Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1854-09-08
Animal and Vegetable Food.

Animal and Vegetable Food.
At the recent annual Festival of the
American Vegetarian Convention in
Philadelphia, Mr.. Chubb, Of Wash
ington, spoke Of the relative cost OF
nourishment obtained from vegetable and
animal food. The dearness of butchers
meat has become cause of universal CON-
plant among the people, The butchers
of Philadelphia, l have understood, refus-
ed to purchase oxen on account Of high
prices asked for them by those who traffic
in flesh aud blood. II is true, the prices
are sometimes affected by speeula:ors, but
it is fact, which ought to be universally
known, that the flesh of animals nerer can
be produced at a ekeop rate All manu-
tacturers know that an article which is
made Of valuable raw materials, and which
wastes in the process four -ffths, and then
becomes only one third of tie intrinsic
value of the other fifth, must be unpro6t-
able, exceedingly, unless fictitious value
is placed upon it by the ignorance or pre-
judice of the customers, 1t is just this
with the production of flesh. To produce
one pound of this article, FIVE pounds of
corn or its equivalent in other vegetable
food, has to be employed. Suppose this
corn to be worth two cents per pound, it
costs ten cents to lay pound of flesh on
the back of an animal. Then take this
pound Of flesh and dry out all the rater
from 1t and you have about four ounces of
a material, which in point o. rea! nuiritial
value to tie human system, does no. ex-
ceed that Of fye ounces Of wheat, corn or
other grain, which you can procure for
little more than half cent. Here, then,
is your pound Of flesh, for which you will
pay eighteen cents, shown to contain no
more and no better nutriment than you
can obtain for less than cent from vege
table food. Why then do you eat flesh ??
"Because like it," says the honest, can
did, fesh-eater. Adopt a vegetarian diet,
my friends, and will promise you in less
than two months, you shall like the simple
fruits and seeds of the earth in all their
rich and abundant variety, ten times better
than you now like either the fesa or the
blood of an animal, The sense of liking
and disliking being entirely the result of
settled habit. Get settled in new aud
rational habit and you will get new and
pleasure. "Fix on that course of
life which is best" says Pythagoras. sand
custom will render it the most delightful"
The speaker went on to show, that
more scarce and expensive would flesh
meat become. That rise Of one cent
on pound Of corn must produce a rise Of
at least FIVE cents on pound of flesh, and
Of twenty cents on pound Of solid nu'ri-
ment obtained from flesh. That Wills,
solid, substantial, pure and wholesome
nutriment could be obtained from vege-
table food for from two to eight cents per
pound, the nutriment derived from ami
mails, with all their liabilities to disease.
cost from fifty cents to one dollar per
pounds of flesh being required
to produce one pound Of nutriment. A
very important difference in relation to
economy. He said he was ac-
quainted with vegetarian and his wife.
who out of an annual income of 500 as
school teachers, we're living in comfort and
in tho country, and yet lay
ing by $500 year, after paying rent and
all other expenses Of fliving. This seemed
incredible, but he could vouch for the
truth Of the statement, as it was q friend
not ten miles from Philadelphia.