200 CONSUMPTION 



that during the first decade of the 20th century there was some 

 tendency for it to increase, which, however, weakened after 1907. 

 Limitations have existed in the quantities of supplies available, 

 and in the purchasing power of the poorer sections of the popula- 

 tions of the various countries. In general a " saturation point 

 has been far from being reached, and least so in Eastern and Central 

 Europe. It would appear that in the near future the same con- 

 ditions will operate, and that the average per capita consumption 

 of animal foodstuffs throughout Europe will tend to increase, 

 subject to the limitations imposed by the supplies available and 

 by the purchasing power of the wage-earning classes. That this 

 is the case is borne out by the fact already noted, that the average 

 European per capita consumption is much below that of the new 

 countries, where breadstuffs as alternative foodstuffs are at least 

 as plentiful as in Europe, though, on the whole, more expensive 

 in the prepared forms in comparison with meat. 



Concerning the per capita consumption of animal foodstuffs in 

 the newer countries during the first ten years of the present century, 

 the evidence available points to a tendency for that of meat to fall 

 somewhat, while that of dairy and poultry products has apparently 

 risen. The decline in the per capita meat consumption since 1900 

 has apparently been in continuation of a process in operation in 

 these countries, since the time when the introduction of the re- 

 frigerated transport of meat made local supplies of the latter a 

 valuable article in international commerce. It is doubtful, how- 

 ever, whether in spite of some fall in the per capita meat con- 

 sumption in these countries there is any distinct tendency for the 

 per capita consumption of all animal foodstuffs combined to decline 

 at present. On the whole, it is to be observed that the per capita 

 consumption of animal foodstuffs, taken together, rose, rather than 

 fell among white populations in the period 1900 to 1911 ; and this 

 has been due mainly to the more rapid increase in the populations 

 of the new countries and of the industrial areas of Europe, having 

 a high average per capita consumption. 



It is quite possible also that emigration will be unusually heavy 

 from some parts of Europe to the newer countries in the years 

 following the close of the present war. The effect of this would 

 probably be to increase the world's average per capita consumption 

 of meat and other animal foodstuffs by the mere transference of pop- 

 ulation from countries of relatively low to countries of relatively 

 high per capita consumption. Since also the emigrating population 

 usually consists mainly of the more able-bodied men and women 

 of marrying age, the effective additions to the populations of the 

 newer countries thereby made in the space of some years are greater 

 than are represented by the actual numbers that emigrate. 



The remaining and non-European populations living in the 

 temperate regions, whether mainly pastoral or mainly agricultural 

 in their occupations are, generally speaking, at present in a back- 

 ward state of development. They contain some proportion of 



