South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-11-25

The very first step in food conservation is
10 take inventory Of national resources What
Ioods Is the country producing in abundance?
VI what crops is there - shortage? What are
the imported foodstuffs which the housekeAper
must not buy because ii will take gold out ~
our own country and give it to other nations?
These facts and others concerning the food
supply, which now interest on.y technical ex-
perts and statisticians. should be simpliaed
and made Of practical value TO every house
wife in the country. The scope of such work
should cover the following points:
Educating the housekeeper to greater
thrift, and the reduction OF waste in
food preparation
spreading information about the avail.
able food supply. the crops, imports
of foodstuffs and manufactured
products
3-Encouraging the use OF substitutes for
those foods on which there Is
shortage which import
from other countries.
4-Investigating possibilities for growing
here new foods, and foods which
now imported
5-Standardizing recipes for food prepare
ton In large amounts. at lowest cost
Of ingredients, fuel, etc.
6-Training social service lecturers to talk
on economy and preparation for
hardship
Training OF young women in army
dietetics with a view to their assist
ing the government.
Much OF the information secured on food
economy and preparation could be issued in
cheap bulletins by the Government. Sugges
tiOns for eliminating waste, the use of cheap
recipes. and better methods in food purchasing
must reach the housewife. If there is to be
true national economy This is exactly what
is being done In Germany to-day, where il is
we'll recognized that on the housewives thrift
and ingenuity depend largely, the strength OF
military resistance. That government goes so
far as to show even the economical German
housefrau what she can do with potato parings
and how she can substitute potato and mex.
pensive fOurs for the precious wheat, working
cut for her cheaper formulate for her bread
recpesl
Again, this "womans National Defense
League could stimulate interest in the pos
sibility of growing in this country foods which
are n0-r imported. Just as Edison is working
10 discover chemicals and products to
place those made inaccessible by war. so there
should be experiments in growing and dis
covering foods. This would be easily
developed by an advisory board with such men
as Luther Burbank working with the Depart
ment or Agriculture and with the women, who
know best the housewives needs For in
stance. lentils, one or the most nutritious or
the legumes, and comparable TO meat. formerly
sold at and cents pound. To-day they
retail In this country at Is cents because they
can no longer be imported Yet there is no
incentive given 10 our. dealers in the South
west section who are already growing them.
The use OF cottonseed and other vegetable oils
could be widely increased IL women knew that
by so doing they would assist the Govern
ment TO be self-sustaining. Sun-hower oil is
used widely IN Russia and Germany finds that
willow bark is good substitute for the cot
ton which unable TO sell her. Many OF
native plants. considered useless,
could De experimental with and made 10 fur
nish new foods for human or animal oonsump-