CHAPTER 9 CONSUMERS' COUNSEL SALIENT FACTS ABOUT FOOD COSTS 1. Percentage increase in retail food costs January-December 1936.. 4. Percent of retail food cost in December 1936 to 1924-29 average. 6. Percent of per capita national income (excluding farm income) in December 1936 to 1924–29 average.. 7. Retail value of quantity of 58 foods consumed annually by a typical workingman's family: 1. 6 1. 4 11. 2 79.8 81.9 88.8 1929 average 1932 average. 1936 average 8. Farm value of quantity of 58 foods consumed by a typical workingman's $415 270 342 $195 88 152 The Consumers' Counsel Division performs a twofold function in the Administration. It cooperates with other divisions in the formulation and operation of the farm program. It disseminates to consumers pertinent information intended to assist them in wise and economical buying of farm products. I. COOPERATION IN FORMING AND OPERATING FARM PROGRAM The staff of the consumers' counsel has participated in economic analyses, conferences, and hearings that preceded the adoption of the soil conservation program, marketing agreements, and programs for the diversion of surplus farm products. In making recommendations, the Consumers' Counsel has been guided by section 7a (5) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act which provides that the act *** shall not be used to discourage the production of supplies of foods and fibers sufficient to maintain normal domestic human consumption as determined by the Secretary from the records of domestic human consumption in the years 1920 to 1929, inclusive, taking into consideration increased population, quantities of any commodity that were forced into domestic consumption by decline in exports during such period, current trends in domestic consumption and exports of particular commodities, and the quantities of substitutes available for domestic consumption within any general class of food commodities. In carrying out the purposes of this section, due regard shall be given to the maintenance of a continuous and stable supply of agricultural commodities adequate to meet consumer demand at prices favorable to both producers and consumers. The Division also has participated increasingly in certain committee and other activities of the Department of Agriculture affecting interests of both farmers and consumers. Work with a committee organized to investigate palatability of meats in relation to commercial grades has yielded results that should prove helpful as a guide to any policy for mandatory grading of foodstuffs. A preliminary study of the nonfarm sources of income of persons on farms, undertaken by the division as one activity in the program of the farm income committee of the Department of Agriculture, should prove valuable in revising statistics on agricultural income. Under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act the Secretary of Agriculture is directed to reestablish and maintain the ratio between the purchasing power of the net income per person on farms and that of the income per person not on farms that prevailed from 1909 to 1914. A survey of citrus fruit consumption in two representative cities. was made in 1936 to supply factual data for operation of the farm program. Citrus production has been expanding and this has necessitated marketing agreements to regulate shipments. Information on the market for citrus products is essential. In April and May interviewers queried 1,000 housewives in St. Louis and an equal number in Baltimore to ascertain attitudes and preferences with respect to fresh oranges, fresh grapefruit, canned orange juice, canned grapefruit juice and five allied products. Collateral information. was obtained from large scale users, such as restaurants, and wholesale grocers distributing canned juices. During the year the division also isued its final report of the 1934 survey on milk consumption in 59 cities as Publication No. 2, Consumers' Counsel Series. The research section has analyzed factual data on food supplies and prices to determine the probable effect of the program on supplies available for domestic consumption. Records of retail prices of foods and other farm products, and of changes in retail prices compared with consumers' incomes, have been kept currently. Studies of the spread between farm and retail prices, processors' margins, and the financial statements of producers also have been made. This information is used principally in conjunction with the farm program, but has been made public to consumers through the Consumers' Guide press releases, public addresses, and radio programs. Such data for 1936 compared to previous years are reviewed in sections III, IV, and V, and compared with those of previous years. II. INFORMING CONSUMERS One way to help farmers to work toward stable production as a prerequisite of a sound soil-conservation program is to provide consumers with information needed in intelligent selection and utilization of agricultural products. Information on buying, which enables consumers to get the greatest possible value for their expenditures, may not only aid farmers to gauge their markets more accurately, but also may improve the demand for farm products. A function of the consumers' counsel from the start has been to assemble nontechnical information on proper selection and preparation of food products, on changes in food supplies and prices, on the relative change in the price of food and other commodities, and on the costs of processing and distributing farm products. Consumers further have been informed as to the purpose and methods of agricul tural programs under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Widespread development of study classes on consumers' problems in schools, colleges, and welfare organizations during 1936 resulted in a substantial increase in requests for assistance from the consumers counsel division. Groups unable to find adequate material elsewhere for use in their consumer education course turned to the division for material. Through personal conferences and correspondence, the division has helped these groups form study outlines. Their major interest was in consumer education in general, consumers' buying standards, and consumers' cooperatives. The study of consumer buying is now a major course in 2,000 schools and is included in home economics courses taught by 12,000 teachers. Several State departments of education have prepared manuals for complete course in consumer education. Thousands of consumers during the course of a year write their individual and group buying problems to the consumers' counsel. A few of the questions raised which are of general interest are posed and answered in each issue of the Consumers' Guide. Considerable research is involved in meeting the many demands of this exceptionally heavy correspondence which comes from all parts of the country, from consumers with small and large incomes, and such research covers many aspects of production and distribution of agricultural products and their selection and utilization by the household consumer. In fact, the handling of this correspondence constitutes one of the major services of the division. During the last half of 1936 over 5,000 letters were answered in addition to requests for the Consumers' Guide and other publications of the division. "Sources of Information on Consumer Education and Organization", a pamphlet, was published by the division in 1936 to acquaint study groups with governmental and nonprofit, nongovernmental agencies that would assist them in their work. In conjunction with the consumers' project of the Department of Labor, the division has compiled a bibliography of publications dealing with proper methods of selecting and using products. This "Consumers' Bookshelf" is published in the Consumers' Guide. It brings together for the first time a list of the many pamphlets available in this field which otherwise would be unknown to consumers. PUBLICATION OF THE CONSUMERS' GUIDE The Consumers' Guide, published every 2 weeks by the consumers' counsel division, has been the major method of disseminating consumer information. Circulation now has reached 100,000 copies compared with an initial distribution of 9,000 copies late in 1933. An analysis of subscribers made during 1936 indicates that it is used by many different groups: housewives, students, extension agents, editors, teachers, municipal and State officials, social and welfare organizations. Articles in the Guide have been reprinted in many periodicals, indicating the extent of general interest in consumer problems. Periodic reports on food supplies and prices of agricultural commodities are published in the Consumers' Guide. Feature articles published in 1936 issues covered: Forecasts for future supplies; actual consumption of food in relation to standards of adequate consumption; the effect of the drought on food supplies; preliminary findings of the citrus fruit consumption survey conducted by the consumers' counsel division; income of farm and nonfarm groups; food costs compared with factory pay rolls; descriptions of simple budgeting and home accounting methods; economies in food uses and new uses for foods. A special series on nutrition for children was published. Additional aids to housewives were articles on "Diets to Fit the Family Income" and various charts on "Adequate Diets at Minimum Cost" for different size families. Other articles described Government grading of meat; egg laws in 20 States; standards of various States for milk and dairy products; fruit and vegetable standard and poultry grading; the movement toward simplification of can sizes. Detailed descriptions of the services of the National Bureau of Standards and their applicability to individual consumers' problems were given in another article. One issue devoted several pages to the activities of the Food and Drug Administration and its methods of enforcing Federal laws. Activities and accomplishments of farmers' and consumers' organizations, including producers' and consumers' cooperatives, and farmers' study clubs and conferences were reported. Soil-conservation problems and methods were treated at length in three issues. A digest of legislation proposed and passed in the Seventy-fourth Congress and a bibliography for consumers were also special features. RADIO The consumers' counsel division, in cooperation with the General Federation of Women's Clubs, broadcasts discussions of consumer problems once a week over a national network. These broadcasts are designed to promote a better understanding of the consumers' interest in the agricultural program and to acquaint consumers with government information and services available in helping them meet individual consumer problems. III. FOOD SUPPLIES IN 1936 AND 1937 Drought conditions during 1936 not only reduced supplies of certain important foods but also disrupted the marketing season for livestock and poultry products. Prior to the drought livestock producers had planned to increase their herds, which had been depleted by the drought of 1934. However, the shortage of feed supplies forced them to abandon their plans and to market their animals in numbers larger than usual. The supply of all foods available for domestic consumption during the year ending June 30, 1937, reduced to a per capita basis, is estimated to be 3 percent below that of the previous year. Compared with the 1925-29 period, per capita supplies are about 8 percent smaller. Milk, rice, poultry, and canned fruits and vegetables are the only items larger in supply per person than during that period. Major reductions from 1935-36 levels occurred in supplies of white potatoes, fresh fruit, dry beans and sweetpotatoes, which were about 15 percent to 20 percent lower. Meat supplies, other than poultry, are expected to be slightly larger than during the previous year. However, an early marketing of animals has caused slaughter during the last 6 months of 1936 to be heavier than during the previous year, |