248 CONSUMPTION 



standards of living to persist, even in spite of altered circumstances 

 demanding perhaps some modification of them. Without tres- 

 passing upon the province of the social reformer, this economic 

 fact may be pointed out : that in face of a general shortage of 

 animal foodstuffs, whether actual or threatened, or of a rise in the 

 prices of all foodstuffs consequent upon a tendency for the world's 

 consumption to overtake its production, any excessive rate of con- 

 sumption on the part of particular classes has the indirect effect of 

 increasing unnecessarily the price for all consumers. This applies 

 especialty to animal foodstuffs which require a large share of agri- 

 cultural resources in proportion to their food values ; a relatively 

 small increase in the production of these foodstuffs may, if the law 

 of diminishing returns operates, cause an appreciable rise in the 

 cost of production and also in the price of breadstuffs. If it is 

 desirable that all classes in the various communities should be 

 properly nourished at a reasonable cost, then it is undesirable that 

 any section, whether large or small, should consume more of such 

 foodstuffs as make high demands upon land resources than is 

 adequate for their full nourishment. 1 



Waste in the matter of the consumption of animal foodstuffs 

 occurs in all classes, when through ignorance, carelessness, or lack 

 of time and proper appliances, the foodstuffs are badly or waste- 

 fully prepared. Inferior and uneconomical methods of cooking 

 appear to be commoner among English-speaking peoples than on 

 the Continent of Europe, where the art of making the utmost of 

 relatively small quantities of meat is much more highly developed. 2 

 Bad cooking leads both directly and indirectly to waste ; directly 

 beca.sue parts of the foodstuffs are destroyed or fail to be utilised, 

 and indirectly because the ultimate food value depends to some 

 extent upon the ease and completeness with which the foodstuffs 

 are digested in the prepared form. 



The threatened, if not actual, shortage of animal foodstuffs by 

 raising prices tends to lessen waste among all classes except, the 

 wealthy, who, however, may be indirectly impelled by the force of 

 public opinion or through their own public spirit to reduce any waste 

 of animal foodstuffs in their households to the lowest limits. The 

 waste of animal foodstuffs which has occurred in various forms in 



* The current ideas on the economics of consumption are generally vague 

 rtiid inaccurate. It has naturally been to the advantage of the trading and 

 producing communities that demand should be keen, so that price levels may 

 be maintained and business remain secure. This may be one of the causes 

 for the rooted idea that excessive and extravagant consumption of foodstuffs 

 as well as of other goods is a benefit rather than a disadvantage to the com- 

 munity. This idea may also be derived in some measure from past times 

 when it appeared that the production of goods outran consumption. Suffi- 

 cient has been said to show that the notion is false economics as regards 

 animal foodstuffs, at any rate, at the present time. 



2 Compare the following extract from Marshall's Principles (V. VI., para. 2) : 

 "... many kinds of meat and many parts of vegetables which are almost 

 valueless in America where skilled cooks are rare have a good value in France 

 where the art of cooking is widely diffused." 



