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CHAPTER 7 



CONSUMPTION 



FOOD consumption is a compromise between what we can af- 

 ford, what we like, and what we ought to have, in about that 

 order. 



Habit Plays an Important Role 



Man is a creature of habit. This applies to his eating as 

 well as to his other activities. Vermonters like apple pie for 

 breakfast. Traditionally, New Englanders want hot baked 

 beans for Saturday night and cold beans Sunday morning. 

 In other parts of the country one or two meals of beans a 

 month are too many. Year after year a man will eat the 

 same breakfast, but will keep his wife on needles and pins 

 to vary the main meal. 



The Scandinavian eats five meals a day and never lets the 

 coffee pot get cold. The American office worker lives on two 

 lunches, one meal, and innumerable bottles of Coca-Cola. 

 The Irish and the French both live on potatoes, but the Irish 

 want them boiled and the French want them fried. Most 

 people demand variety in their meals, but the Eskimo is 

 happy with his blubber and the Arab with his dates. 



Religion affects our food habits. The people of India will 



