228 CONSUMPTION 



stitution, as far as possible, of animal foodstuffs, the production 

 of which demands smaller agricultural resources per unit of food 

 values, in the place of those the production of which requires 

 greater. 



It is by no means intended to argue at this point in favour of a 

 strictly vegetarian diet for Europeans. General experience, on the 

 contrary, points to the fact that a certain proportion of the more 

 concentrated animal foodstuffs is desirable in the diet of the average 

 European, under the existing conditions of life, and in view of the 

 more or less limited range of plant foodstuffs available in easily 

 assimilated forms. It appears, however, that the existing resources 

 in the latter class of foodstuffs can be more fully utilised than at 

 present, so as to reduce to some extent the dependence upon animal 

 foodstuffs for the proper supplies of protein and fats. 1 



The supplies of protein in the dietary of Europeans may be met 

 independently of meat, to a certain extent by an increased con- 

 sumption of whole-meal flour made from wheat and other grains, 

 of higher percentage wheat flour, and of vegetable products and 

 nuts rich in protein. 2 Some of the additional protein taken in 

 these forms may not be capable of complete assimilation by seden- 

 tary people who have been accustomed to liberal supplies of meat ; 

 and an unusual increase in the proportion of such foodstuffs is apt 

 to cause digestive derangements. The rise in the standard of 

 living that has taken place in the last half-centur}? among average 

 Europeans in the form of improvements in the variety and quality 

 of the foodstuffs in the normal dietary, together with the great 

 increase in the numbers engaged in sedentary occupations, appear 

 to have produced constitutional changes which now make it im- 

 possible in practice for any but the lowest classes to live largely 

 upon coarse foods. This appears in children as well as adults, so 

 that with the generally existing methods of preparing plant food- 

 stuffs, definite limits are set in the case of the average person, to 

 the substitution of plant foodstuffs for animal, as a means of sup- 

 plying the required protein. 3 



1 It appears that meat stimulates the living cells to increased activity, and 

 is, therefore, of value in the diet of brain-workers. The heat and muscular 

 energy of the body are well supplied by carbohydrates, which are well assimi- 

 lated by the manual worker, and are capable of supplying most of the energy 

 expended in his work, though his efficiency is increased by the consumption 

 of meat and other animal foodstuffs. Prof. Leonard Hill, Times, Nov. 21st, 

 1917, article entitled " Scientific Rationing." 



2 Changes in these directions would of course reduce the quantities of milling 

 offals and other concentrated feedstuffs available for food animals, but there 

 would be a considerable net gain to human food supplies. For a clear state- 

 ment of this point, see a brochure entitled " Quelques Principes pour une 

 Politique de Ravitaillement," by Louis Lapicque, Paris, 1916. 



3 The coarser plant foodstuffs have the further disadvantage that they demand 

 a greater amount of bodily energy for their digestion than do the ordinary 

 animal foodstuffs. These extra supplies of energy can only be obtained by 

 an increased consumption of food. 



