FEBRUARY 15, 1917] 
NATURE 
47t 
THE NATION’S FOOD.’ 
pe important White Paper has just been 
issued which deals with this most pressing 
problem of the day. It is a report drawn up by 
‘a committee of the Royal Society at the request 
of the President of the Board of Trade. The 
_ committee consists of physiologists (Profs. A. D. 
Waller, chairman; F. G. Hopkins, Noél Paton, 
and W. H. Thompson) and agriculturists (Mr. 
"A, D. Hall, Mr. T. H. Middleton, and Prof. 
Wood); the remaining names are those of Prof. 
Ashley of Birmingham, and Mr. Flux of the Board 
of Trade. It is a sign of the times that scientific 
men of this type should be called in to advise the 
Government, and an earnest of that scientific 
mobilisation in the nation’s service that we all 
long to see fully accomplished. Physiologists 
have always taken the flattering unction to their 
souls that all their work is for the benefit of 
humanity, but it is not often that they have had 
such a striking opportunity of placing their know- 
ledge to such an immediate practical use, or, what 
is more, seen their recommendations so promptly 
acted upon. The report in question is crammed 
full of valuable statistical data, and it, moreover, 
possesses the rare merit of being clear and brief. 
There can be no doubt that the recent actions of 
the Government in reference to the milling of 
flour and the limitation of grain used in brewing 
have been the direct outcome of this report. The 
more recent enactment relating to the volun- 
tary restriction in meat, flour, and sugar 
which Lord Devonport has suggested is also 
founded on the general principles here laid 
down. 
The first section of the report deals with the 
period before the war, and it is remarkable that 
the allowance then of protein, fat, and carbo- 
hydrate should so closely have coincided with 
the standard dietary usually associated with the 
mame of Voit. Per head per day, these figures 
are a little below the Voit regimen, and give a 
total of 3090 Calories; but per “man” (i.e. 
making due allowance for women and children, 
whose needs are smaller), it works out above 
the standard (4000 Calories), so that a margin of 
waste was provided for. Part ii. deals with the 
year 1916, and shows that here again the avail- 
able food was more than sufficient, so that re- 
‘duction is possible; but the increase’in prices has 
accentuated inequalities of distribution, and, as the 
‘committee points out, reduction below the neces- 
sary amount causes a large diminution in the 
working capacity of the individual. Organisation 
in distribution is therefore called for; it would be 
foolish economy to produce a harmful effect upon 
the working population who form the backbone 
of the nation in its present crisis. 
The final section of the report treats of methods 
of economy. The milling of flour and the reduc- 
tion of beer we have already alluded to, but one 
important set of recommendations still remains 
1 “The Food Supply of the United Kingdom.” A Report drawn up by 
a Committee of the Royal Society at the request of the President of the 
Board of Trade. (Cd. 8421.) Pp. 35. Price 4d. net. 
No. 2468, VoL. 98] 
to be mentioned; it deals with meat production, 
and is important as it is probably here that we 
shall shortly be experiencing the severest pinch. 
One of the recommendations is that cattle should 
be slaughtered at seventeen months old instead 
of two and a half years; such young beef would 
be a little poorer in fat, but that is counter- 
balanced by the enormous saving in feeding-stuffs ; 
economies may also be effected by certain changes 
suggested in the amount and character of the 
fodder employed. Finally, an increase in the 
making of cheese as compared with butter is 
urged. 
These are the main features of the report, but 
the full report, which can be obtained for four- 
pence, is worth careful perusal and. study. 
Although it is dated 1917, it was drawn-up last 
year—that is, before the threatened renewal of the 
German submarine menace; and until that menace 
is overcome the people of this country must first 
loyally and faithfully abide by the restrictions im- 
posed by Lord Devonport’s decree, and next be 
prepared for still further and more stringent re- 
ductions which may be rendered necessary either 
by the partial success of the German blockade, or 
by their own foolishness in not following out the 
present voluntary system. For it must be clearly 
understood that although. the figures of the pre- 
sent allowance are within the normal physiological 
limits, there is no margin for waste now; some 
difficulties may be experienced in getting along 
with 4 lb. of bread or its equivalent in flour per 
week, but that is only because bread has come 
to be regarded, not in the proverbial, but in the 
actual sense, as the staff of life. Many nations 
and vast populations never eat wheaten prepara- 
tions. We do not want to advocate the Japanese 
dietary ; that has its own peculiar evils. Still, the 
carbohydrate supply, which is the biggest fraction 
of our daily food, may be made up by a more 
generous use of rice and other grains which are 
comparatively neglected by the average English- 
man, just as the protein supply in meat may be 
compensated for by the greater utilisation of the 
protein-rich pulses. 
One omission we notice in the report which 
furnishes the text for this article, though it must 
have been in the minds of the authors, and no 
doubt was a factor in their resolve to recommend 
the use of “‘straight-run” flour. We mean the 
“vitamine” question. Pure protein, fat, and 
carbohydrate, with the necessary salts and water 
in addition, will not maintain health, still less 
promote growth. Certain unknown food-acces- 
sories in small quantities are necessary also: some 
of these so-called vitamines are present in the outer 
portion of the grains, but others equally vital are 
only soluble in fat, and are particularly abundant 
in butter. As they are absent in the vegetable 
fats, and so much vegetable fat is used in the 
preparation of butter substitutes, it really is a 
matter of national importance that the inferior 
nutritional value of the cheaper brands of mar- 
| gariné should be widely known, 
