The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-11-06
IT Is A BOGUS BEEFSTEAk
But Nill, However, Contain All the
Elements Of q Tenderloin.
THE FOOD OF THE FUTURE
Grain Fields and Cattle Herds viii
Disappear Because Scientists VIII
Supply . Better and Cheaper
Form Of Nourishrncnt.

What will the man Of the future
cat?" The answer to this question has
been undertaken, not by an imaginative
writer, but by one of the greatest living
men Of science, Professor BerthelOt. of
Paris; and>it may be said at once that.
but for his scientific eminence and the
undeniable facts upon which he bases
his forecast It would pass the limits of
human belief. Thus writes Henry j.
w. Dam In McClure's Magazine. The
epicure of the future is to dine upon
artificial meat. artificial -four and ar
tiilcial vegetables; drink artificial wines
and liquors, and round OF his repast
with an artificial tobacco, besides which
the natural tobacco of the present will
seem poor indeed.
Wheat and Corn Fields to Disappear.
Wheat fields and corn fields are to
disappear from the face of the earth,
because flour and meal will no longer
be grown, but made. Herds of cattle,
flocks Of sheep, and droves Of swine
will cease to be bred. because beef and
mutton and pork will be manufactured
direct from their elements Fruit and
flowers will doubtless continue to be
grown as cheap decorative luxuries, but
no longer necessities OF food or orna-
ment There will be in the great air
trains of thefuture no grain or cattle or
coal cars, because the fundamental food
elements will exist everywhere and re-
quire no transportation. Coal will no
longer be dug, except perhaps with the
object of transforming 1t into bread or
meat. The engines of the great food
factories will be driven, not by artificial
combustion, but by the underlying heat
Of the globe. =
In order to clearly conceive these i'm
pending changes it must be remem-
bered that milk. eggs. flour, meat. ana,
indeed. all edibles consist almost en-
tirely (the percentage of other clements
Is very smalD of carbon, hydrogen. oNy-
gen and nitrogen. Oxygen and ny
drogen are the two gases which, when
combined. form water. oxygen ana
nitrogen mixed are the air we breathe.
Carbon forms the charcoal of wood. Is
the main constituent Of coal. and as
cerbonic acid gas in the air is the chief
food of the vegetable world. These four
clements. universally existing. are des-
tined to furnish all the food now grown
by nature, through the rapid and steady
advance Of synthetic chemistry.
synthetic Chemistry.
Synthetic chemistry Is the special
science which takes the elements of a
given compound, and induces them to
combine and form that compound. 1t
Is the reverse Of analytic chemistry,
which takes a given compound. and
associates and isolates it's elements.
Analytic chemistry would separate
water into oxygen and hydrogen, and
synthetic chemistry would take oxygen
and hydrogen. mix them, put a match
to the mixture, and thus form water.
For many years past synthetic chemis-
try has had an eager eye upon food
making. 1t has already progressed so
FAR that several great agricultural In
dustries have been destroyed by Its
advancement, compounds which were
once obtained by plant growth In the
fields being now entirely furnished by
chemical laboratories and u,rect manu-
facture. In fact the clear evidence Of
the present leads quite logically to the
chemistry will destroy all the great
AGRICULTURAL Industries. and put to new
uses the grain fields qnd cattle ranges
Of today.
Cheaper and Better Than Nature.
No man is more entitled to act as
q prophet in this field than Professor
Bcrthelot. II not the father, he Is
certainly the foster-father of synthetic
chemistry as special science. and for
nearly fifty years he has been one of
the leaders of the scientific army in
tno invasion OF strange regions. In
every wny open to grateful nation,
France has loaded him with honors.
do YOU mean to predict that all our
milk, eggs. meat and flour will In the
future be made in factories?" the pro-
fessor was asked.
''Why not. IT, It proves cheaper and
better to make the same materials than
to grow them. Tho first steps, and
you know that It Is always the first
step that costs. have already been
taken. 1t is many years, you must
remember. since first succeeded in
making fat direct from it's elements. I
do not say that we shall give you arti-
fetal beefsteaks at once, nor do say
that We shall ever give you the beef
steaks as we now obtain and cook it.
We shall give you the same Identical
food, however. chemically, digestively
and nutritively speaking It's form
will differ, because 1t will probably be
tablet. But 1t will be a tablet of any
color and shape that is desired, and
will, 1 think, entirely satisfy the epi-
curean senses of the future; for you
must remember that the beefstesk OF
today is not the most perfect of pic
lures either in color or composition.
The Development Of Foods.
ITO comprehend what I mean by
the tendency Of the time" continued
Professor Berthelot, " you must con-