PHYSIOLOGY AND THE FOOD PROBLEM 23 



price its use is therefore not economical. The man who 

 works hard requires no more meat than the man in the 

 arm-chair, and the so-called increased meat ration which 

 was granted during war time to manual workers was 

 in the shape of bacon, that is mainly fat. The " Roast 

 Beef of Old England " is really not the source of more 

 energy, however much the contrary may be believed by 

 those ignorant of physiological principles. An engine called 

 upon to do more work does not necessarily want repair ; 

 what it needs is more fuel (coal or petrol). The healthy 

 human engine is on all fours with this, and rationing was 

 directed to deal with healthy bodies ; the invalids who 

 did need repair were dealt with on different^ lines. Meat, 

 however, which was the only form of protein food rationed, 

 is not our only source of protein supply. The flesh of 

 fish, or, for those who can afford it, of game and poultry, 

 is just as valuable as that of sheep and oxen ; we can also 

 get proteins in milk, in cheese, in eggs, and also in bread : 

 for bread contains about 10 per cent. There was never, 

 therefore, any fear that we were anywhere near the margin 

 of danger so far as our supply of flesh-forming foods was 

 concerned. Another available form of protein food is that 

 in peas, beans, lentils, and the like. These useful vegetables 

 contain as much protein as beef and mutton, and if properly 

 cooked (aye, there's the rub !) are almost as easily digested. 

 Nevertheless there are proteins and proteins, and some are 

 better adapted to animal nutrition than others ; the most 

 adaptable are those of animal origin ; but there are some 

 vegetable proteins which are nearly equal to these, and of 

 those the protein of potato stands pre-eminent ; the pity 

 of it is that the potato contains so little, but that little is 

 good. The reduction in the supply of butcher's meat was 

 rendered necessary by the diminished supply, but it was 

 quite sufficient for physiological purposes, and the reduc- 

 tion was of great benefit to those who had been big meat- 

 eaters in the past. 



