Some hae meat and canna eat;

And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat;

So let the Lord be thankit.

- Robert Burns: Grace before Meat.

THE following are the words of a noted dietitian in the employment of the United States Government:

"The custom of serving meat at each meal should be discouraged. Deficiency of protein need not be feared when one good meat dish a day is served, especially if such food as eggs, milk, cheese, and beans are used instead. In localities where fish can be obtained fresh and cheap, it should be more frequently substituted for meat for the sake of variety as well as economy. Ingenious cooks have many ways of 'extending the flavor' of meat; that is, of combining a small quantity with other material to make a large dish, as in meat pies, stews and similar dishes."

As To Digestibility Of Meat

Animal protein is more easily digested than vegetable protein, such as found in beans and peas, for flesh foods are more like the human body, and do not have to undergo the same amount of chemical change as do vegetable foods; but the drainage of the body is taxed by flesh eating, and certainly too much meat is a mistake. When used, meat should form only one-fifth, or, at most, one-fourth of a well-balanced meal. This subject is further discussed in the chapter on "Balanced Rations," page 417.

As To Cost Of Meat

Meat is the most expensive food used in most households. There is no need for buying the most expensive cuts. "The best is the cheapest," does not apply to foods. The most economical food is that which supplies the most nutriment for the least money. Prices are not regulated according to their nutritive value, but according to attractiveness and scarceness. The nutriment in an ounce of tenderloin is no more than that of an ounce of the round or shoulder. "Much more depends upon the art and skill of the cook than upon sums laid out in the market," said Count Rumford.