The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1914-09-11
AMERICA MUST
CHANGE her DIET
Large Population Causes Re-
duCtIOn In Amount Of Meat.
CORN MAY Be USED MORE.

Hundred Years Population Of coun-
try Will Be 5oo,ooo,ooo.
New York.-The diet OF Americans
will be changed rapidly. as the growing
population presses upon the food sup
ply, but 1t will not be necessary for us
to become entirely vegetarian. This
Is the conclusion reached by Professor
]. +. Lyman OF the Ohio State uni
yersity after study of the available
food supply of this country, published
in Popular Science.
There was no food problem in this
country two generations ago, when fish
were plentiful. pigeons, deer, wild
turkeys, waterfowl. quail and buffalo
were abundant and wild berries, fruit
and nuts could be obtained easily and
In large quantities. With the growth
of population. however. game practical
ly has disappeared and very small
part of the country's food is supplied
by uncultivated plants and trees. DIR.
Lyman says:
"If the present rate of increase con-
tinues the population of the United
States will approximate 500,000,000 at
the end of the present century. Is 1t
possible to feed that number of persons
on the product of our 100000 square
miles? China and India both support
population as dense. but both of these
countries are distinctly agricultural.
The mass of people live on the land
o nd n re NM eyad fr rrn6nnfnor fnnd In,
this country the great increase in popu-
lation is in the cities. while the food
producing class is increasing compara-
lively slowly. The reports on agricul-
tural products exported from the
United States illuminate the food prob
lem in an instructive way. If we COM
pare the exports in 1912 with those for
1900 we find that the amount of cheese
shipped abroad declined s. per cent in
that period, beef products declined G5
per cent. pork products declined 30
per cent, corn declined so per cent.
wheat declined 81 per cent.
what do these figures tell? Simply
that we have needed the food at home
to supply our increasing millions and
hence had less to sell in the markets of
the world. Can we continue to feed our
people by reducing the exports in food
stuffs? Obviously not. and in many
instances they have been reduced al
ready near the vanishing point. We
have even actually begun to import
meat and corn. 1t is significant also
that free government land suitable for
agricultural purposes is no longer avail
able; hence we cannot look for relief
by bringing under the plow large tracts
Of virgin soil.
rs there likely. then, to be scarcity
OF food in this country in the near
future? No. there is and will be plenty
of food, but some changes in dietaries
undoubtedly will have to be made.
Let US notice. In 1910 for every man,
woman and child in the United States
there was produced seven bushels of
wheat, thirty-two bushels of corn, four
bushels of potatoes and forty pounds
of sugar. There were six-tenths cattle
for each person. six-tenths sheep and
seven-tenths swine. Add to this the
fruits. vegetables, poultry and dairy
products, oats and other small grains
aud we see that there is plenty of food
to go around and to spare.
There was grown in the United
States in 1912 corn which. il assembled
in one immense field, might have COW
cred Germany or France entirely with
its rustling phalanx. How many mil
lions might be nourished by the prod
ne frar lone
is great source of food at present
utilized in very slight degree.
"FOod has two primary functions In
the body-frst. to supply material out
Of which the body is built and, second,
to furnish energy to warm the body
and to drive its machinery. Perhaps
the second function is the more i'm
portant. Plants alone have the power
to collect solar energy and store 1t up
in latent or dormant form In their
seeds and other parts. Animals may,
by eating and digesting these plant
materials. liberate and utilize this
stored up energy. When corn is fed
to steers Under favorable conditions 3
per cent of the energy Of the corn may
be recovered as meat In the edible por-
ton of the carcass. The remaining 97
per cent was used by the animal In
its various activities and lost as far as
the nutrition of man is concerned. In
pork the recovered portion amounts to
16 per cent. and with the dairy cow Is
per cent Of the energy OF the food is
found in the milk produced. Obviously
this is wasteful process, this con-
version of grain into meat and milk.
It has its justification only in the great
er palatabIlity and digestibility of the
final products.
"Dr. Armsby of the Pennsylvania
experiment station draws the conclu-
sion: All the edible products which
the farmers acres can yield will be
needed for human consumption, and
the function of the stock feeder in Il
permanent system of agriculture will
be to utilize those inedible products
In which so large share OF the solar
energy is held and to render mt least
- lok lalN In fav haN