By Harvey W. Wiley, M. D.

NEXT to cereals, meat in the broad sense of that term, including beef, mutton, and pork, is the most important of our food products. It is important not only from a nutritional point of view, but also because of its eco- nomical aspects. The number of meat animals in this country is actually decreasing for some kinds, while none is keeping pace with the increase of population. The natural result of this, aside from manipulation on the markets, is an increasing demand and a decreasing supply. This has worked out at the present time into a condition in which the price of meats is higher to the consumer than ever before. This, however, does not affect in any way the value of meat as a food. With all due deference to our vegetarian friends, whose opinions I respect, I am fully convinced that man is an omnivorous animal. He makes a mistake when he confines his diet to any one particular form of food. Man can thrive quite well, however, on a vegetable diet. Perhaps this should be modified by saying on what is generally called " a vegetable diet" because the vegetarian as a rule eats eggs, drinks milk, and uses butter, all of which are animal products. The lean or muscular part of meat is essentially a tissue builder, while the fat is a heat and energy former. Some kinds of meat, as, for instance, beef, can be eaten every day without palling on the appetite. In this respect beef occupies the same position as wheat and some other vegetables. One caution, however, should be presented in regard to meat-eating, and that is that it should not be overdone. There are two reasons for this, one, the economic aspect of the problem, and second, the nutritional relations of meat to healthy growth. I should say that for grown people meat once a day is quite sufficient, while for young children who still consume quantities of milk, meat is not at all an essential part of the diet, and in my opinion they are better off without it. Today people, especially those who live at hotels and restaurants, eat too much meat for their own good, and I believe that if meat consumption could be placed on a scientific basis the economic aspects of the problem might well be solved and the demand might not exceed the supply.