ABSTRACT

This chapter considers how the industry experienced an increasing amount of official control over the first half of the twentieth century, including the various ways the attitudes of different governments towards the industry changed. These also involved shifts in enforcement mechanisms, in the form of new health and veterinary regulations, commercial marketing methods, the abandonment of free trade and introduction of tariff controls and quotas. Both wars and the depressed economy in the years between them forced all governments to intervene in most aspects of the meat industry. Although there was a recovery by 1924, principally because the reduction of meat prices once depleted wartime stock levels had been restored helped stimulate demand, the severe economic fluctuations of the 1930s introduced such instability into all aspects of economic life that governments had to offer some assistance. The chapter looks at the strong actions adopted, from both governments' and farmers' points of view, to see what success it had.