Lack of butter may become as vital as the lack of guns in determining the outcome of the present war. Without some fats in their food, people lose weight as well as morale, since fats digest slowly and have “staying” quality, while a meal without fats digests quickly and soon hunger contractions start - and hungry masses repeatedly have started revolutions. In Germany and German-dominated countries, oil-yielding plants such as poppies and flax are cultivated in an attempt to replace some of the oils formerly imported. Another problem that becomes acute with dwindling oil and fat supplies is that of soap, an important defense against dirt and the danger of germ-borne epidemics. Fats also are needed for making explosives.