Meats of all sorts are poor in lime. The lime in animals is almost exclusively in the bones. One ounce of almonds, for instance, contains as much food lime as a pound of the choicest steak, and a quarter of a pound of black walnuts supplies as much food lime as nearly two pounds of average meats.

The Iron Content of Nuts

The almond, hazel-nut, chestnut, peanut, pecan and walnut, all contain a rich store of iron, the average iron content expressed as per cent. of the iron ration being 4.79, more than two and one-half times that of fruits (1.74), three times that of vegetables (1.46), greater than that of cereals and even superior to average meats. It is true that the extraordinarily high food value of nuts renders them less available than fruits as prime sources of iron, for one would have to eat 5,000 calories of chestnuts or walnuts or more than 4,000 calories of pecans or peanuts to get a day's ration of iron; but three-quarters of a pound of almonds or hazel-nuts would supply the needed quantum of iron with an energy intake of 2,500 calories, on account of their unusually rich store of iron.

It is worth while to know that vegetable milk prepared from almonds, by adding five parts of water to one part of blanched almonds made into a smooth paste, supplies two and a half times as much iron as does cow's milk in equal quantity, and furnishing the same amount of protein. It is worth noting, just here, also, that the protein of the almond is, like that of milk, a complete protein, that is, a protein out of which human tissues may be readily formed, which is by no means true of all vegetable proteins. Such a milk, however, would be somewhat deficient in lime, a lack which could be supplied by lentil soup.

A product commercially known as Malted Nuts, prepared from almonds or peanuts, has been found of very great service in meeting the needs of infants and some classes of invalids for an easily digestible liquid nourishment to take the place of milk when a substitute is needed.

The chief obstacle which at the present time stands in the way of making nuts a food staple is the meager supply. If the population of the United States should suddenly turn to nuts as the chief means of meeting their protein requirement, the total annual crop of nuts would be consumed in a day or two, or possibly less time. The American people readily change their eating habits. As nuts become more plentiful through the efforts of the Nut Growers Association, and the general enlightenment of the people concerning the superiority of this class of foodstuffs by a well conducted propaganda such as has been carried on in behalf of the raisin industry and such as the meat packers are now conducting in their effort to induce the American people to eat more meat, but of course on an honest, scientific basis rather than by means of untruthful and misleading statements, as the packers are doing, the intelligent people of this country could soon be brought to an appreciation of the great value of edible nuts and the important place which they should fill in the bill of fare.

Thirty years ago, the writer prepared a paste from peanuts which had been previously cooked by steaming or baking, and gave to the preparation the name of "Nut Butter." Little attention was paid to the product for two or three years, then it began rapidly to win favor and, according to a recent report by the Census Bureau, 56 establishments, in 1919, produced peanut butter to the value of nearly $6,000,000, and the peanut crop last year was 816,464,000 pounds. In 30 years, the peanut crop has increased from a few thousand acres to nearly 2,000,000 acres, and the peanut has come to occupy a place on the national bill of fare of considerable prominence. The peanut is not really a nut but a legume and is in flavor and other edible qualities greatly inferior to the products in which this Association is interested. Nevertheless, the fact that it is accessible has given it an opportunity to quickly gain popular favor. The writer feels very confident that if this association and other similar organizations will continue their efforts in behalf of nut growing, and will at the same time adopt measures to inform the public concerning the remarkable nutritive properties of these products which have been created expressly for the use of man and which are so wonderfully adapted to his sustenance, there will be a steady advance in their acceptance by the public and in the not far distant future, the raising of nuts will come to be as nearly universal among farmers as the production of apples or other fruit crops. If the uncultivated lands of this country not now occupied as farms were occupied by nut trees in good bearing, the annual crop of nut protein and fat would be amply sufficient, in connection with the corn, wheat and other crops harvested by our 6,000,000 farmers from our big billion acre farm to easily support a population of 1,000,000 persons. If the nut is given a chance, it will not only save the human race from perishing from starvation, but will give it a good boost upward in the direction of race betterment.

The Eat More Meat campaign which the packers are now conducting and for the support of which they at their recent convention in Kansas City, voted to raise a fund of $500,000, is being carried on by the grossest chicanery and misrepresentation. Pseudo-scientific men are being put before the public as great authorities in human nutrition and these men are sending out plausible but most misleading eulogies of meat as a foodstuff possessing essential qualities for the lack of which the American people are suffering. The only possible reason for these frantic appeals to the American people to consume more meat is the depletion of the packers' profits by the steady decrease in meat consumption which has been going on for a number of years and which begins to threaten the future development of their industry. The public will be damaged rather than benefited by an increase of meat consumption. A nation-wide campaign in behalf of the almond, the hazel-nut, the walnut, the pecan and other of our native nuts would unquestionably improve the health and vigor of the American people, provided the nut growers will supply the demand which would be created.

* * * * *

August 12th, 1922.