NUTRITIVE VALUE OF FISH AXD SHELLFISH 



525 



Table 18. — Comparative cost of protein and energy, as furnished by a number of 

 food materials, at certain prices ^ 



Kind of food material 



Codfish, whole, fresh.. 



Codfish, steaks 



Bluefish 



Halibut. _._ 



Codfish, salt 



Mackerel, salt 



Salmon, canned 



Oysters (solids, 30 cents quart) 

 Oysters (solids, 60 cents quart) 



Lobster 



Beef, sirloin steak 



Do_-.. 



Beef, round 



Beef, stew meat 



Beef, dried, chipped 



Mutton, chops, loin 



Mutton, leg 



Pork, roast, loin _ 



Pork, smoked ham... 



Milk (7 cents quart) 



Milk Ci cents quart.) 



Wheat flour 



Corn meal 



Potatoes (90 cents bushel) 



Potatoes (45 cents bushel) 



Cabbage 



Corn, canned. 



Apples 



Bananas 



Strawberries.. 



Price per 

 pound 



Cejiis 

 10 

 12 

 12 

 18 



7 

 10 

 12 

 15 

 30 

 18 

 25 

 20 

 14 



5 

 25 

 20 

 22 

 12 

 22 



3 

 3 

 2 



H 



2J'2 



10 



m 



7 

 7 



Cost of 

 1 pound 

 protein 



Dollars 



0.90 



.71 



1.20 



1.18 



.44 



.61 



.62 



2.50 



6.00 



3.05 



1.52 



1.21 



.74 



.38 



.95 



1.48 



1.46 



.90 



1.55 



1.06 



.91 



.26 



.22 



.83 



.42 



1.79 



3.57 



5.00 



8.75 



7.78 



Cost of 



1,000 

 calories 

 energy 



Cents 



48 



36 



58 



40 



23 



10 



18 



68 



136 



129 



26 



21 



16 



5 



33 



14 



25 



10 



14 



11 



10 



2 



1 



5 



2 



21 



23 



7 



24 



42 



Amounts for 10 cents 



Total 

 weight 

 of food 

 material 



Pounds 

 1.000 

 .833 

 .833 

 ..556 



1. 429 

 1.000 



.833 

 .667 

 .333 

 . 556 

 .400 

 .500 

 .714 

 2.000 

 .409 

 .."^OO 

 .454 



.a33 



.454 



2. 857 

 3.333 

 3.333 

 5.000 

 6.667 



13.333 

 4.000 

 1.000 

 6.667 

 1.429 

 1.429 



Protein 



Pounds 

 0.111 



.142 

 .083 

 .085 

 .229 

 .163 

 .162 

 .040 

 .020 

 .033 

 .066 

 .083 

 .136 

 .266 

 .106 

 .068 

 .069 

 .112 

 .064 

 .094 

 .110 

 .380 

 .460 

 .120 

 .240 

 .056 

 .028 

 .020 

 .011 

 .013 



Energy 



Calories 



209 



274 



172 



253 



437 



998 



547 



147 



74 



77 



380 



475 



615 



1,862 



303 



694 



394 



1,016 



729 



891 



1,040 



5,363 



8,055 



2,020 



4,040 



484 



444 



1,420 



414 



240 



» Data taken from Farmers' Bulletin No. 85, U. S. Department of Agriculture, " Fish as food," by Lang- 

 worthy. The prices are therefore based on pre-war conditions. 



Of course, the relative cost of the different foods in this table is 

 based on prices that were in effect several years ago. In using this 

 scale of prices it will be necessary to make an addition of some 50 or 

 60 per cent to the figures to make them accord with the increased cost 

 of living at present, as determined by the various indexes of com- 

 modity prices, most of which are based on prices current in the year 

 1913 as 100 units. Furthermore, it would not be possible to give 

 any exact figures on the cost of foods that actually represent condi- 

 tions all over the country, as there is considerable variation between 

 different localities. How^ever, this table serves a very good purpose 

 because it makes the comparisons between the different food products 

 on the basis of the cost of protein, the essential ingredient, and also 

 on the cost of total calories, which is not quite as important. It is 

 evident that fish compare quite well with meat products in the matter 

 of protein. It is also striking that the cost, wdiere calories only are a 

 consideration, is lowest in the case of vegetable products like wheat, 

 flour, corn meal, potatoes, etc. It has been pointed out by an eminent 

 physiologist that a man coiild probably keep body and soul together 

 at a cost of 10 cents per day on the basis of calories only. However, 

 as civilization advances and the standard of living reaches a high 

 point as it has in the United States, the consumer is not interested so 

 much in stoking his human furnace with the required number of 



