GRASS AND THE NATIONAL FOOD SUPPLY 473 



of man in winter was salted meat and cheese made from summer milk. 

 It is easy to imagine how man discovered the making of cheese. If he 

 tried to keep milk, it went sour and acid, and precipitated the protein. Later, 

 he found better methods of precipitating the protein. 



The preparation of a protein food from grass is not so simple, but I believe 

 that it would be possible for our bio-chemists to produce a protein-rich 

 food from grass, containing practically no fibre, but much of the useful 

 foodstuffs present in the grass. We will call it Grass Cheese. From an 

 acre of grassland we can get 700 lb. of protein. Surely we should be able 

 to get grass cheese containing 350 to 600 lb. of crude protein, or 220 to 

 400 lb. of protein equivalent, as well as carbohydrates. This grass cheese 

 would make a very useful food for pigs — to replace imported feeding-stuffs — 

 and in time of necessity it might supply a maintenance ration for the people. 



Let us assume that we can make a grass cheese suitable for man, and that 

 we can obtain 350 lb. of protein equivalent from an acre of grassland. 

 We have seen that a man requires 60 to 95 lb. of protein per annum. We 

 shall be on the safe side if we allow 80 lb. per head of the population, 

 including men, women and children. This quantity will allow for a 

 certain amount of waste. 



Then one acre of good grassland would support 4-4 head of people. 



Now the land of England and Wales consists of : 



9 • o million acres of arable land 

 15*7 ,, ,, of permanent grass 



5 "4 .. ,. of rough grazings. 



To support 40 million people on grass cheese we should require 9 • i 

 million acres of grassland, or just about the whole of our arable acreage. 



If we could produce a grass cheese we might put all our arable land under 

 temporary grass, and obtain from it enough food for the nation without 

 slaughtering our cattle. Our milk and beef would be available as extras, 

 and would ensure a sufficiency of food and of vitamins. 



If we could make grass cheese and feed men on the leaf protein of grass, 

 we could produce four or five times as much food per acre as we do by 

 growing wheat ; and in time of national emergency, instead of ploughing 

 up old pastures and sowing wheat, we should sow down arable land to 

 grass or other leaf crop. 



I wish to emphasise the economy and efficiency to be obtained by feeding 

 man on the leaf instead of on the fruit or grain. In the past, grass has been 

 the most important leaf crop for feeding animals, and I see no reason why 

 it should not remain so, as the cultivation of grass is economical of labour ; 

 but on the other hand there is no reason why other crops should not be 

 grown to produce large quantities of leaf matter suitable for food. In the 

 form of leaf matter we could grow sufficient food in this country to support 

 the entire population. The problem to be solved is the preparation of the 

 food. 



