Rationing of the country, through the 'levelling of consumption of essential foodstuffs'. To assist with rationing, ration books were introduced on 1918 for butter, margarine, lard, meat and sugar. During the war, average calories intake decreased only three percent, but protein intake six percent. Food rationing appeared in Poland after the First World War, and ration stamps were in use until the end of the Polish–Soviet War. Rationing became common during the Second World War. Ration stamps were often used. These were redeemable stamps or coupons, and every family was issued a set number of each kind of stamp based on
Rationing in Cuba palm fronds. It was estimated in the early 2000s that the rationing covered between one third and one half of a family's needs. President Raul Castro moved to eliminate many products from the rationing system, including potatoes and peas. The "libreta" is not the only means of acquiring goods available to a Cuban citizen, as many of these and other products are freely available on the "mercado libre" (free market) and "mercado paralelo" (parallel market), and in the numerous supermarkets and stores that sell goods in convertible pesos. (Such stores were originally set up taking United States Dollars and were