THE ETHICS OF FOOD— BREAD §4f 



in our press of late, to say the least, is not a healthy sign. The 

 result of the recent agitation must have been that a large amount 

 of bread has been sold full of muck, to give it a dirty appearance 

 indicative of " wholeness." Various opinions have been quoted ; 

 it would be interesting if we could see these opinions in their 

 original form before they were worked up by the reporter — 

 the specimen given by Punch in its issue of March 15 is probably 

 very much to the point. We have reason to know that the 

 opinions attributed to Dr. Gowland Hopkins were never given 

 by him ad hoc and that he was unaware that he would be 

 quoted as an authority. He is undoubtedly one of the few 

 men in the country whose opinion on such a matter is worth 

 considering — probably there are not more than half a dozen 

 others who can speak with an}'' degree of authority on the 

 question. There can be no medical opinion on the subject 

 worth consideration, as there are no data on which a valid 

 opinion can be formed. 



The difficulty and complexity of the problems afforded by 

 food cannot be overestimated ; it is not likely that inquiry can 

 help us much in a case such as that afforded by bread — our 

 methods of analysis are not sufficiently developed, even if it 

 were possible to formulate an issue definite enough to be made 

 the subject of inquiry. It is pretty clear, however, that there 

 can be no Standard Bread, if we take into account the great 

 differences met with in the wheats of the world and the 

 variations which are undoubtedly determined by season and 

 soil. The ratio of starch to nitrogenous constituents (gluten) 

 varies greatly — we cannot fix any standard ratio. Nor is it 

 in the least clear that we need take composition into account. 

 Bread is of use to us for the most part as fuel — it is burnt up 

 for the most part as fuel, just as coal is in a fire grate ; it is 

 used probably to quite a minor extent for constructive purposes, 

 in tissue formation. We cannot say that it contributes this or 

 that indispensable element ; we are not in the least aware to 

 what extent, if at all, different foods may be supposed to overlap 

 as sources of supply of this or that ingredient. What we do 

 seem to know is that food should be pure and fresh and that 

 a varied diet is most desirable. The public should have the 

 common sense to demand that they shall not be misled by 

 sensation-mongers on such a subject : that they have been 

 most seriously misled is highly probable. 



