Part 4 (1/2)
CHAPTER V
FATS
To a person who has been in Europe since the war began the question of the importance of fats is no longer debatable. Having practically gone without them, he knows they are important. In Germany it is the lack of fat that is the cause, perhaps, of the most discomfort and makes the German most dissatisfied with his rations. Even when the diet was sufficient, it was not satisfactory if low in fat.
This dependence on fat in the diet is due to several reasons, both physiological and psychological. Some people, the j.a.panese for example, habitually eat but little. But it is the habit of both Europeans and Americans to use considerable fat both on the table and in cooking. The taste of food is not so pleasing without it. Their recipes almost all use fat in one form or another, so that when little or none is available, a change must be made in most of the methods of cooking. Practically all food must be boiled, and is lacking in the flavor and texture to which we are accustomed. The food, no matter how nutritious it may be, will not taste good.
Fats are very concentrated food, a fact which gives them added value in war-time, making them the most economical food to s.h.i.+p. A POUND OF ANY FAT GIVES 2 TIMES AS MUCH ENERGY AS A POUND OF SUGAR--the reason for the slogan ”Fats Are Fuel for Fighters.” Soldiers engaged in the most strenuous physical activities need fuel for all the energy they expend. Bacon, b.u.t.ter, all the forms of fat give them the most energy in the smallest weight of food.
Fats stave off the feeling of hunger longer than other foods because they pa.s.s more slowly from the stomach and delay the pa.s.sage of foods eaten with them. A slice of bread and b.u.t.ter will ”satisfy” one for a much longer time than a slice of bread and jelly, even though there is enough jelly to give exactly the same amount of fuel. In the countries in which there is a fat shortage, the appet.i.te does not stay satisfied during the usual period between meals, even when the previous meal contained the customary amount of calories. The feeling of hunger is sometimes almost constant.
Certain fats are valuable for an entirely different reason. Milk fat, either in the milk or as b.u.t.ter, beef fat which is a const.i.tuent of oleomargarine, the fat in the yolk of egg, all contain one of the vitamines needed by children in order to grow properly, and by grown people to keep in good health. Lard and the vegetable fats and oils, like nut or vegetable margarine and cottonseed-oil, do not contain this substance, but if there is sufficient milk in the diet, there will be plenty of this ”fat-soluble vitamine.” In all other respects the fats are alike from a nutritional standpoint. One fat can replace another without harm.
Until the war came there was little need of knowing or bothering as to what kind of fats we ate, or of concerning ourselves with the fact that many more varieties were available than most of us used. Now it does make a decided difference. OUR ARMIES AND THOSE OF THE ALLIES NEED FAT, A GREAT DEAL OF IT, AND WE MUST s.h.i.+P THEM THE KIND MOST SUITED TO THEIR PURPOSES. WE CAN USE WHAT THE ALLIES AND THE ARMY DO NOT NEED.
THE SITUATION ABROAD
There is a shortage of the animal fats, lard, b.u.t.ter, and oleomargarine for the same reasons, of course, that cause the meat shortage. England, particularly recently, has had very little, less even than the French and Italians, who are not accustomed to using much.
England was the largest b.u.t.ter importer in the world, getting her supply mostly from northwestern Europe, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, and Holland. Russia can no longer supply her. Neither can the neutrals, who have been supplying Germany under pressure; they need Germany's coal. Although the United States has increased her b.u.t.ter exports to the United Kingdom, if our entire exports went to them, it would supply only 6 per cent of the amount needed.
To help the situation, England has greatly increased her manufacture of oleomargarine. Oleo oil and vegetable oils are being imported in large quant.i.ties and now England uses twice as much margarine as b.u.t.ter. But even with the margarine to help out, there is but little to go around. The weekly ration of b.u.t.ter and margarine is one-fourth of a pound per person, and at times even that amount has not been available. In April an American newspaper man in London reported that he had forgotten what b.u.t.ter tasted like. It could only be obtained on the farms, and even those who made it were strictly limited in the amount that they could keep themselves. Not even margarine could be served at luncheon or dinner. There were long queues in front of the shops before the distribution was better systematized. At present the total amount of fat in the diet is increased somewhat by the allowance of bacon and ham.
In Germany the fat shortage, has been so severe that, combined with the bread shortage, it has been the greatest cause of food riots.
Before the war the Germans imported about half their supply, most of which is now cut off. Of course, the vegetable oils from the United States and the tropics are not available. The neutrals have had to lessen their exports because of their own shortage, and the embargo which the United States laid on its exports of fats to neutrals.
Germany's inability to feed her animals has greatly curtailed her supply of animal fats.
As a result the rations have been decreasing steadily in spite of every effort. Bones are collected and the fat extracted. Seeds, such as those of the sunflower, and the kernels of fruit have the oil pressed from them. During 1915-16 the rations varied from 3 ounces to 10 ounces of table fat a week. By December, 1917, it had been decreased, so that the average total fat ration was a little under 3 ounces a week, some communities receiving a little more, and others none at all. The local newspapers give interesting side-lights showing the results of this shortage. An owner of a boot-shop was prosecuted by the police for having 70 pairs of good shoes which he would sell only in exchange for b.u.t.ter or bacon. (_Brunswick Volksfreund_, January 16, 1918.)
THE SITUATION IN THE UNITED STATES
The United States has great resources of vegetable oils, cottonseed, peanut, corn, and olive oil. It is this apparent plenty that makes it so difficult for many to visualize the shortage abroad. We are s.h.i.+pping about one-third of the lard which we produce, and large quant.i.ties of oleo oil for oleomargarine. Although the exports of b.u.t.ter in 1917 have almost been doubled since the preceding fiscal year, it is relatively unimportant, representing only about 1 per cent of the production. We are s.h.i.+pping cottonseed oil also, but this requires tank-steamers, which are scarce. In general, as the oils are much more difficult to handle and impossible for the armies to use, we must s.h.i.+p the solid animal fats.
_The Individual's Part in Fat Conservation_. Although at present there is b.u.t.ter and lard on the market, the need for conserving it is important, just as in the case of meat. WASTE OF ANY KIND SHOULD BE ABHORRENT TO ALL OF US AT THIS TIME. There probably has been a greater waste of fat than of any other commodity, but it is encouraging to note that this waste has been decreased by conservation. The amount of fat in city garbage has gone down all over the country. In Columbus, Ohio, the fat in the garbage was almost 50 per cent less in 1917 than in 1916. In fourteen large cities with a total population of over 5,000,000 nearly 40 per cent less fat was recovered in March, 1918, than in March, 1917.
Not only can fat be saved by carefully avoiding every bit of waste, but less can actually be used. FRY FOOD LESS, AND BAKE, BROIL, OR BOIL THEM MORE. USE VEGETABLE OILS. In a long view of the food situation, it is the animal fats that cause gravest concern, because of the years necessary to build up a herd. WE MUST SEND AS MUCH FAT ABROAD AS POSSIBLE, AND CREATE RESERVES FOR PERIODS OF SHORTAGE WITH A MINIMUM DEPLETION OF OUR HERDS.
CHAPTER VI
SUGAR
OF ALL THE FOODS WHICH IT IS NECESSARY TO CONSERVE, SUGAR IS THE EASIEST TO DO WITHOUT. If the war and what it means has become part of a person's consciousness, he wishes only the bare essentials. Sugar is a luxury of former times which has become a commonplace to-day.
The average use in the United States was 83 pounds per person last year--1-2/3 pounds a week--less than one hundred years ago the yearly consumption was 9 pounds. Sugar was a rare luxury. It will do no harm to regard it so again.