Lower coast gazette., 1914-02-14

h.f. in the ~t;ss,es which they furnish as
food to mar; the great bulk Of what has been
consumed has become lost in the processes OF
animal life during the long periods Of growth
and maintenance before the animal food pro-
ducts can be marketed. To appreciate this, one
need only consider the enormou amounts OF
vegetable food necessary to produce the flesh OF
human consumption. A COW eats a liberal plant
ration daily during several years before she is
ready for the market.
It is evident that it would be an advantage
if man could utilize more directly the energy
which he now secures only after it has been
converted by animals into the forms that suit
his preferences. Our vegetarian friends will at
once remind us, says the Journal of the An1eri-
can Medical Association, that it has repeatedly
been found quite compatible with health and
happiness to provide for human n%utritive needs
directly and entirely from the plant kingdom.
Hitherto the contributions of the plant world to
the human dietary have consisted Of the parts
of plants which serve as storage d%epots-as re-
serve supplies for subsequent growth. Seeds,
roots, tubers and fruits represent the chief types
Of plant products which find their way into the
ration of mankind. These are by no meals we'll
adapted for food; but the progress OF science
and the industries and the ingenuity Of the do
nestle arts have little by little so improved the
form in which such materials as cereals, nuts,
etc., are presented for human consumption, that
their utilization has become greatly enhanced.
Processes for grinding, cooking and baking are
not natural operations; they have been evolved
by the genius of man so that he might readily
take advantage of the energy which nature has
stored up. The indigestibility of raw" starch
as in the potato, is overcome by cooking; the
resistance Of grains to digestion is minimized
by grinding and cooking. The struggle to
wrest energy from plant products has been a
long one.
There are other plants which animals use
freely, but which mankind has not yet employ
ed. The green parts of plants, rich in food
material contain so much cellulose that they can
be utilized only to a small degree and with enor-
nous waste. We may soften them by cooking
and mastication, without liberating their food
stuffs TO any extent.
1t has long been believed that it may be pos
sible to utilize green vegetables so as to render
them more available for digestion and assirn-
ilation by man. Some experiments in this d.
rection have recently been carried on in Germ
any. The outcome has been decidedly crafty
ing and may pave the way for useful innova-
tons in the use Of vegetable foods. It has been
found that bean powder fed to man in the form
Of a PURGE contains far more nourishment than
string-beans served in the usual form. Spinach
carrots, cabbage, ETC., similarly prepared, were
enjoyed with singular freedom from the trouble
some intestinal symptoms which so often follow
their use. The usefulness Of these plant pro-
ducts appears to have been augmented by their
preliminary treatment. A group Of vegetable
products has thus been converted into a source
Of nutriment. The efficiency here recorded is
rendered the more striking by the report from
the Altoona clinic that 10 ounces per day Of
vegetable powder, equivalent to 6 pounds Of
fresh plant, may be easily assimilated-an
amount which in the natural state could not be
tolerated. Possibly by suitable preparation,
such plant products as grasses, which have
hitherto been excluded from the dietary Of man,
may yet be used as direct sources of energy in
human nutrition.