By 6 August, Canadians were adamant that they could help the motherland by feeding her people. Prior to war, two-thirds to three quarters of Great Britain’s food supply was actually imported goods from Canada, the United States, India, Argentina, and Australia. Canada traditionally supplied one third of Great Britain’s wheat and flour.
There was normally only enough food in the United Kingdom at one time to feed its inhabitants for a maximum of six to seven weeks, meaning that if Britain did not receive its imports, it would likely be starved into submission. It was up to Canada, and the other members of the British Empire, to help make sure that that did not happen. Canada would supply Great Britain with grains, bacon, fish and cheese, but would not be able to supply much more than that. Canada’s foodstuff contributions were part of her patriotic and imperialistic duties to Great Britain.
(“Can Feed Motherland with Bread and Cheese,” Berlin Daily-Telegraph, 6 August 1914, “Britain is Quiet,” Berlin Daily-Telegraph, 6 August 1914; Visual: http://ao.minisisinc.com/WEBIMAGES/I0002281.jpg)
