From a consideration of the above argrrments, we arrive at
some most important conclusions of a social and political natrrre.
With the facts of the compositiorr of food before us, and the
knowledge that the nutriment to be derived from the flesh of
animals is only vegetable nrrtriment taken in a secondary way,
we can readily see that the ordinary impression of the necessity
of mixing the flesh of animals with food to heighten its nrrti'itive
qualities, and, iir popular phrase, ‘ ‘ making it go farther, is
altogether fallacious. We fiird, for instance, in appealing to the
facts of the composition of food, that the economic question of
“ what does it cost to produce 100 lb. ^yeight of the blood of the
body from the various articles of food in ordinary consumption ?
is answered in a way altogether condemnatory of flesh as food,
when the cost of relying upon the nutriment of flesh is com-
pared with that of the identical elements of nutriment derived
from vegetable products, as may be readily observed on an in-
spection of the following calculations.
OontAining :
Supplying :
Cost of supply-
ing 100 lb. of Flesh
to tlie Body.
Articles of Diet
Solid
matter.
Water.
Fleah.formltig
principle.
Price per
lOU lb.
per cent.
per cent
per cent
t I. d.
£ $. d.
Beans
80 -0
... 14-0
... 81-0 ...
0 6 Hi
... 1 2 0
Peas
84 0
... 100
... 290 ...
0 6 8
... 1 2 Hi
Lentils
84-0
.. 100
... 83 0 ...
0 16 01
... 2 8 8
■Wheat-meal ...
85 5
... 14-5
... 21-0 ...
0 12 6
.. 2 19 6i
Barley-meal ...
84-5
... 15-5
... 14-0 ...
0 8 Oi
... 3 1 li
Oat-raeal
910
... 90
... 120 ...
0 10 10
... 4 10 Si
Buteher's meat
36-6
... 63.4
... 21-5 ...
2 10 0
... 11 12 6i
12
INTRODUCTION.
We see from these statements, that 100 lb. of the flesh of the
body can be derived from beans, for £1 2s. %d. ; 100 lb. from
peas, for £1 2s. ll^rf. ; and 100 lb. from lentils, for £2 8s. 8rf. ;
while the same amount of flesh-forming principle {identical, as
we have shown it to be, in all these various kinds of food, and
originating in vegetable food), if taken from beef, or the average
of butcher’s meat, at Qd. per lb. will cost £11 12s. &^d.
It is needless to carry our remarks upon this most available
argument in support of the Vegetarian system much farther
than the statistics already presented of themselves cany ic. We
look, however, upon this feature, in its political and economic
aspects, as one of the most important that can possibly engage
the attention, from the moment that the question of the resour-
ces of a country and the feeding of the masses of the people is
taken into consideration. Sir Richard Phidlips, in his
“Million of Facts,” shows that without the cultivation of the
thirty millions of acres of waste land in Great Britain, and with
the resources of agriculture as they then stood, that two hundred
and fifty millions of inhabitants could be maintained on vege-
table products, whilst eighty millions only could be fed on flesh
and vegetables. Other calculations more favourable to our argu-
ment could be introduced ; but all consideration of the subject
leads to the conclusion, that abundance is ever produced on the
one system, while the other as naturally tends to scarcity and
want, and even to the depopulation of certain districts, as seen
in the “sheep-walks” of Scotland, where, from the demand for
mutton, the inhabitants have been dri
Page 8
Presented as published in 1891. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A modernized reading is not available for this page yet. You are seeing the original text.
From a consideration of the above argrrments, we arrive at
some most important conclusions of a social and political natrrre.
With the facts of the compositiorr of food before us, and the
knowledge that the nutriment to be derived from the flesh of
animals is only vegetable nrrtriment taken in a secondary way,
we can readily see that the ordinary impression of the necessity
of mixing the flesh of animals with food to heighten its nrrti'itive
qualities, and, iir popular phrase, ‘ ‘ making it go farther, is
altogether fallacious. We fiird, for instance, in appealing to the
facts of the composition of food, that the economic question of
“ what does it cost to produce 100 lb. ^yeight of the blood of the
body from the various articles of food in ordinary consumption ?
is answered in a way altogether condemnatory of flesh as food,
when the cost of relying upon the nutriment of flesh is com-
pared with that of the identical elements of nutriment derived
from vegetable products, as may be readily observed on an in-
spection of the following calculations.
OontAining :
Supplying :
Cost of supply-
ing 100 lb. of Flesh
to tlie Body.
Articles of Diet
Solid
matter.
Water.
Fleah.formltig
principle.
Price per
lOU lb.
per cent.
per cent
per cent
t I. d.
£ $. d.
Beans
80 -0
... 14-0
... 81-0 ...
0 6 Hi
... 1 2 0
Peas
84 0
... 100
... 290 ...
0 6 8
... 1 2 Hi
Lentils
84-0
.. 100
... 83 0 ...
0 16 01
... 2 8 8
■Wheat-meal ...
85 5
... 14-5
... 21-0 ...
0 12 6
.. 2 19 6i
Barley-meal ...
84-5
... 15-5
... 14-0 ...
0 8 Oi
... 3 1 li
Oat-raeal
910
... 90
... 120 ...
0 10 10
... 4 10 Si
Buteher's meat
36-6
... 63.4
... 21-5 ...
2 10 0
... 11 12 6i
12
INTRODUCTION.
We see from these statements, that 100 lb. of the flesh of the
body can be derived from beans, for £1 2s. %d. ; 100 lb. from
peas, for £1 2s. ll^rf. ; and 100 lb. from lentils, for £2 8s. 8rf. ;
while the same amount of flesh-forming principle {identical, as
we have shown it to be, in all these various kinds of food, and
originating in vegetable food), if taken from beef, or the average
of butcher’s meat, at Qd. per lb. will cost £11 12s. &^d.
It is needless to carry our remarks upon this most available
argument in support of the Vegetarian system much farther
than the statistics already presented of themselves cany ic. We
look, however, upon this feature, in its political and economic
aspects, as one of the most important that can possibly engage
the attention, from the moment that the question of the resour-
ces of a country and the feeding of the masses of the people is
taken into consideration. Sir Richard Phidlips, in his
“Million of Facts,” shows that without the cultivation of the
thirty millions of acres of waste land in Great Britain, and with
the resources of agriculture as they then stood, that two hundred
and fifty millions of inhabitants could be maintained on vege-
table products, whilst eighty millions only could be fed on flesh
and vegetables. Other calculations more favourable to our argu-
ment could be introduced ; but all consideration of the subject
leads to the conclusion, that abundance is ever produced on the
one system, while the other as naturally tends to scarcity and
want, and even to the depopulation of certain districts, as seen
in the “sheep-walks” of Scotland, where, from the demand for
mutton, the inhabitants have been dri