A NORMAL DIET 



363 



has been calculated by Holmes to be, in trillion calories : rice, 900 ; wheat, 

 382; sugar, 209; rye, 164; barley, 119; potatoes, 98.6 and meat 62.4! 

 The chart on page 362 was prepared by Roorbach from Holmes' figures. 

 Unfortunately, Holmes does not cite his authorities, and the figure for 

 sugar appears remarkably high. The relative importance of the different 

 foods shown by these figures is, however, true for no one country. In some 

 parts of the East, rice is even more largely the predominant food and, on 

 the other hand, the consumption of meat is concentrated in a very few 

 countries. 



The figures in Table I are taken from Holmes and show, in pounds, 

 the annual per capita consumption of meat and meat products. No data 

 are reported .for China, India and Japan but the consumption of meat 

 there is known to be small. The amount of meat used, per person, is 

 greatest in the meat-raising countries, in all of which the density of popu- 

 lation is rather low. (Chart II is taken from Roorbach.) 



TABLE I.-CONSUMPTION OF MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS (BEEF, MUTTON AND PORK) PER CAPITA OF 



POPULATION Data from Holmes. 



As the population increases, pasture land is put under cultivation, 

 the production and consumption of meat fall and the use of the cereals 

 and other foods increases. A fairly high consumption of meat may be 

 maintained) and even increased, as in Germany and Great Britain, in 

 spite of an' increasing population in a manufacturing and trading com- 

 munity if the level of wealth is sufficiently high to secure the importation 

 of meat or of concentrated feeding stuffs for animals. But, as a rule, the 

 importance of meat in the diet diminishes as the population increases and 

 such meat as is consumed falls chiefly to wealthy and powerful classes. 



The medieval laws restricting the taking of game seem to have had their 

 origin not so much in the desire to secure sport to the nobility as to secure 

 to them an ample supply of meat, or of certain kinds of meat. (Lich- 

 tenfelt(c), 1913.) The same predominating use of meat by the wealthier 

 and more powerful classes obtains to-day in all countries except those in 



