198 PEARL— STAPLE COMMODITIES AND 



responding British figures. Calculating roughly from Table I. of 

 the official British report^ on the subject I find that 42 per cent, of 

 the protein intake, 92 per cent, of the fat intake, and 35 per cent, of 

 the energy value of the total nourishment of the population of the 

 United Kingdom comes from secondary sources. In other words, 

 the British get less of their protein and calories and more of their 

 fat from animal products exclusive of fish than the Americans do. 

 The differences, however, are not very great, indicating generally 

 similar dietary habits in the two populations, a fact which we know 

 on general grounds to be true. 



The above comparisons regarding primary and secondary sources 

 of human food are shown graphically in Figs. 2 and 3. 



The next problem concerns the relative proportion of the total 

 nutritional intake furnished by the several different large food com- 

 modity classes. The data on this point for the main groups are col- 

 lected in Tables IV.-VII. and IX.-XII. inclusive. The arrangement 

 of these tables is to give first the annual average for the six years pre- 

 ceding the entrance of the United States into the war, and then to give 

 1917-18, our first year in the war, separately. The reason for sucli 

 a time division is obvious. There is no reason to suppose that the 

 consumption of food in this country was affected by the war till 

 the time we entered and the United States Food Administration 

 began its work. Before then the population had gone on consuming 

 food at about the usual normal rate. There was no reason or in- 

 centive to do otherwise, except in so far as price had an influence. 

 But in 1917-18 a^ wholly new and extraordinary influence was 

 brought into play to alter the national food habits. This was the 

 Food Administration, which through its recommendations, on the 

 one hand, and regulations on the other hand, sought to modify the 

 consumption rate of certain commodities and succeeded in doing so, 

 as will presently appear in detail. 



In Tables IV. to VII. the percentage figures are first given sepa- 

 rately and then accumulated to 100 in another column. 



The data of Tables IV. and VII. are shown graphically in Fig. 4. 



^ " The Food Supply of the United Kingdom." A report drawn up bj' a 

 Committee of the Royal Society at the request of the Board of Trade. Lon- 

 don (Cd. 8421), 1917, pp. 35. 



