FOOD OR FEED OR FABRIC

Food or Feed in a Period of Change

W. D. Ramage.

Before undertaking an analysis of the current use of farm goods as food and feed, it may be useful to review the changes in the Nation's food habits, because they are the basis for our present agricultural pattern.

During the latter part of the eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth, Americans generally ate plenty of food but, even on the farms, they did not have a diet that in the light of modern knowledge could be considered good. Corn was the main cereal. Pork was the principal meat. Small use was made of milk, vegetables, or fresh fruit.

A few persons agitated for the increased use of natural foods, but made little progress because of the difficulties in keeping fruits, vegetables, and milk in satisfactory condition during distribution. The dearth of those foods was especially marked in the cities because of inadequate transportation facilities. The introduction of refrigerators helped to relieve the shortage.

The development of railroad transportation in the middle of the nineteenth century made fresh foods much more available. One of the most important forward steps was the invention of the refrigerator car. Commercial cold storage of perishable foods was first tried just before the Civil War began.

Canned foods gradually assumed a more important place in the diet. Canned fruits, vegetables, and milk were supplied to the armies in the Civil War. After the war, canned goods became generally available in the retail stores.

Except in a few backward areas, the use of protective foods greatly increased in the period following the Civil War, with a corresponding improvement in the general health. The national diet shifted toward more varied foods. An important contributing factor was the lowering of food costs in relation to wages. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth, many further improvements were made in the methods of food production and handling. Dairy herds were tested for tuberculosis. The meat supply was more carefully inspected. The use of preservatives was regulated. Laws were passed against adulteration of foods. The concept of scientific analysis of the diet began to develop. Several investigators studied the protein and carbohydrate needs of humans under various living conditions. The distinction between complete and incomplete proteins was established. It was shown that only animal proteins contain all the essential building blocks for a complete protein diet and that some animal protein is ordinarily needed in the diet to maintain good health. The importance of calcium, iron, and phosphorus in the diet was shown. Scientific evidence on vitamins began to develop.

But the dietary improvement during this period was partly offset by the increased use of refined foods that resulted from the advances in processing technology. White flour, for example, came to be preferred over whole-wheat. Despite greater knowledge on the subject, some economists and even nutritionists still objected to fruits and vegetables because of their relative high cost. With such difference of opinion, wide variations in both quantity and quality of food in different areas were inevitable.

During the First World War, rationing, public education, and war gardens effected conservation of the food supply. They further raised the average person's level of diet. More people became aware that certain foods supply large amounts of such health-protecting elements as vitamins and minerals. The proportion of the family food budget for protective foods increased to about 40 percent, from approximately 10 percent in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Increases in stature and health resulted from this better diet, especially in the upper economic level of wage earners. As late as 1929, however, the production of protective foods was inadequate for the whole population. The increased use of refined cereals contributed to the deficiency. The protective elements removed in the refining processes were riot always supplied in sufficient quantities by other protective foods in the diet. The addition of vitamins and minerals to those products had not yet begun. Public education on the use of protective foods was advanced by spectacular cures of deficiency diseases in certain areas by the use of milk, fresh meat, fruit, and leafy vegetables.

Adequacy of diet suffered in some respects during the depression years. Milk consumption fell below the level of the 1920's. Distribution of surplus agricultural commodities through relief channels was successful on the whole in preventing widespread malnutrition. Farm diets were generally good, as a result of home canning.

The minimum annual cost of an adequate diet in 1932 was approximately 100 dollars a person; even that was too high for many large nonfarm families whose incomes were low. The purchase and distribution of surplus commodities by relief agencies continued even in the late 1930's; surplus farm products were distributed under the food-stamp program. The school-lunch program also contributed materially to improvement in the general adequacy of the diet.