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 Japanese 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 ship. A POUND OF
ANY FAT GIVES 2¼ 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, butter, 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 pass more slowly from the stomach and delay the passage of foods
eaten with them. A slice of bread and butter 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 appetite 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 butter, beef fat which is a constituent 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 SHIP 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, butter, 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 butter 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 butter 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 quantities and now England uses twice as much margarine as
butter. But even with the margarine to help out, there is but little
to go around. The weekly ration of butter 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 butter 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 3¼ 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 butter 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
shipping about one-third of the lard which we produce, and large
quantities of oleo oil for oleomargarine. Although the exports of
butter 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 shipping 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 ship the solid animal fats.
_The Individual's Part in Fat Conservation_. Although at present
there is butter 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.