NATIONAL FOOD CONSUMPTION. 



195 



TABLE III. 



Consumption of Human Foods, Primary and Secondary, Relative to 

 1911-12, Taken as 100. 



Population, 



Carbohy- 

 drate. 



Calories 



(Millions). 



19II-12 



I912-13 



I913-14 



1914-15 



1915-16 



I916-17 



I917-18 



Average, whole period 



Average, 1911-12 to 1916-17 



100. 

 101.7 

 103.4 



105. 1 

 106.8 

 108. 5 

 no. 2 



100. o 



100.2 

 104.3 

 IOI.3 

 106.3 

 104.5 

 106.4 



100. 



99.0 

 100.3 

 107.3 

 105.3 



109. 1 

 no. 9 



100. o 

 103.4 

 no. 7 

 104.0 

 109.6 



105.5 

 no. 2 



100. 

 101.4 



106. 1 

 104.9 

 107.6 

 106.7 

 no.o 



105.1 



103.3 



104.6 



106.2 



105.2 



104.3 



102.8 



103.5 



105.5 



104.5 



The first of such problems to which attention may be turned is : 

 To what relative degree do primary, as distinguished from second- 

 ary, human foods contribute to the total nutritional intake of our 

 population ? From Table II. it is seen that of the protein consumed 

 47 per cent, comes from primary sources and 53 per cent, from sec- 

 ondary sources. Thus, broadly speaking, the American people get 

 over one half of their protein from animal sources exclusive of 

 fish, which are included in the primary foods. This fact indicates 

 at once the importance of maintaining our animal 'herds intact and 

 keeping the price of animal products at not too high a level, unless 

 we are prepared to face the alternative of a radical and fundamental 

 alteration in the established dietary habits of the people. 



In general there has been but little change in this protein-source 

 dietary habit in the seven years included in this study. What 

 change there has been is in the direction of a smaller proportion 

 of protein from secondary sources and a larger from primary, but 

 the movement has been but slight. As would be expected, a much 

 larger proportion of the total fat consumed in human food comes 

 from secondary sources than is the case with protein. The figures 

 are 82 per cent, from secondary sources and 18 per cent, from pri- 

 mary. Again there has been little change in the seven years. In 

 spite of all propaganda from dietary cranks and from commercial 

 interests, it is clear that the American people depend to an over- 

 whelming degree upon animal sources for their fat intake, rather 



