From the data given above it is seen that gelatine may become infected and the material from which it is made for edible purposes should be healthful, sanitary and fit for food. It is not likely that tetanus germs would prove dangerous when taken into the stomach, but freedom from infection should be secured if possible. These investigations show the wisdom of the pure food law in forbidding the use of parts of animals unfit for food, whether manufactured or not, in the production of food products. It is evident that a sufficient quantity of fresh, sanitary material or material properly preserved can be obtained in this country or in other countries to supply the needs for edible gelatine without resorting to the use of inedible parts of hides, horns, hoofs and other waste and unfit portions of the animal.
Summary.
—Above have been presented some of the principal meat foods, the analytical data which show their composition, the processes by means of which they are prepared and the principal methods, objectionable and otherwise, by which they are preserved.
Meat is a staple article of diet among almost all nations of men. The anatomical structure of the human animal indicates that his environment has adapted him to eating meats of all kinds. In other words, man is an omnivorous animal. He has been developed in an environment in which all kinds of meats and vegetables have ministered to his sustenance, and thus he is an omnivorous animal both by evolution and necessarily by heredity. That man can live and flourish without meat has been fully established by experiments, but that man cannot be nourished by meat alone has likewise been fully established, so that if the human race were necessarily to be deprived either of animal or vegetable foods, it would be the animal food which must be sacrificed.
It is not the purpose of this manual to discuss the relative merits of vegetarianism as compared with the common diet of the human race. It may not be amiss, however, to say that probably in the United States especially, a larger quantity of meat is eaten than is either necessary or wholesome. The people of our country are better able to supply themselves with expensive foods than those of other countries, and of the common foods meats are far more expensive than cereals. The eating of larger quantities of cereals and smaller quantities of meat would probably be conducive both to economy and health. It appears to be certain that the meat eating of the future may not be regarded so much as a necessity as it has in the past, but that meats will be used more as condimental substances than as staple foods. In all meat, for instance, that costs 25 cents a pound, such as steaks, there is over one-third or a half of it which is inedible, so that the edible portion really costs double that amount. On the contrary, when a pound of flour or maize is purchased, the price of which is perhaps only one-eighth that of meat, the whole of it is edible. Thus, from the mere point of economy as well as of nutrition the superiority of cereals and other vegetable products is at once evident. On the one hand, a cereal is almost a complete food containing all the elements necessary to nutrition, and it costs only a few cents a pound. On the other hand, a steak or roast is only a partial food and it costs much more than cereals.
It is hoped that one purpose of this manual may be secured, namely, by showing the consumer the actual composition of the different kinds of food and their method of preparation he may be led in the selection of his food to follow the dictates of science and economy to a certain extent rather than merely the impulse of taste. The eating of such large quantities of meat is merely a habit which often is developed in children through the carelessness and ignorance of parents, much to the detriment of the child as well as to his future health and activity. It is believed that if the true principles of the use of meat were properly inculcated a large saving in the energy of the wage earner as well as those in more affluent circumstances would be secured.
Sound principles of economy establish a better condition of health and lead to greater activity and fruitful labor.
Terrestrial Animal Oils.
Terrestrial animal oils are obtained directly from parts of the animals which yield, at ordinary temperature, a substance which remains liquid. The fats which are in the feet of the animals are usually more liquid than in any other part of the body, and hence the natural animal oils are derived largely from the feet. Among the most important are sheep’s foot oil, horse foot oil, and neat’s foot oil, which is obtained from the feet of cattle. These oils are all highly valued for technical purposes, especially for lubricating, and for this purpose bring a very high price. They are not used or should not be used for edible purposes, though they perhaps may sometimes be used in cooking. Neat’s foot oil, especially, on account of its high price, is often subjected to adulteration, and is mixed for this purpose with cheap vegetable oils, such as cottonseed. Fish oil is also often used in the adulteration of neat’s foot oil, though the addition of any of these oils to neat’s foot oil raises the iodin number to a very high degree, and hence this addition is easily detected by the chemist.