Humbug about Meat

The belief in meat is ubiquitous with the Anglo-Saxon. No one can be strong without meat, it is asserted. "Many people seem to look upon meat almost as though it formed the only food that really nourished, and supplied what is wanted for work," says Dr. Pavy in his work on "Food and Dietetics." "Undoubtedly, a greater feeling of safety is produced by meat than by other food. It forms a greater stay to the stomach; but this arises from the stomach's constituting the seat of its digestion, and a larger time being occupied before it passes on and leaves the stomach in an empty condition. The meat-fallacy is disproved by the fact that the Sikhs of the Punjaub are pulse-eaters. The Italian lives almost solely on maize and macaroni. The dreaded Iroquois were cultivators of maize, as well as hunters. The Spaniard munches his onion, and dips his crust of bread in oil. The Kaffir, like the Kirghis, lives mainly on milk; as did the Cymri, when Cæsar invaded Britain. The Brahmin prefers the banana. The Hindu, the Chinese and the Japanese find their chief sustenance in rice."—Good Housekeeping.