The Conservation of Our Food 

 Supplies in War Time 



Bv T. a. HULL 



A SPECIAL exhibit illustrating 

 .some of the principal problems 

 of food conservation which con- 

 front the United States and the world 

 was opened at the American jMuseum 

 on May 33, as one contribution of this 

 institution to the task of the National 

 Defense Council, the preparation of our 

 country to play its part in the great 

 crisis. 



Eeports from various sources as to 

 the condition of the world's crops have 

 been conflicting and confusing. The 

 percentage deficiency of last year's 

 crops was small, the world's wheat crop 

 being ninety-three per cent normal 

 while other crops were also slightly be- 

 low normal. The total deficiency, how- 

 ever, was enough to create a serious 

 condition. The case is exactly analo- 

 gous to that of the man on day wages 

 with a large family. The reserve bank 

 account is continually drained so low 

 that the "docking" of even a part of a 

 week's wages makes itself felt at the 

 dinner table. 



The underlying cause of food sbort- 

 age in the United States is well illus- 

 trated in a picture painted for the 

 special exhibition, of a young man leav- 

 ing the farm for the city and its higher 

 wages. Lack of farm labor, added to 

 the demand from Europe for food, has 

 so depleted the reserve on our farms 

 and in cold storage that a real crisis 

 now confronts us. 



The outlook for the coming year is 

 not too bright, the winter wlieat crop 

 on April first being l)ut sixty-five per 

 cent normal. To offset tbis a vigorous 

 campaign has been carried on through- 



out the country for tbe planting of 

 other foodstuffs, especially beans, corn, 

 and potatoes. It has been estimated 

 that a double yield of corn and pota- 

 toes, with a tenfold yield of beans, 

 would tide us over another winter and 

 allow us to do our duty by our allies. 



The human body is chiefly made up 

 of the four elements, carbon, hydrogen, 

 ox^'gen, and nitrogen, but it also con- 

 tains the following : 



Calcium 3.75 lbs. Magnesium .10 lbs. 



Phosphorus 1.7 " Sulphur .10 " 



Potassium .18 " Silica .10 " 



Sodium .15 " Irou .01 " 



All these elements must be supplied in 

 the food. Above all, however, the food 

 must furnish the energy needed to run 

 the living machine, for food is to the 

 body what fuel is to the engine. The 

 energy value of the food is measured in 

 calories, one calorie being the amount 

 of heat energy required to raise 1 liter 

 (about 1 quart) of water 1° Centigrade 

 (1.8° Fahrenheit). Protein and carbo- 

 hydrate materials each give per gram 

 4.1 of these heat units, while fat gives 9. 

 The number of calories required by men 

 of different occupations is illustrated in 

 the exhibit by three piles of coal, 13.3 

 oz. containing 3500 calories for persons 

 -of sedentary habits, 1 lb. 3 oz. contain- 

 ing 3500 calories for those of more ac- 

 tive labor, and 3 lbs. 4 oz. containing 

 10,000 calories for a six-day bicycle 

 rider. 



As has been pointed out by Professor 

 Graham Lusk, our greatest need in se- 

 curing an adequate dietary allowance 

 for the poor is the diffusion of know- 

 ledge as to costs and calorie values. 



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