Millions from Waste

by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

The original issue comprised 1 lb. of bread and ³⁄₄ lb. of meat per man per day, because, in accordance with the long-established peace-time procedure of the army, which was continued after the outbreak of war, the national upkeep of the fighting man involved the supply of only these two staples. Whatever else the soldier fancied he had to purchase for himself, in which direction he was assisted by his messing allowance of 7¹⁄₂d. (15 cents) per day. When the matter was investigated it was learned that this issue was in excess of the average man’s actual needs. Nevertheless the full ration of meat was generally cooked, the soldier consuming as much as he desired, while what he left over was relegated to the swill-tub. It was the same with the bread, the residue likewise being discarded to this convenient receptacle. Consequently the first move was to adapt the rations to the soldier’s consuming powers.

It was also discovered that considerable waste arose from the indifferent manner in which the meat was prepared and cooked. The tastes of the men, especially of the recruits to the New Armies, varied very widely according to the social scales from which they had been drawn. But while the men from the higher ranks of life were not fastidious they did at least demand the skilful and appetizing presentation of their food. If the meat were indifferently cooked it was simply left untouched to find its way to the swill-tub.

Accordingly, it was decided to improve the military cuisine forthwith. The kitchen service was severely overhauled, only the most competent and expert cooks being retained in this service. In pre-war days the army maintained only one Cookery School—at Aldershot—from which all military cooks graduated. But as the armies grew in millions this solitary university proved hopelessly inadequate. Accordingly, cookery schools were established in each command while a totally new curriculum was introduced.

The cookery school became the “key” to the whole situation. It not only became the nursery where the autocrats of the field-kitchen were raised, but it was the hive in which many little wrinkles were learned, where new ideas were submitted to initial test and practice, to be adopted throughout the armies if they established their value, and where economies were subjected to exacting trial for widespread application upon issuing unscathed from the ordeals to which they were imposed. The improvement in the personnel, training, and methods of the men in charge of the field hotels proved successful in another direction. Higher efficiency and contentment among the troops were recorded, for the simple reason that a satisfied, well-fed soldier provides the finest fighting material.

With improvements in cookery the contents of the swill-tub commenced to dwindle in volume. Less food was wasted while the residue from the table similarly decreased. As this development was pursued it was ultimately found possible to reduce the rations of bread and meat still further without provoking the slightest discontent. A third reduction in the rations took place in 1917 to the extent of an additional two ounces of bread, except in the case of soldiers under nineteen years of age, and a quarter of an ounce of salt per man per day. The cumulative results of these economies represented a direct saving annual of £4,000,000—$20,000,000—in cash to the nation in respect of the soldiers’ rations. In other words, the huge armies of 1918 consumed less food to the value of four millions sterling than was the case two years previously, and this satisfactory end was achieved without stinting a man. Such a remarkable result was primarily due to the improved method of preparing and serving the food. During the war more than 50,000 men were passed through the cookery schools attached to the Home Commands. The effect of such imposing economies proved of distinct benefit to the community, because the reduced supplies to the Army released so much more bread and meat to the non-combatant element of the country.

The serving of meals, at least so far as the Home units were concerned, was also completely transformed. Instead of the men being compelled to indulge in a wild scramble with their messing-tins for their meat supplies, the latter was cut up in the cook-house and assigned to dishes for the table. Each man thus became assured of his allotted ration. But in the event of the allocation exceeding what the soldier desired, as for instance when he was a trifle off his feed, instead of being compelled to take his ration willy-nilly, eating as much as he fancied and leaving the balance on his plate to swell the swill-tub, he was instructed not to help himself to more than he felt he could attack. If, after settling down to his meal, he found his appetite to return unexpectedly, he was free, after the manner of Oliver Twist, to ask for more, with this difference—he was sure to receive it.

Although under this régime the cooks were given less raw material with which to carry out their appointed tasks, yet it was found possible to induce the lesser quantity to go farther than the larger allotment had ever gone before. Other economies resulting from the observance of more scientific culinary methods were also recorded. The introduction of women into the kitchen was tried. This experiment, doubtless owing to the fact that this represented a woman’s true sphere and from her inherent tendency to be careful, efficient, and thorough in every detail concerning the preparation of meals, proved a conspicuous success.

Now, no matter how persistently and effectively the lessons of economy may be preached in the kitchen and at the table as much in the home as in the army, and notwithstanding the infinitesimal degree to which the proportion of spoiled food may be reduced by the introduction of superior methods and skill, a certain amount of waste is unavoidable. It cannot be overcome in its entirety. Tastes differ so widely that odds and ends are certain to be left untouched upon the plate, while a certain accumulation of gristle, bone, fat and other inedible portions must be expected.

The residue upon the individual plate may be so insignificant as to render a second thought concerning its probable value superfluous. But, multiply that individual plate and its contribution of waste by the tens of thousands of plates in use at one time, as in the army, and it will be realized that, in the aggregate, the fragments assume a very imposing volume. Furthermore, in the kitchen where the joints are cut up, the accumulation of pieces is striking. Lastly, in washing up the plates, dishes and other utensils what an avenue is offered for the escape of immense quantities of fat through the sink gully? I have already indicated in a previous chapter what wealth may be lost in this manner, and how it only needs adequate reclamation methods to enable such loss to be avoided.

Accordingly, contemporaneously with the reorganization of the catering and cooking issues, the exploitation of the now appreciably attenuated swill-tub contents was investigated. This residue was still being sold to the farmers, but they were not regarding their purchases with unalloyed delight. Contrary to general opinion, perhaps, raw swill does not constitute an ideal foodstuff for porkers. As a rule it is too rich in fat and so tends to exercise a debilitating and impoverishing effect upon the animals, being a frequent cause of scour.