably would be affected by supply lines and disruption of the supply lines. In WW2 ships etc transporting goods and food supplies (about 50m tonnes per annum in the 1940�s) to the UK were prime bombing targets and this led to a potential future shortage, so rationing was introduced.

In any event where there is the potential for future shortage (i.e. stranded somewhere, holding out a fortress etc) rationing of food and water and many other necessities is a natural control to introduce in order to prolong and sustain existing supplies and the lives of the people who require them.

You only need to look at the source of the goods in your local supermarket to see how jiggered we would be, should the supply be diminished. We do not produce enough of our own resources to self-sustain the entire population for any particular length of time.

[Ethel]

That lack of oil would be the biggest problem, and transporting goods even across country could be difficult, never mind importing from other countries.

[jno]

I agree with Octavius, as usual: Britain is no longer an agricultural country and doesn't produce enough food to feed its people. We'd all be eating spam and melting down our silk stockings to make parachutes. For all that, it's hard to imagine what a new war would consist of; the effect of creating the EU (quite deliberately) was to bind European countries so closely together that they could never afford to go to war with one another again. The conflictrs of the future are more likely to be economic, over water or oil supplies.

[naomi24]

We would have major problems, since much of our food is imported, and of course, as Ethel says, fuel would be a major concern. We'd still have Bernard Matthews, of course, although probably much of the raw product is imported, but personally I'd rather become vegetarian and go back to 'Digging for Victory' than subject my family to that! Apart from that, with the way this government handles things in peacetime, I wouldn't hold out much hope for our chances of surviving adequately in wartime.

[Octavius]

Well with all that in mind, should we start stockpiling turkey twizzlers and spam?! I should think after a few years of those, we would not be in a fit state for any kind of conflict.

[B00]

Spam? If I had to eat just that I'd surrender before the week was out.