NINETEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART V 335 



and their use for that purpose should be encouraged; but they should sail 

 under their own banner and be used in nutrition for exactly what they 

 are worth. To remove the butterfat from whole milk and replace it with 

 cocoanut oil and then claim that the product is equal to whole milk for 

 the nutrition of growing children is not true. 



"In the dairymen's competition with butter substitutes a word should 

 be said concerning oleomargarine. This product is made from both plant 

 and animal oils and the higher grades are churned with milk or butter 

 or both. The plant oils used contribute no fat soluble vitamine; the 

 neutral oil, or that pressed from lard, contains no fat soluble vitamine. 

 The oleo oil, or that prepared from beef fats, does contain some of this 

 type of vitamines and of course the milk products contribute another 

 portion. The result is that the finished oleomargarne contains some of 

 this vitamine, but it is necessarily not in the same concentration as 

 found in the natural butter. Their dilution, as compared with butterfat, 

 is in proportion to the plant oils and neutral oil used, with a further dilu- 

 tion by the use of oleo oil which contains this substance in less concen- 

 tration than does butter. Consequently, even the higher grades of oleo- 

 margarine will have their fat soluble vitamine content diluted, the degree 

 of dilution depending upon the method of manufacture. Five per cent 

 of butterfat in a ration of purified food materials contributes enoug^h 

 fat soluble vitamine for normal growtli, but 5 per cent of the oleomarga- 

 rine we have tested will not accomplish tliis. These are the facts as 

 they are known today, and they should make it clear that no product can 

 claim the distinction of substitute unless it shows equal nutritive value 

 in quantitative relations. These facts do not condemn oleomargarine 

 any more than they condemn plant oils, but merely disclose what each 

 contributes to nutrition." 



In addressing the National Dairy Show this year Dr. McCollum 

 laid particular stress on the function of "Fat Soluble A" and the 

 necessity of maintaining an adequate supply in the diet of adults. 

 He said : 



"Orientals and peoples of the tropics who use no milk are inferior to 

 Europeans and Americans both physically and in respect to their mental 

 development. 



"It is impossible to make up a satisfactory diet out of such things as 

 cereal grains together with tubers as potatoes, beets, and meats. You 

 can have all those in a diet in the right proportion, therefore, have any 

 chemical composition you want, but they fail to promote satisfactory 

 nutrition either to man or animal. The reason for this is three-fold, 

 there is a poor mineral content, the proteins are of a poor quality, and 

 the unknown substance called Fat Soluble A is lacking and the animals 

 suffer. There are only two methods by which a satisfactory diet can 

 be made up; one is by the use of the above together with a liberal 

 amount of either milk or eggs, or the leafy vegetables such as spinach, 

 cabbage, turnip leaves or other vegetables suitable for use as greens. 

 In all groups of industrially employed peoples, there is a tendency to 

 purchase for their food supply such foods as rice, rolled oats, potatoes, 

 sweet potatoes, and meats. All peoples who are living on this type of 



