Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 30) and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It attained its final name in 1955 with the addition of responsibilities for the British food industry to the existing responsibilities for agriculture and the fishing industry, a name that lasted until the Ministry was dissolved in 2002, at which point its responsibilities had been merged into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002
SI 2002/794
26 March 2002
27 March 2002
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Until the Food Standards Agency was created, it was responsible for both food production and food safety, which was seen by some to give rise to a conflict of interest. MAFF was widely criticised for its handling of the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (more widely known as mad cow disease) and later the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001.
It was merged with the part of the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions that dealt with the environment (and with a small part of the Home Office) to create a new government department, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in 2001. MAFF was formally dissolved on 27 March 2002, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002 (SI 2002/794) came into force.
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Second World War[edit]
The Second World War was declared on 3 September 1939. The UK entered the war well prepared for the maintenance of supplies of food but with less than 40% of the country's needs produced at home. The Ministry of Food was formed on 8 September and William Morrison was appointed Minister. The Scientific Food Committee was established in May 1940 and outlined a basal diet of 2000 calories.[4] The Ministry of Food became the sole buyer and importer of food and regulated prices, guaranteeing farmers prices and markets for their produce. The Marketing Boards, except for milk and hops, were suspended.
Recruiting began for the Women's Land Army and, in 1940, food rationing was introduced. Lord Woolton succeeded William Morrison as Minister for Food. In 1941, the US Lend-Lease Act was passed under which food, agricultural machinery and equipment was sent from the US to the UK.
Background[edit]
The Board of Agriculture, which later become the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), was established under the Board of Agriculture Act 1889. It was preceded, however, by an earlier Board of Agriculture, founded by royal charter on 23 August 1793 as the Board or Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture and Internal Improvement, which lasted until it was dissolved in June 1822. Though its founders hoped the board would become a department of state it was never more than a private society which spread useful knowledge and encouraged improvements in farming.
A significant predecessor of the second Board of Agriculture (later MAFF) was the Tithe Commission, which was set up in 1841 under the Tithe Commutation Act 1836 and amalgamated with the Enclosure Commissioners and the Copyhold Commissioners to become the Lord Commissioners for England and Wales under the Settled Land Act 1882, responsible to the Home Secretary, which became the Land Department of the new Board of Agriculture in 1889.
Another predecessor was the Cattle Plague Department, set up by the Home Office to deal with an outbreak of rinderpest in London in June 1865. This was renamed the Veterinary Department of the Privy Council in 1869 and became part of the new Board of Agriculture in 1889.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Food were merged in 1955, becoming the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In the 1970s, the IRA detonated some explosives in front of the Ministry of Agriculture building in Whitehall, killing one man and injuring 215.[5] Two other bombs that had been set to go off at the same time were defused by military and police experts. Ten suspects were taken into Metropolitan Police custody.
By the beginning of the Cold War, it had become clear that in the event of a nuclear strike against Britain, such an attack would have devastating effects on the food supply. The MAFF would play a central role in government emergency planning, especially with the Transition to War period that would occur in the event of NATO being involved in a large-scale conflict in Europe. Control of food stockpiles was an important part of plans for during and after war, to feed survivors until a normal stockpile could be established.[6] A large network of buffer depots containing foodstuffs, known as the Strategic Food Stockpile, were maintained by the MAFF. The primary purpose of the stockpile was to serve as a food reserve; in the period leading up to a war major food producers would be However, they had a limited variety and supply, and were not intended to provide a balanced or healthy diet to survivors. Among the foodstuffs that were part of the stockpile were:
Items with a long shelf life made up much of the stockpile, including tinned and canned foods. Glucose sweets were also produced, but only in limited numbers as they were expensive. A full detailed list of these buffer depots was included in Duncan Campbell's 1983 book War Plan UK. By 1995, with the end of the Cold War, all buffer depots had been closed.[7]
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First World War[edit]
The First World War was declared on 4 August 1914. Good harvests and little interruption to imports of food during the first two years of meant that there were no shortages of food, though the ministry was buying wheat, meat and sugar.[1] The agricultural situation then changed for the worse with a poor crop harvest, failure of the potato crop, declining harvest abroad and increased shipping losses. In 1916, Rowland Prothero was appointed President of the Board of Agriculture with a seat in the Cabinet and with the aim of stimulating food production.
In December 1916, a Ministry of Food was created under the New Ministries & Secretaries Act 1916 and Lord Devonport appointed Food Controller to regulate the supply and consumption of food and to encourage food production. A Food Production Department was established by the Board of Agriculture in 1917 to organise and distribute agricultural inputs, such as labour, feed, fertiliser and machinery, and increase output of crops. Provision of labour provided considerable difficulty as many men working on farms had enlisted but co-operation between the War Office and the board enabled men to be released to help with spring cultivation and harvest. Also in 1917, the Women's Land Army was created to provide substitutes for men called up to the forces.
The Corn Production Act 1917 guaranteed minimum prices for wheat and oats, specified a minimum wage for agricultural workers and established the Agricultural Wages Board, to ensure stability for farmers and a share of this stability for agricultural workers. The aim was to increase output of home-grown food and reduce dependence on imports.
In June 1917, Lord Devonport resigned as Food Controller to be replaced by Lord Rhondda, who introduced compulsory rationing of meat, sugar and butter in early 1918. By 1918, there were controls over 94% of foodstuffs; the Food Controller bought all essential food supplies and the Corn Production Act guaranteed cereal prices. The ministry had a staff of more than 8,000 with food control committees and divisional commissioners across the country. The Ministry's Wheat Commission took over flour mills and dictated the shape and weight of bread, prohibiting sales of muffins, crumpets and teacakes. Oats, barley and beans were added to bread. These measures were said to have saved about 10 million sacks of wheat, but they were not universally welcomed. Meat was imported from the US and Argentina and refrigerated merchant ships were equipped with guns from April 1915. Meat prices were controlled from September 1917, and meat became scarce. Milk production fell during the war by about 25% and condensed milk imports rose from 49,000 tonnes to 128,000 tonnes.[2] Lord Rhondda died on 1 July 1918 and was succeeded by John Clynes, MP. The armistice treaty ending World War I was signed on 11 November 1918. Following the war, the Food Controller resigned in 1919 and the Ministry of Food progressively wound down and closed on 31 March 1921.
Board of Agriculture Act 1889
An Act for establishing a Board of Agriculture for Great Britain.
52 & 53 Vict. c. 30
12 August 1889
- Board of Agriculture and Fisheries Act 1903
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Board of Agriculture and Fisheries Act 1903
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Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Act 1919
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An Act to transfer to the Board of Agriculture powers and duties relating to the Industry of Fishing and to amend the Board of Agriculture Act 1889.
3 Edw. 7. c. 31
14 August 1903
Board of Agriculture Act 1889
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An Act to provide for the constitution of a Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and of Councils and Committees in connection with agriculture, and to amend the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries Acts, 1889 to 1909.
9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 91
23 December 1919
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