230 CONSUMPTION 



supplies lies rather in a change from the generally uneconomical 

 and unscientific methods of production. 1 



In the matter of fats, the second important element in the dietary 

 mentioned above, the necessary supplies in the colder climates of 

 both hemispheres have been derived entirely from animals in the 

 form either of the fat from meat or of that from dairy produce. 

 Vegetable oils, which have for centuries been so widely used in the 

 Mediterranean countries and in some parts of Asia, have been 

 consumed only in very small quantities in colder latitudes. This 

 has been owing to geographical factors, such as the absence of oil- 

 producing plants, the existence of extensive herds of fat-producing 

 animals, and the accessibility to fishing grounds. 



All cultivated cereals, however, and especially oats and maize,, 

 contain a certain percentage of fat 2 and any more extensive use 

 of cereals as foodstuffs on the lines suggested above would result 

 in an increase in the supplies of fat in human nourishment derived 

 directly from the plant kingdom. 3 The same is true to a very 

 limited extent of garden vegetables. 4 



It has been already noted that margarine as now manufactured 

 may consist mainly or entirely of oils derived directly from the 

 plant kingdom. The development of this industry and the in- 

 creasing consumption of margarine as a substitute for butter and 

 lard, is to be regarded as the most effective means for diminishing 

 the dependence of peoples in the cold temperate climates upon 

 animal produce for their supplies of edible fats. 



It is to be observed, moreover, that fats and carbohydrates are 

 interchangeable to some extent in the dietary, 5 arid it is therefore 

 possible that the present consumption of animal fats may, in the 

 future, be reduced to a limited extent by an increased use of carbo- 

 hydrates. As the latter are found almost exclusively in plant 

 foodstuffs, any change in this direction would mean a corresponding 

 decline in the consumption of that form of animal foodstuffs for 

 which a liberal expenditure in feedstuffs is required. The average 

 consumption of animal fats, at any rate in English-speaking coun- 

 tries, appears in recent years to have been considerably in excess 

 of bodily requirements. Thus according to the Report of the 

 Committee on the Food Supply of the United Kingdom, above 



1 This question is discussed at length in Part I., Chap. xii. See also Chap. v. 

 below. 



2 The following figures of fat content have been taken from the estimates 

 of Prof. W. H. Thompson in the Report of the Committee of the Royal Society 

 on the Food Supply of the United Kingdom : Wheat flour, 1 % ; oatmeal, 

 7-2% ; barley meal and flour, 2-2% ; maize meal, 4-2% ; rice, 0-3%. 



3 That is, unless the special processes of manufacture result in the removal 

 of part of the fat contents. 



4 The fat content of vegetables in ordinary consumption is very small. 

 In dried peas and beans it is 1/3%, but in other vegetables it does not exceed 

 one half of 1 per cent. 



5 But to a limited extent only. Investigations show that meat can be more 

 completely dispensed with than fats in the dietary without injury. 



