92 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



Americans eat more pork than beef. They would be healthier 

 if they could afford to reverse this diet and eat more beef. The 

 chief reason for the predominance of pork over beef is not 

 choice, but the fact that pork is cheaper. 



Suppose that for some reason the price of beef should drop 

 so low that it could be substituted for pork. This would not 

 only improve the national health, it would be a boon to the land. 

 Take the corn-hog belt for an example. A shift there from corn 

 and hog production to cattle raising would mean cutting down 

 the proportion of land in corn and turning it into pasture. The 

 pastures would resist erosion better than corn, and restore fer' 

 tility to the soil. The raising of beef would also mean that there 

 would be an increase in the number of acres of land in profitable 

 use for this reason; it takes 75 acres to grow 100 Ibs. of beef 

 while only 37 acres are needed to grow an equal number of 

 pounds of pork. Thus increased beef consumption would mean 

 more land in production, improved diet, and stable soil. 



One way to bring about a change in diet is by twilight farm 

 ing, the cultivation of a small farm or garden by a factory 

 worker during his spare time. More and more people are doing 

 this. Unfortunately for regular farmers, the growth of twilight 

 farming has reduced retail food markets. Another way a change 

 in diet can be brought about is by increasing the wages of food 

 consumers so that they can afford to buy more and better food. 

 Such an increase in food consumption would be a great aid to 

 the farmers. However, it is uncertain whether city people will 

 be able to afford more food. If they cannot, the farmer's outlook 

 is not particularly bright. The reason for this is that there will 

 be more than enough soil under cultivation to feed the prob 

 able population of the United States when it will have reached 

 the peak. At the same time, the number of farmers will have 

 increased faster than the number of city people. Furthermore, 

 if more efficient farm machinery is invented, even fewer farm 

 ers will be able to grow enough food for the increased popu- 



