Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-13

made by the cattle raisers. They
realized the fact that meat, ane
especially beef, is a fighting man.
natural diet. 1t gives then
strength and stamina to withstand
the hardships of military life. Tx
ask the people to eat less mea'
during the war SO that our fight
ing men in the field could have
more meat was all right. The mer
in the cattle industry made no OBJ
lection to that sort Of propaganda
But the government did not stop al
that or rely on the patriotic argu'
ments. They sought to convey tc
the public that they would be bet
ter off if they eat less meat. They
told them that they would be more
healthy, and attributed to exces-
sive consumption of meat certain
diseases which had nothing to do
with meat eating, such as kidney
diseases. It is now conceded that
such statements were without any
foundation in fact or in science.
In fact such propaganda was false
There was also a still larger
amount of propaganda put forth
through government agencies and
through schools that taught domes-
tic science, based on the economic
advantage of substituting beans,
peas and other vegetables rich in
nitrogen for meats. From a chem
ical standpoint this was true. If
the nitrogen content of a pound of
beef is the only valuable food pro-
duced in beef, then it is probably
true that such nitrogen can be
more economically obtained from
beans or other heterogeneous vegeta-
bles. AS a matter of fact it could
be obtained still cheaper by eat
ing alfalfa hay. But we would not
advise our readers to substitute
hay for beefsteaks in their diet.
There was a good deal Of foolish
and false propaganda sent out by
various governmental agencies
with the purpose of reducing the
home consumption of meat. Of
ourse the high price of meat dur
ing the war and Immediately after
wards helped this propaganda
along. There was also the vege-
tartan faddists to cooperate with
the government propaganda
against meat consumption. The
result of this persistent propagan-
da against meat eating, encouraged
by the government and aided by
high prices, was to reduce the an
nual consumption OF meat in the
United States by something like
twenty-five pounds per capita. The
export demand also fell off be-
cause the emergency tariff pre-
vented foreign nations buying our
meats unless they had gold to pay
for them. AS a result meat prices
have declined to a price where there
is not profit for the grower, and
Secretary Wallace of the depart
ment of agriculture is now anxious
to undo the harm to the meat in
dustry that this government cam
paign has done them. A recent
Associated Press dispatch quotes
him as saying: Many persons still
hold to the belief, which vas large
ly the outgrowth of unfair and mis-
guided propaganda, that meat is not
healthy. Medical science has prov
en- over and over that a large num-
Der Of ills once charged against
meat eating are due to infection Of
teeth, tonsils and other organs"
Secretary Wallace has called a
conference of the experts Of his
department to consider ways and
means of encouraging the con-
of meat by the people in
this country. 1t is not an easy task
to undo the harm done by this false
war propaganda. IF the secretary
could induce congress to pass laws
that would make it possible to lind
a market abroad for the surplus
meat that the people at home have
been taught not to eat, there would
be a more speedy and practical
benefit follow to the meat pro-
ducers. But that is not possible
as long as all means of paying for
our meat surplus with foreign
goods is denied. The foreigners
no prejudice against meat as
a diet. They would use lots of it
if they could get it and pay for it.
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