CHAPTER III

THE MEAT WE OUGHT TO SAVE


"Do not buy a pound of meat until you have bought three quarts of milk" is
a "war sign" pointing two ways. On the one hand it tells us that we need
to save meat; on the other, that we should encourage the production of
that most indispensable food--milk.

But what a revolution in some households if this advice is heeded!
Statisticians tell us that Americans have been consuming meat at the rate
of 171 pounds per capita per year, which means nearly half a pound apiece
every day for each man, woman, child, and infant in arms. Now, as mere
infants and some older folk have not had any, it follows that many of us
have had a great deal more. Did we need it? Shall we be worse off without
it? Meat is undeniably popular. In spite of the rising price and the
patriotic spirit of conservation, meat consumption goes on in many
quarters at much the usual rate. There is probably no other one food so
generally liked. It has a decided and agreeable flavor, a satisfactory
"chew," and leaves an after-sense of being well fed that many take as the
sign of whether they are well nourished or not. It digests well, even when
eaten rapidly, and perhaps partly for this reason is favored by the
hurried man of affairs. It is easy to prepare and hence is appreciated by
the cook, who knows that even with unskillful treatment it will be
acceptable and require few accessories to make an agreeable meal. Its rich