DETERIORATION IN OUR DAILY FOOD

New Zealand Mail, 22 January 1902, Page 63

DETERIORATION IN OUR DAILY FOOD

There can be no doubt that during the past decade food has undergone a steady degradation, and this cannot be without a demoralising influence upon the human race. It will be noticed that by far the majesty of cases of tampering with food relate to the substitution of a cheaper article rather than to the addition of an injurious substance. The common defence is that modern conditions of life make substitution a necessity. It is difficult to see the logic of such a defence—at least, in a number of instances.

It is urged, for instance, that jam or marmalade cannot bo made without the addition of glucose, which prevents the preserve from crystallising. Now, long before glucose was a household, word jams and marmalade were made-—and very good they were, too, consisting entirely of sugar and fruit. In the same way we are told that beer must be brewed from sugar, and that brewing exclusively from malt presents untold difficulties. Again, golden syrup, which used formerly to be the refined syrup of molasses, consists largely now of artificial sugar, which is doubtless a more marketable product, but- is not the same thing as cane sugar. Yet, again, we are told that, the public demand a perfectly white loaf of bread, the truth in reality being that machinery has produced a roller flour which is an inferior tiring to the now, we suppose, extinct stone-milled flour. Instances of th.is sort could be multiplied. We could wish that all those Keeping house would make up their minds seriously to return to the excellent custom of preparing many articles of food for themselves at home. Who does not admit the charm of home-made bread, home-brewed beer, or home-mad.* jam, and simply because they are known tobe made from an honest formula, which has stood the test of time and from good materials which yield, a palatable product? Even in the country good, oldfashioned wheaten bread, with that fascinating brown colour of rich wheaten flour, containing the entire nutritious portions of the berry, and possessing that delightful wheaten flavour, now seldom, if ever, characteristic of bread, is difficult to obtain. The- baker’s loaf is, ps a rule, a tasteless, insipid article, which requires a considerable appetite before the idea of eatiug it can be entertained. No wonder that the taste for bi*ead is steadily diminishing, and' undoubtedly less bread is consumed than used to be the case. As is well known, bread contains almost every eleTnent of food necessary for existence, but we should be sorry for the person who tried to subsist entirely upon the modern uninteresting loaf made from blanched roller mill flour. It has recently been stated that- the degradation of the teeth so noticeable among us now is due to roller milling having largely supplanted stone milling. We should not* be surprised. T'§; degradation of food is a very serious matter, and is bound to lead sooner or later to the degradation of the eater. No movement could confer greater blessing upon the people than that winch aimed at bringing about a return to the older and more rational methods of preparing food. Let us see more of the home-made article than we now see ; let us return to more palatable food and to food that will do more good than the machine-made stuffs and the endless series of substitutes. In all the schools throughout the land we would have the children taught the advantages of homemade food, and how that breath, fruit,

jam or even beer and cider can be made at, home. It? would encourage a spirit of industry, it would give us palatable and nourishing articles to eat or drink, and might have a very wholesome effect upon those who seem deliberately tf> attenuate food as much as possible of pay no regard to its naturally-endowed payability.—'"Lancet.”