Excerpt from A Consumers' Guide to U. S. Standards for Farm Products Homemakers are interested primarily in getting enough food. Because some commodities are scarcer than they were a short time ago, consumers are not so choosy about quality as they were before the war. But they still want to get what they pay for and to know what quality they are buying. The Federal standards are a reliable index to quality and can be of great help to the purchaser. The official United States Standards for farm products were worked out primarily for producers and distributors, but in accordance with the principle that any well-rounded farm program must take the con sumers and their preferences into account, the Department of Agriculture is carrying these standards to consumers on a number of products. Most consumers are not good judges of quality. This is so, even when the product can be seen and judged, as in the case of meats. If the product - such as canned goods - cannot be examined, consumers are at an even greater disadvantage. For this reason many buyers want the name of the grade to be their guide to quality. This is a simple matter if the mark, tag, or certificate stays on or with a product until it reaches the consumer. Such identifying mark or label tells her the grade instantly and aids her in selecting the quality that best suits her purpose and purse. Much of the interest in standards arises from the fact that many consumers have decided food preferences. Those whose incomes permit are usually willing to pay premium prices for commodities of high quality. Those whose incomes necessitate economy in buying, want to get the highest grade obtainable for the price paid. Because the quality of certain foods-eggs and butter for example - cannot be judged by their appearance in the store, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the consumer to identify either the highest grade or the highest grade obtainable for the price paid. Consumers also buy foods for their use value and want to buy those grades that are adequate for their particular needs - the high - grade peach for Special use, the lower grade for pudding or pie. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.