WHY THERE IS A MILK PROBLEM 5 



This development brings out the fact that the several 

 interests concerned are often in conflict with regulation 

 or with each other. The appearance of milk in the 

 political forum is perhaps a sign hopeful rather than 

 otherwise, as indicating that this greatest of food 

 problems has become the subject of a public discussion 

 which may lead to justice to all concerned. 



MILK: A CHEAP AND UNIVERSAL FOOD 



Whole milk contains all the elements of nutriment 

 and combines them in readily digestible form in the 

 proportions of a balanced ration. Hence its use as a 

 substitute for mother's milk for infants, as an important 

 component in the diet of children, as a special diet for 

 invalids, and as a considerable portion, directly or 

 indirectly, of the diet of all adults. Its value in these 

 respects is such that it must be considered a necessity 

 of civilization, being in this sense a universal food, 



We need not here go into the details of the chemistry 

 and dietetics of milk. Cow's milk varies in composition, 

 but on the average good, unadulterated milk contains 

 about 87 per cent water and 13 per cent solids. About 

 one-fourth of these solids consists of protein compounds, 

 i. e., tissue-forming and waste-repairing substances. 

 Fats, in the form of butter fats, form one-third of the 

 total solids. Butter fat occurs in globules throughout 

 the milk, and it is upon the size and number of them 

 that the creaminess of the milk consists. Carbohy- 

 drates, which, like the fats, are energy-producing or 

 fuel elements, make up somewhat more than another 

 third of the solids, the most important of them being 



