218 PEARL— STAPLE COMMODITIES AND 



The result is that in calculations made in the way those of this study 

 have been made, which include the total nutrient value in the edible 

 portion of food materials, after deducting inedible waste and 

 the losses which accrue up to the time the food reaches the con- 

 sumer, there is bound to be an apparently high consumption of 

 fats. The figures here presented are really statements of .consump- 

 tion plus edible waste and should be so regarded. 



Another important factor is that of edible waste in garbage : 

 that is to say, the uneaten portion of the prepared food which is 

 edible and might be consumed, but is not for reasons of taste, over- 

 estimation of ingestive capacity, etc. 



It is quite impossible to arrive at any accurate estimate of what 

 the amount of losses of nutrients in cooking and in avoidable wast- 

 age of edible material is. On the first point it would be extremely 

 difficult ever to gather accurate data because the practice of house- 

 wives and cooks varies so enormously in this regard. That a great 

 deal can be accomplished in reducing the amount of edible material 

 going into the garbage can has been demonstrated with both the 

 civilian and the Army population of the United States during the 

 past year.^° 



The recent study of Murlin (loc. cit.) gives the data regarding 

 edible waste obtained from the nutritional surveys of the training 

 camps. The average figure for 213 messes show that 7 per cent, 

 of the protein supplied was wasted, 9 per cent, of the fat and 6 per 

 cent, of the carbohydrate. Because of special conditions surround- 

 ing the investigation, however, and because of the differences of 

 camp life, these figures are not at all applicable to civilian conditions. 

 Looking at the matter from the national point of view, it seems 

 probable that of the protein in human foods left in the country for 

 consumption in the statistical sense, it is safe to say that 5 per cent. 

 is lost in edible wastage ; of the fat left in the country for consump- 

 tion as human food, it is believed that at least 25 per cent, is lost 

 through wastage. This figure seems large, but it probably under- 

 go Pearl, R., " Statistics of Garbage Collection and Garbage Grease Re- 

 covery in American Cities," Jour. Ind. Eng. Chcni., Volume 10, page 927, 1918, 

 and Murlin, J. H., " Diet of the U. S. Army Soldier in the Training Camp," 

 Jour, .liner. Med. Assoc, Vol. 71, pp. 950-951, 1918. 



