Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1920-04-02
PUBLIC w ELFARE DEPT
BY Miss Margaret Thomas
Health Nurse
Foods That Feed or Foods That Fill
Hugh G. Van Pelt

IAteiiSIoH department Ulstue the state
ment that in the United States today
there are G,000.00O children suffering
from ailments dut to malnutrition
Nj. d. Num- stated that the average
consumption OF milk in Chicago is but
| two-thirds Of one pint and that in the
United States, including milk drank on
farms. it is only about one pint per day
per capita. He argued that for the
good Of city children a campaign
should be waged in the city schools to
| teach the value Of milk and the i'm
p0rtanCe of its use.
Then came a surprise. Miss Knowles
said why not in the country schools?'
| she said, Country children do not
drink milk
| The audience was amazed. In every
| section of the room there were those
| who would argue that country chill
dren do drink milk. But Miss Knowles
had her proof with her.
Miss Emily had very recently made
a survey in Madison county, Iowa.
was ready with figures and facts.
III one rural township she had found
that only II per cent of 126 children
drink any milk at all; 80 per cent
drank no milk.
Then the opposition argued that the
particular township and the particular
county were exceptions, but Miss
Knowles and Miss Emily. backed up
with practical investigation, insisted
that need for education regarding the
value Of milk was even greater in rural
communities and small towns than III
large cities
The discussion indicated that an
amazing condition of affairs exists in
some farm homes.
In explanation Miss Emily said one
woman told her that John separates
the milk. takes the milk to the hogs
and doesn't even leave enough for the
chickens. that COWS are kept to raise
the pigs which John considers the i'm
pOrtant things.
And then. Miss Knowles explained
further quoting from Miss Margaret
Baker. food specialist, that milk is
very abundant on farms but it is not
used abundantly because mothers fail
TO know the value of milk.
Miss Emily resumed with the asSer
ton that the use of milk must he
taught in rural communities and.
showing the possibility of good results
from such teachings, she stated that
in one community where teachings had
taken place. the children from 1876 fam
lilies were carrying milk TO school to
drink at lunch time where the children
from only two families were not doing
so.
It was acknowledged that Miss Emily
had won the argument when she con
Guided with the statement, IF our
rural families are going to have as
good children as they have pigs, they
must feed their children as we'll as
they do their pigs
We must admit that it is difficult for
us 10 convince ourselves that there are
many townships or many counties like
those in which these surveys have been
taken
1t pleases me to believe that the edu
cational propaganda that has appeared
in the columns of the Dairy Farmer has
led its reader to be their own best milk
customers.
I shall admit that our true desire was |
for our readers to encourage city and
small town families to use milk as they
should never imagining that we were
doing so large service in increasing
fl1tr1
1t never entered my mind that pro- |
,lucers of milk would SO little appre- |
ciate it's value that they would skimp
their children to feed their pigs.
II never entered my mind that milk
producers would sell the cheapest and
best animal product and purchase more
extensive and more inferior animal
products with which to supply their
own tables. | was appalled, to learn
that there are those who sell foods that
feed i'm order to buy foods that fill.
Now that | have at least an mixing
that such a condition may exist,
shall reiterate what one food expert has
saba quart of milk a day for every
child under six years: at least PINT
day thereafter until growth is com
pleted. and at least half pint for ev-
cry adult is essential.
Dir. Sherman. of Columbia Univer-
sity. has said that prolonged feeding
experiments prove milk to be vastly
sllperior to meat; that we can no
longer think of milk and meat as inter-
changeable or Of meat as full equiv
alent of milk in the diet. and that 1t
Becomes important for us to ascertain
whether the relative prominence III
Americas dietaries of meat on the one
hand and of milk Cor of milk, vege-
tables and fruits) on the other. are
such as our present knowledge OF nu-
tritive requirements would indicate as
desirable.
DR.. I.usk has said that the house
wife having a family of five to feed
should use three quarts of milk before
she buys a pound of meat.
DR.. McCollum has told us that we
could entirely dispense with meat
without suffering any i'll effects what
| u of mi