The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-06-24
AMERICANS ARE
. BIGGEST EATERS
IN THE WORLD
Annual Cost Of Filling the Nations
Market Basket is .'3a
100000
DEMAND HIGHER PRICED FOOD
More Meat Eaten Here Than in
Other Countries-.-Alcohol
Big Item
DEMAND HIGHER PRICED FOOD

Washington, June 23--It costs in
round figures $4,000, 100000 year
to feed the American people,an am.
cunt just about equal to the annual
value of all the products of Uncle
Sans six and half million farms.
| There is no question that at the pres
ent time the average American eats
more food of higher quality and a
greater variety than the citizen OF
any other country. There is no
question either that he spends far
| more for his food supply than the
| resident of any other land, and that
the growth of his food budget has
been more rapid than the increase of
his wages, great as these have been
in many cases.
For several years the Bureau OF
Labor here collected information of
the expenditure for food in the homes
| of over two thousand working men
in different parts of the country
with incomes for about the average
for. their class. The growing pres
sure of the cost of living problem may
lbe seen in the steady increase in
the outlay of families for food from
1897 when it was trifle less than
$500 q year, to 1907, the last year
for which statistics were published,
when it had advanced to 1875. Since
1907 there has been ten per cent
further advance in food prices so
that the cost to the average work
ingman's household for food alone is
now presumably $410 a year APP
plying this to the whole country
would give the sum of $1,000, 900, 600
as food budget to which should be
added the surplus outlay of the ten
percent of the nations households
that spend double this amount in
furnishing their tables which would
give a total of slightly over eight
billions.
Exports Falling OFF.
That this estimate is roughly
accurate is shown by the fact that
it approximates so closely the total
value of food supplies produced in
the country. While it is true that
1885, 100000 worth of foodstuffs
were sold to foreign nations in 1911,
at the same time s353,000,000 was
spent for food supplies brought from
abroad leaving to Uncle Sans credit
only the meagre balance of $32 900,
900 on this score. In ten years our
exports of foodstuffs have fallen off
over so percent while exports under
the same heading have increased so
percent. II this movement continues
at the same rate as in the past it will
be only two years more for Uncle Sam
who once proudly boosted of feeding
the world" will have to call upon
other nations to help feed his own
people.
While the manner in which the
$400 expended by the family of the
average American toiler is distributed
varies greatly in different parts of
the country, it is possible to give
reasonable accurate estimates of some
of the chief items contributing to
the total.
1t is a familiar fact, for example,
that Americans are the greatest meat
eaters of the world. In great num-
Der of American families meat forms
some part Of every meal and in even
the poorest homes it appears on the
table for dinner at least, whereas a
family OF the same relative social
stratum in many European coun-
tries would not expect to eat meat
oftener than once week. In the
course of year the average Ameri-
can family consumes an amount or
beef representing the equivalent of
a yearling steer and the pork pro-
duet of an average sized pig besides
smaller quantities of poultry ami
mutton. In very few probably dos
not the amount of the annual meat
bill fall below $50. In addition 1t
takes the output of one mich COW to
supply each family with it's milk,
butter and cheese. The expense OF
this feature of the American diet
amounts to about $55 year for the
average family. an Investment in
dairy cattle of nearly billion doll
airs being required to supply thss
demand. With the western range
fast disappearing and the consume
ton of all these products increasing
at a rapid rate with growth Of