Agriculture in the United Kingdom fund the purchase as a mortgage. The Council could not refuse without the Minister of Agriculture's permission. In 1919 the Board of Agriculture and the Ministry of Food were merged to form the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, which later became the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). MAFF was in turn the predecessor of DEFRA. Before the Second World War started, Britain imported 55 million tons of food a year. By the end of 1939, this had dropped to 12 million, and food rationing was introduced at the start of 1940. It did not completely end until July
Rationing Rationing health care to control costs is regarded as an explosive issue in the USA, but in reality health care is rationed everywhere. In places where the government provides healthcare rationing is explicit. In other places people are denied treatment because of personal lack of funds, or because of decisions made by insurance companies. The American Supreme Court approved paying doctors to ration care, saying that there must be "some incentive connecting physician reward with treatment rationing". Shortages of organs for donation forces the rationing of organs for transplant even where funding is available. See also Healthcare rationing in the