Evening star., 1940-04-08
Nutrition Experts
Praise Breakfast
Of Green Grass
Chemists Discover All
Essential Vitomins
In Animals Muinstoy
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star Star Correspondent.


CINCINNATI, April 8.-Some of
the worlds foremost nutrition ex-
perts are eating grass for break
fast.
Sure, It's the swellest way know
: to get my vitamin every morning" )"
declared a Department of Agricul-
ture official.
A grass bar" has been prepared
for use of the Canadian expedition
ary forces, but In its present form
has been found too sweet to flnd
favor with the soldiers.
Green grass contains plentiful
supplies of four or five vitamins es-
sential In human food, and two or
three others as yet unisolated which
work wonders in animal nutrition.
Among these is a green grass
factor" which promotes the growth
OF young animals and another factor
which overcomes sterility in rats
and rabbits under certain conditions,
and which now is being studied by
Department Of Agriculture chemists.
Chemists Stress Value.
The value of grass as a human
food containing most of the es-
sentials of balanced diet was
stressed before the American Chem
ical Society, meeting here last night,
by two Kansas City commercial
chemists, Drs. G.. c. Kohler and C.
F. Schnabel. The company with
which they are associated is pre-
pairing several grass foods the man.
ufacturing processes of which are
protected by rigid patents. They
spoke, however, on the general
chemical problem of grass utiliza-
ton which, it was learned, has re-
Gently been given considerable at
tention in Government laboratories
and in other laboratories through
out the world.
There is no question, Government
chemists say, but that unrivaled
food values are in grass. The prob
lem has been to get men to eat
grass and to prepare it in forms in
which 1t will be palatable to them.
For other than grass-eating animals,
however, it is not considered COM
plete food.
Human beings at times have
shown an abnormal craving for
grass, and this has always been con-
sidered evidence of brain malady.
The first reported case was that of
Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testa-
ment. This may, chemists pointed
out today, be some deep-seated
physical craving.
Wealth For Poor.
Scientific utilization of grass as a
human food, it was stressed, holds
promise of making possible for the
poor family diets richer in vitamins
than now are enjoyed by the
wealthy. Drs. Kohler and Schnabel
presented the following comparative
food tables for green grass leaves:
vitamin A, 100000 international
units, compared to 1000 for pota-
toes and sweet potatoes, 1900 for
tomatoes and citrus fruits, $4,000
for leafy green and yellow vegetables
and 1890 for other fruits and veg
etables.
4 Vitamin B one, 300 international
units, compared to $50 for potatoes,
160 for tomatoes and citrus fruits,
$50 for green and yellow vegetables
and 10 for other fruits and veg
etables.
Vitamin G, the scurvy preventa-
tive, $4,000, as compared with 1000
for the next richest source, tomatoes
and citrus fruits. This is especially
significant because of the claim that
a low-grade scuryy is especially
prevalent among the poor in the
United States.
Vitamin G, 11,OO0 international
units, compared to 500 for the next
richest source, green and yellow
vegetables.
Contains All Vitamins.
Recent studies, the chemists said,
have shown that grass prepared
under their own process contains all
the Htamins, both known and un-
known, necessary to support normal,
rapid growth of laboratory animals.
Government figures, they said, show
that liberal human diet calls for
$50 pounds of fruits and vegetables
annually, exclusive Of potatoes.
This is nearly double, they said,
what the average person eats.
IF we all ate on the liberal
SCALE" they said, as, ,OO0, ,0OO, 900 more
pounds of fruits and vegetables