No matter what may happen, the demand for nourishing foods is sure to grow so long as the population increases. Railroads, steel, electricity—all are recent developments, none of them indispensable to mankind. But existence itself depends on nourishing foods.

“Then,” you say, “no business should be surer than that of supplying food to the growing population of America.”

Correct, provided you supply the right food.

For food standards are changing. Prove that fact, if you will, by the figures of the U. S. Census Bureau for the years 1900 and 1910, a period unaffected by the World War.

During that period the population of the United States increased from 75,091,575 to 91,972,266—an increase of virtually 223
10 per cent. Therefore, the production of any foodstuffs should increase by the same percentage during that period to provide for the same consumption per capita.

Has the consumption of beef increased during that period? Apparently not—for there were 8.7 per cent. less cattle on the farms in 1910 than in 1900. Nor was there any material increase in imports. That there was not a corresponding increase in the price of beef during this period, is indicated by the fact that the value of all cattle on American farms increased only 1.6 per cent. between 1900 and 1910—an increase only one-fourteenth as great as the increase in population.

There was a loss of 7.4 per cent. in the number of swine on American farms and a decrease of 14.7 per cent, in the number of sheep—the inevitable result of which loss while population was increasing to the extent of 223
10 per cent. was an increase in price per pound in pork, ham, bacon, mutton, etc., which automatically cut off a large part of the demand.

When urging the necessity for close study of the food problem, President Wilson pointed out the fact that during a ten-year period there had been a loss of 29 pounds of animal flesh per capita per year. With such a record it is obvious that some foods to replace meats must be found.

Why Spend Millions For Imported Nuts?

“We are annually importing between 60,000,000 and 70,000,000 pounds of nuts at a cost of between $12,000,000 and $13,000,000, while we export nuts worth less than a half million dollars. Why should we spend millions of dollars each year in buying nuts from foreign countries, when we can grow the pecan, the equal of any other nut, either native or foreign, in unlimited quantities?”—Congressional Record of the United States, Vol. 54, No. 27.