﻿SOME 
  FOOD 
  PROBLEMS 
  IN 
  WARTIME 
  

  

  By 
  Geobge 
  R. 
  Cowqux 
  

   Yale 
  University 
  

  

  As 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  war, 
  communities 
  all 
  over 
  the 
  Nation 
  are 
  finding 
  

   their 
  young 
  men 
  in 
  the 
  armed 
  forces 
  serving 
  as 
  representatives 
  in 
  

   almost 
  every 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  world. 
  Consider, 
  for 
  example, 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  

   men 
  from 
  your 
  own 
  community. 
  One 
  of 
  them 
  may 
  be 
  in 
  an 
  artillery 
  

   unit 
  hidden 
  in 
  the 
  jungles 
  bounding 
  the 
  Panama 
  Canal. 
  Another 
  

   may 
  be 
  doing 
  guard 
  duty 
  in 
  Iceland. 
  A 
  third 
  "joined 
  the 
  marines" 
  

   to 
  see 
  action, 
  and 
  has 
  seen 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  Solomon 
  Islands 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  

   Pacific. 
  A 
  fourth 
  received 
  training 
  as 
  a 
  mechanic 
  for 
  servicing 
  air- 
  

   planes 
  and 
  eventually 
  found 
  himself 
  in 
  an 
  air 
  squadron 
  suddenly 
  

   assigned 
  to 
  duty 
  in 
  North 
  Africa. 
  

  

  Before 
  the 
  war, 
  all 
  these 
  boys 
  were 
  exposed 
  to 
  a 
  reasonably 
  uniform 
  

   set 
  of 
  influences, 
  social, 
  climatic, 
  and 
  otherwise. 
  Their 
  habits 
  of 
  eat- 
  

   ing 
  are 
  a 
  reflection 
  of 
  family 
  training, 
  racial 
  background, 
  the 
  kinds 
  

   of 
  foods 
  readily 
  available 
  in 
  their 
  community, 
  and 
  related 
  factors. 
  

   Now 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  service, 
  will 
  their 
  diet 
  be 
  quite 
  different 
  from 
  

   that 
  to 
  which 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  accustomed? 
  Will 
  it 
  vary 
  according 
  

   to 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  are 
  serving? 
  These 
  are 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  questions 
  that 
  will 
  occur 
  to 
  their 
  parents 
  and 
  friends. 
  

  

  The 
  planned 
  feeding 
  of 
  our 
  armed 
  forces 
  today 
  affords 
  a 
  marked 
  

   contrast 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  days 
  of 
  1914-18. 
  Between 
  1900 
  and 
  about 
  1910 
  

   it 
  was 
  considered 
  that 
  any 
  combination 
  of 
  foods 
  that 
  furnished 
  enough 
  

   energy, 
  protein, 
  certain 
  mineral 
  nutrients 
  like 
  calcium 
  for 
  the 
  bones, 
  

   and 
  iron 
  for 
  the 
  blood 
  would 
  meet 
  the 
  requirements 
  of 
  good 
  nutrition. 
  

   Today 
  if 
  a 
  student 
  of 
  this 
  science 
  attempts 
  to 
  list 
  individually 
  all 
  of 
  

   the 
  specific 
  factors 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  important 
  for 
  nourishing 
  the 
  body, 
  he 
  

   must 
  mention 
  approximately 
  40 
  items, 
  the 
  exact 
  number 
  depending 
  

   upon 
  whether 
  certain 
  claims 
  for 
  existence 
  of 
  new 
  vitamins 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  

   regarded 
  as 
  acceptable 
  or 
  not. 
  We 
  are 
  much 
  closer 
  now 
  than 
  our 
  

   predecessors 
  ever 
  were 
  to 
  being 
  able 
  to 
  write 
  a 
  complete 
  list 
  of 
  

   factors 
  required. 
  A 
  rough 
  classification 
  of 
  them 
  would 
  be 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  

   (a) 
  food 
  energy, 
  measured 
  in 
  calories; 
  (b) 
  protein; 
  (c) 
  mineral 
  

  

  1 
  Reprinted 
  by 
  permission 
  from 
  the 
  Yale 
  Review, 
  Winter, 
  1943. 
  Copyright, 
  Yale 
  Uni- 
  

   versity 
  Press. 
  

  

  591 
  

  

  