Agricultural History Review, Volume 53 Part 2 (2005), pp. 212–228

The allies faced growing shortages of meat between 1914 and 1918. Consumers in Britain and overseas were affected by the decision to divert increasing amounts to feed the British, French and even the Italian army. Overseas producers in America, Australia, and New Zealand found there were limits to the extent to which they could benefit from the increased demand in Europe. Refrigerated shipping space was in short supply and was firmly controlled by the British government. This meant Argentine and Commonwealth farmers faced financial losses during the periods when they were unable to sell finished animals. Attempts by all allied governments to impose controls on their internal markets to ensure the fair distribution of meat supplies did not always work out in the ways they expected, and caused further complaints from consumers and farmers. 

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